In Walden, Thoreau writes:
“Every path but your own is the path of fate. Keep on your own track, then.”
I began this class with essentially no knowledge of my computer other than it helps me complete tasks such as homework, communicate with others, and speeds up processes. Walking into this class I was very set in the mindset that I would never understand anything more than I already did about my computer. This is a very closed mindset, however through the class thus far my mind has since been open to the fact that I am capable of more with my computer!
My computer
Here are a few things I’ve learned about my computer:
While these may be extremely basic to most, these things about my computer were not known by me previously to this class. First of all I learned how to locate my OS version on my Mac and find out information about my computer. I also have learned what a file system is and have gained knowledge about my computers graphical user interface or its GUI. After fixing settings within my computers system to make navigating the GUI easier I now have a much better grasp on what this system consists of and how to use it. I have also learned how to navigate both Windows and Mac with some education on some similarities and differences of both. While I have a Mac, my classmates with Windows have opened my eyes to how the different computers operate and where the differences lie.
Visual Studio Code
Prior to this class I did not know that GIT Bash, the terminal, or Visual Studio code were a thing that existed. Starting with the terminal, I have now gotten a lot more comfortable navigating where documents and files are within my computer and have used it in other classes other than this one. When asking AI the benefits of VS code it said, “Visual Studio Code is a free, lightweight, and cross-platform code editor with built-in Git support, smart code suggestions, and a debugger. It has an integrated terminal, extensive extensions, and customization options. VS Code runs efficiently and supports real-time collaboration, making it a powerful choice for developers.” I would have to agree with most of this, I find VS cofe to be extremely effective and customizable with many great features. Something I do not love about VS code is the lack of autocorrect, which I know is a small complaint, however I did not realize how much I rely on it in other platforms.
AI/Chat GPT
In full and complete honesty, prior to this class AI and Chat GPT were simply platforms that helped people come up with ideas to me, however I have learned many new things about this type of technology that I did not know before. I have learned about the environmental downfalls of this technology as well as the dependency that can be created because of AI. A quote that stuck out to me in “Rage Against the Machine” was “None of us has ever found out or proved that the people around us in our lives actually think or feel. We just take it for granted.” This really resonates with the fact that AI cannot replace humans, as there is no emotion or feeling behind it.
Technology and Humanities
In terms of humanities and technology the crossover holds both pros and cons that I have become educated on throughout this class. This came into play while learning about how to go about transcribing texts from the past digitally. Some argue that this takes away from the authenticity of the documents and the meaning behind a physical document is what keeps the content alive. Others argue that this digital content is a positive because the documents can reach many more people than if they were simply physical. I am eagar to learn more about this topic moving foward in the class and look foward to becoming more fluent in this subject.