Required Reading Assignments

Reading 1, On Photography

While reading “In Plato’s Cave” from On Photography by Susan Sontag, a quote that caught my attention was: “Photographs really are experience captured, and the camera is the ideal arm of consciousness in its acquisitive mood” (3-4). Even before cameras came into existence, humanity has always had an interest and deep care for sharing and memorializing our life experiences. Photographs have the ability to bring out emotions and thoughts, as well as share them with others in the hopes that they can also feel similar emotions as us, and/or even learn something new. Another quote that sparked my attention was: “The subsequent industrialization of camera technology only carried out a promise inherent in photography from its very beginning: to democratize all experiences by translating them into images” (p.g. 8). Although cameras and photography used to be exclusively for the upper class when they were a new form of media, it has transitioned into a tool that everyone can use, for whatever purpose(s) they desire. Photography has normalized people from every walk of life being able to share whatever is important to them, which can extend itself to social-justice issues that impact many people. Photography isn’t just a media form for self-expression, but one that can lead to a tidal wave of change by piquing the interest of others who may have otherwise remained unaware of certain situations. Photography is yet another form that humans have created that allows us to connect with one another, and have a common ground to share knowledge, ideas, etc.

Reading 2, Motherhood in Crisis

The graphic novel, “My stolen future”, utilizes illustrator, photoshop, photos, and video to convey Heela’s story. I think illustration was utilized for the majority of the novel perhaps partially due to losing contact with Heela, but also to assist in world building and draw in readers to the setting, its characters, and analyze events. The illustrations differ from photographs in the sense that they are able to assist in the emotional aspects of telling an individuals’ story. With illustration, the creator has greater liberty to portray the specific emotions they desire with nonverbal cues/communicative cues that static pictures cannot provide. Providing illustrations to accompany the novel helps put a face to the character and her experiences, allowing us to build a greater connection than if it had just been text to read.

Reading 3, Workers in the Global South are making a living playing the blockchain game Axie Infinity

In this article, Elliot highlights how it's becoming increasingly common for individuals to make a living playing games like Axie Infinity, which is a blockchain game where players earn tokens and then cash out in their currency. I found it interesting that players from the Phillipines and Venezuela make up 45-50% of players. The article also mentions that there are more people that want to play than assets to go around. While reading the article, I wondered if the company behind Axie has tried to make their game and business plan sustainable, since cryptocurrency has a carbon footprint since it is so energy intensive.

Reading 4, How ‘Trustless’ is Bitcoin, Really?

Something that I liked about the article was that Roberts quickly brought about that the practicalities of Bitcoin are complicated, especially the massive amounts of electricity used to mine. I think this typically doesn’t get bought up too frequently, but should be since we are essentially at a point where if a mass change in habits and production doesn’t occur, we will not be able to stop greater climate change related issues from occurring. Prior to reading this article, I didn’t know that there were 64 key players within the first two years of of Bitcoin that mined most of the Bitcoin. I also enjoyed looking at the data visualization map of the Bitcoin blockchain created by Ms. Blackburn and Dr. Lieberman Aiden. The use of color coding and labeling the agents made the map easy to comprehend. However, I wish the article had spent more time breaking down if crypto mining can ever become more decentralized, and how.