Monday, April 18, 2011

"Know It All"

In the essay "Know It All," by Stacy Schiff, the hot topic is Wikipedia.  Wikipedia is a collaborative, online encyclopedia of sorts.  It's an ever-expansive community where people of all ages, backgrounds, education and interests can come together and interact. 

It seems as though, over the past several years, the words Wikipedia and Do Not Use go hand and hand.  Since I was in high school, all of my teachers have been preaching against Wiki and how it is a useless pile of information that "just anyone" can add to or take away from.  I have long understood the concept of Wiki and take it for what it is.  It is a collection of information.  Information anyone could probably find throughout the vastness that is the internet.  At least with Wiki, it's all organized onto a page with a title.

While reading this article, I felt the historical perspective was an interesting spin on Wiki and the encyclopedia.  It is interesting to see how Wiki and Britannica aren't too far off from one another when it comes to errors.  (Even if they did refute it.)  Also, to see how the Encyclopedie was a book that was able to "muscle aside religious institutions and orthodoxies to install human reason at the center of the universe" (4).  When you think about it, that is exactly what Wiki is doing in modern times.  It is shifting aside the traditions and normalcy of information distribution in society and creating a new, radical idea: information for the masses by the masses. 

Out of all of the information in this article, I am most impressed with the vast reach of Wikipedia.  I find it astonishing that one single source is able to transverse more than two hundred languages and reach over hundreds of thousands of contributors and even more viewers.  Now to me, something that huge is certainly going to catch a lot of flack, but I feel that credit is due to it also.  This project, started by Jimmy Wales, is a thing that is greater than just a pile of useless information.  I feel that it's massive potential far outweighs the negatives it incurs.  I feel that if used correctly, it has the potential to be a wonderful source that already reaches a lot of people. 

Monday, April 4, 2011

Pygmalion Part 1

I have really enjoyed the first two acts of Bernard Shaw's play, "Pygmalion."  I really like reading plays and have been looking forward to reading this selection for quite some time now.

Like Savannah, I found the use of language to be very interesting.  The fact that Liza's language is limiting to her is no foreign concept.  We find this to be true in modern society as well.  Many people's employment ambitions can be restricted due to their language, or lack of it.  There is definitely an emphasis on education and the need for it in order to improve one's status.

I really enjoy the writing layout of the play too.  I feel the stage directions and the opening descriptions given before each act is very helpful.  It gives the reader an insight into what the play could look like.  It gives that added sense of dimensionalism, not sure if that's even a real word, that novels do not.

I am looking forward to the rest of the play and hope to find more interesting aspects as we go further into the play.