Sep 30 2010
Week 5 Response
In my first question this week I was confused about Lanier’s discussion of the “Fourth Quadrant.” He talks about this quadrant, but in a roundabout manner such that I am not sure what he means. In addition, if this is the fourth quadrant, what are the first three? I was still unclear about this concept, so I did a little research. Lanier is referring to an idea posited by Taleb. Lanier is discussing the idea of the “wisdom of the crowd”– the intelligence of a crowd. Taleb’s Fourth Quadrant comprises of “problems that have both complex outcomes and unknown distributions of outcomes” (59). What Lanier is saying here is that the wisdom of the crowd can be dangerous when they are asked questions that are too complex.
In my second question, I asked about the circle of empathy, and if people really do change drastically when their circle is expanded or contracted. I think that Lanier gives a harsh statement on the subject, but it also has a lot of truth to it. So much of who we are as human beings is made up of our environment and those in it. Those we associate with do have a strong impact on us. However, I also think that there are parts of us that will never change based on those around us. We are all programmed a certain way, and specific things cannot be changed. When technology enters the equation, our circle has the ability to grow exponentially. This could be a good thing, or a bad thing, depending on if this expansion leads to an adaptation for the better or for the worse. But, there is know question that our circle will change parts of who we are, especially with such a drastic change in our circles’ diameters.
In my last question, I asked how grassroots fan productions fit into corporate media convergence. Upon further reading and contemplation, I can easily see how the two are related. The Star Wars fan productions added to the already large amount of Star Wars content available. Star Wars fanatics had more content to interact with, which can get them excited about the professional Star Wars content. If someone likes a fan production, they are more apt to buy the official DVDs, T-Shirts, and everything else that is associated with Star Wars. The corporate media, especially in regards to Star Wars, has converged to include just about any trinket that you can think of– figurines, clothing, toys, etc. Fan content can only add to the hype.