Please enable JavaScript.
Coggle requires JavaScript to display documents.
W5 Media, Minds and Models (The Extended Mind (What I found interesting…
W5 Media, Minds and Models
Behaviourism
I thought behaviourism was overly simplistic – while I think it definitely applies to some behaviours I don't think it applies to all e.g. abstract thought. I can see why there was a shift to cognitivism in the 1950s, as it seems to have more science behind it in terms of the use of brain scans etc.
What I found interesting
-
Reinforcement and repetition: I immediately associated this with two things, both examples of conditioning
a) corporal punishment
b) clicker training a dog
The application of Skinner's operant conditioning in video games was really interesting, and explains how "Clicking Bad" (http://clickingbad.nullism.com/), a Breaking Bad inspired video game where you simply click a button to produce/sell drugs, became incredibly popular at my high school.
This also made sense to me as I've never played any Farmville-style games for more than a day as I've always been bored quickly - shows that simple application of operant theory doesn't make for good media.
Cognitivism
Other thoughts
I recently saw the movie Hidden Figures, where women who did complex mathematical equations for NASA were called computers: the meaning of the word computer is someone/something that computes (e.g. does calculations). NASA gets an IBM mainframe computer, and one of the human computers learns the programming language – in cognitivism, the mind of the woman and the 'mind' of the computer work similarly.
What I found interesting
The video explaining how cognitivism can be applied to classrooms ("Use a Learning Theory: Cognitivism") was really interesting, as I could clearly remember many cases where the examples given in the video (e.g. numbered lists, diagrams) were used in my schooling and still are today at university
There's an emphasis on rote learning in many education systems, including the Australian system, that I think may descend from this focus on retention and recall: remembering answers over processes (e.g. memorising multiplication tables).
Cybernetics
What I didn't understand
What's the difference between thought and a feedback loop? Thinking 'it's cold, I should grab a jacket' and a feedback loop leading to the action of getting a jacket.
What I found interesting
The idea that all systems that have goals are cybernetic, not just 'cyber' systems
Body temperature regulation, maintaining balance: when these malfunction cybernetics can help us solve problems
e.g. A sick person's body temperature isn't being regulated, so they go get a jacket with the goal of being warmer/more comfortable. The jacket could help them retain enough heat so that their goal is complete, or it could be insufficient so in order to reach the goal they get a blanket or turn up the heating.
The Extended Mind
What I didn't understand
How can your mind be outside your body? If I write something down and that's part of my mind, if I lose it or someone else takes it is it no longer mine?
What I found interesting
Reminded me of Marshall McLuhan and 'the extended self' – how media extended our physical being and our nervous system
The section of Phaedrus that Stiegler uses, where Socrates essentially says students will no longer remember anything and will become reliant on writing, is something that's been brought up in previous courses (specifically ARTS2090).
Difference between forgetting something and not remembering something – I've forgotten my locker code (something I intended to remember) but I simply don't remember friend's phone numbers and I've never tried to commit them to memory as my phone does that for me (Stiegler's example, but definitely applies to me). #
Show a reaction to new technology in classical times that still happens today (e.g. moral panic over TV, video games, Snapchat etc making kids dumber)
-
I use an 'extended mind' through my bullet journal/planner: by writing tasks and dates down, I don't have to remember them – but I also find that because I write them down multiple times (in a monthly planner, weekly agenda, daily to do lists) I remember things better. There's research that suggests writing by hand helps recall, so I wonder what would happen if I used an online calendar and to-do list.
I wonder if relying on an extended mind is a good or bad thing (or neither). I love technology, but on the occasions my phone battery has died while out I've been thankful for remembering my bus schedule and parent's phone numbers.
I don't think it is good or bad, but definitely some people could judge it that way. I think an overreliance on the ability to look something up can have downsides, as when you don't have access to your notebook, phone etc your ability to function is lessened.
As an unrelated point, I think the idea of a battery 'dying' is interesting; it's not dead, as charging it makes it work again. As someone who suffers from anxiety, my phone is often a crutch fo me so when the battery runs flat it does feel like something has died.
Models overall
I like the idea of how we model how the world around us works everyday, not just in an academic context
I found it challenging to connect models of the mind to models of the media and communications – what helped was thinking of thinking as communicating with oneself, often based on communication from the world around us (e.g. I notice clouds appearing in the sky → I take this as the sky 'communicating' to me that it's going to rain, and I think about packing an umbrella)
Examples of how models apply to media were helpful, such as behaviourism in video games and the extended mind through a mobile phone
No one model is 100% right, but we can draw on many different models in different situations in order to understand them.
Models, even "wrong" ones have a role in society and can be of use regardless of whether they're objectively correct or not
Even if I disagree with a model, sudying how the model works and the practical effects of the model is still worthwhile