Humans and tools (computers) have been fused for most of human history. Anyone use a PDA to augment your memmory? It doesn't matter if the hardware is in your skull or not, your ultimate actions are a combination of what your "natural" brain decides and what your mechanical augmentations supply. Somebody explain to me how a chip implanted in your brain is really any different. When was the last time you terrified a general studies major by showing off your TI-95?
The point of the article is not that the useless information can't be avoided, but rather that it takes effort to avoid it. Yes, you can walk away durring the comercials, you can delete spam unopened, you can avoid the sites with dozens of ads, but all this takes effort and media is always looking for ways to increase the effort it takes to ignore it. Things like embedded spam, SPIM (IM spamming), and pop-ups all take active effort and attention to filter out at a personal level so even if you are avoiding the information, it is still costing you attention. I ask you to take a look at some of the successful recent ad campaigns, and think again about how much faith you put in the willpower of the audience. It is also not just comercial information flooding, but just an overload of useless information in general. All your bases belong to us takes up as much brain space as wasuuup!
I've recently graduated with a BS in CS, and have been considering pursuing a higher degree. I'm considering both a MBA and a MS in CS, but frankly neither seems to be worth the cost (time/effort/money). I've seen a bunch of arguments for and against a MBA, but what about getting a techie MS? As a competent techie with a natural tendency to learn new stuff on my own, it seems like the benefits of getting a MS are pretty much on par with getting experience in the workplace. Both salary/desirability, and knowledge/experience are going to be gained along both paths, and it seems in approximately equal quantities. I've heard people say that having a MS helps guarantee being able to get a job, but it seems like 2-3 years of experience with good job references and demonstratable competence is a good deal better than a sheet of paper that says I know how to cram for tests. Plus, it seems like moving up in management is going to much more a factor of politics and schmoozing than education. If you're competent, is it really necessary or even really helpful to get a higher degree?
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Humans and tools (computers) have been fused for most of human history. Anyone use a PDA to augment your memmory? It doesn't matter if the hardware is in your skull or not, your ultimate actions are a combination of what your "natural" brain decides and what your mechanical augmentations supply. Somebody explain to me how a chip implanted in your brain is really any different. When was the last time you terrified a general studies major by showing off your TI-95?
Then why do you post with a fake email address? Takes a trivial amount of effort to delete an email...
The point of the article is not that the useless information can't be avoided, but rather that it takes effort to avoid it. Yes, you can walk away durring the comercials, you can delete spam unopened, you can avoid the sites with dozens of ads, but all this takes effort and media is always looking for ways to increase the effort it takes to ignore it. Things like embedded spam, SPIM (IM spamming), and pop-ups all take active effort and attention to filter out at a personal level so even if you are avoiding the information, it is still costing you attention. I ask you to take a look at some of the successful recent ad campaigns, and think again about how much faith you put in the willpower of the audience. It is also not just comercial information flooding, but just an overload of useless information in general. All your bases belong to us takes up as much brain space as wasuuup!
I've recently graduated with a BS in CS, and have been considering pursuing a higher degree. I'm considering both a MBA and a MS in CS, but frankly neither seems to be worth the cost (time/effort/money). I've seen a bunch of arguments for and against a MBA, but what about getting a techie MS? As a competent techie with a natural tendency to learn new stuff on my own, it seems like the benefits of getting a MS are pretty much on par with getting experience in the workplace. Both salary/desirability, and knowledge/experience are going to be gained along both paths, and it seems in approximately equal quantities. I've heard people say that having a MS helps guarantee being able to get a job, but it seems like 2-3 years of experience with good job references and demonstratable competence is a good deal better than a sheet of paper that says I know how to cram for tests. Plus, it seems like moving up in management is going to much more a factor of politics and schmoozing than education. If you're competent, is it really necessary or even really helpful to get a higher degree?