"Thank You for Smoking" Reflections

 After watching the 2005 movie "Thank You for Smoking" directed by Jason Reitman, the movie is centered around the main character Nick Naylor, who uses his logical thinking to defend the tobacco business. To me, he is great at what he does, but is it necessarily good for the people? Is his impact on public health effective in a positive way? I'm not entirely sure. 

His entire life is dedicated to spinning the health risks of smoking into the perspective of giving people the freedom to choose what they do and don't do. While dressing up in suits and living the lavish lifestyle sounds nice, the movie forces you to face the reality of a question that makes you question morality. Just because it's legal to sell something doesn't make it right to be the one selling it. I think that if the salary of a $100,000 or $200,000 starting salary came across the desk as an option for me, I'd have to decline.

 While $200,000 is life changing money and it sounds nice, having that financial stability and security, that money isn't solely a "gift". It's like a fee for your integrity and if I were to take that job, what I say is an extreme reflection of the company I'm working for. In today's times, this would apply to products like Vuse vapes, which were marketed to be a safer alternative, but they still involve using marketing skills to promote the use of nicotine to a younger generation. The type of job that Nick has requires him to be flexible with the truth, which is something I'd want to steer away from, simply because most people today believe in authenticity, and as time goes on, it's easier to detect when someone is not authentic in a society where the internet is the biggest tool. 

Our words have power, and using that power to intentionally twist the truth on public health would be similar to an abuse of power, especially with a voice that impacts many people's lives in the decisions they make. Nick Naylor's character would be considered a lobbyist and a manipulator. He takes pride in winning arguments with others even when he knows deep down that he could be or is wrong; that's his kind of "talent" to spin the argument around to make him right, no matter how wrong it might be. 

This movie isn't just talking about tobacco, it's talking about the moral principles of a man who sold his talent and the power of his voice to the highest bidder. Ethics, when it applies to marketing, shouldn't be for sale. The goal should be to build a career that will actually leave people better than they were found. I'd rather have a smaller paycheck and be able to sleep at night than have a massive amount of money that would cost me my peace and sanity, because if I'm compromising who I am just to pay the rent, then that rent is way too expensive. Standing firm in what you believe in might not buy you a nice home or a nice car, but it will give you peace. 

The Evolution of the First Radio (with tuners)

 The invention of the radio is known and celebrated for its way of communication. We often take for granted what this invention provides for us on a daily. My presentation on the first radio with tuners talked about how, when, and why it was invented as well as how it's been making an impact in the world today. 

The concept of radio had existed for decades, and if you've scrolled through a radio dial or a digital radio, you've used one of the most useful tools today. Early radio was ultimately discombobulated, you couldn't pick a station, you could just hear which channel was the loudest from where you were currently at. 

When you look up who created the first radio with tuners, the first name that pops up is Guglielmo Marconi, and while yes he made an extreme impact on tuners and gets the majority of credit for this, there were many parties involved with the process of the development of this invention. Marconi's famous "Four Sevens" patent (No. 7,777) in 1900 was what set the plan into motion. It utilized a system of adjustable capacitors and inductors to ensure that transmitters and receivers were on the same frequency. This was also called syntonic telegraphy, and it's the reason why we don't have multiple stations overlapping each other. 

Sir Oliver Lodge created the initial syntonic patent years before Marconi produced his own. John Stone Stone was behind the math of selective tuning. Nikola Tesla was also involved with this invention,
and it was so impactful that the Supreme Court actually overturned a few of Marconi's patent claims decades later and recognized Tesla's major contributions. 

The technology was still rough around the edges until Karl Ferdinand Braun invented inductive coupling. Marconi's earlier systems died out fast, so inductive coupling separated the antenna from the transmitter's circuit and it created a powerful and steady signal that could be tuned for long distances. It was so big that Braun and Marconi shared a Nobel Prize in Physics together in 1909. 

Something that I discovered while researching more about the people who worked on this invention was John L. Reinartz. He was responsible for taking what the others worked hard on and getting it out to the public. Tuning in the 1920s was something so sensitive that if you breathed wrong, you ran the risk of knocking the channel off. Reinartz created the Reinartz Tuner, which simplified the regenerative circuit so that people could tune in to any station with one or two dials. He didn't keep his design to himself, he published his designs in radio magazines like QST, which allowed hundreds and thousands of people to build their own clear sounding radios right from home. He later went to become a shortwave radio developer and helped develop radar technology during WWII. 

Without the people that played their various roles in making this invention what it is today, we wouldn't have as high quality tech that we do including wifi. Tuning made selecting frequencies easier and it's now like an organized library of sound waves. Today, we celebrate the history of this impactful invention on what is called World Radio Day, which is on February 13th every year. It's a day to remind us behind the clear frequencies that give us the stations that we enjoy, were centuries of inventors who worked to make this possible. 

Brainstorming Topic

 Source: https://promwad.com/news/ai-in-sports-industry

Artificial intelligence is already making its way into the sports media world. From game recaps being made within seconds to highlight reels and analytics done in minutes without having to break a sweat. 

The goal is for AI to be used as a tool, some people will use the tool of AI for selfish and personal gain, which takes a toll on the evolution of jobs in today's society. 

According to a Medium article, AI tools are reshaping how content is made and published. Programs can process live game stats and produce instant written summaries faster than a human could do, which is a win for efficiency but a loss and a challenge for editors focused on excelling in their careers.  

For my particular field in the sports media world, I'd like to have a career in sports photography. AI tools would be beneficial to assisting photographers to produce work faster and capture cleaner shots with auto focus. Certain software can sort photos automatically and adjust lighting and filters, and in a fast-paced environment like sports photography, this would be efficient in this field. To me, the human eye for capturing moments is irreplaceable, even though AI can help "capture" the moment, a photographer's instincts are what rule over what any AI could do. 

Source: https://alphauniverse.com/stories/photo-fundamentals-see-this-pros-autofocus-setup-for-sports-photography/

In this situation, AI can make photos better but who's behind the camera has the potential to make the photo great. I don't believe that AI will replace photographers as a whole, but it will definitely show who's genuinely passionate about their craft and who's just doing it to do it without really taking the time to carefully create a visual form of art. 

Privacy, Online and Off

In today's society, the use of technology is everywhere and when it comes to our safety are we truly safe? 

After watching a series of excerpts from TED Talk videos, technology has been integrated into our everyday lives in ways where we might not even feel as though its there when in reality it is. 

Electronic tattoos have been described as things that we do on the internet that are like tattoos to our digital "bodies" or form. Facial recognition is being used more as well to store data on thousands of people. Being mindful with what you post is very important because the internet will last way longer than we will, it was mentioned as reaching immortality. 

Another thing that was talked about was location information and how it's becoming so sensitive that if we have location sharing on within our cars we can be tracked. The government has access to all of this information and store it in case they need it down the road. 

Foreign intelligence is another thing used to monitor our activity. Encrypted text messages like Apple's iMessage, and WhatsApp make it harder to be wiretapped. The government thinks that all calls and texts should be visible to the government for them to store for later use if needed. It's better to build a more secure network and while it would make it harder for the government to encrypt, it would make us as a people feel a lot safer. People should have a right or an opinion to pot out of monitored or wiretapped prone devices. Some people have have normal lives where government survelience is not necessary. 

The last thing I want to talk about that I found interesting was visibility and privacy, something that grows everyday. Cyberharrassment, cyberbullying, revenge porn, or now known as and referred to as digital domestic violence. It stems from when a relationship goes bad and when they can't physically get to you they us what we use on a daily basis to get revenge. The ammunition can be photos, videos, or text messages. The clip stated that 1 in 25 women have been impacted by this and the lack of laws for this type of action leaves women at risk. Cyber anything is not just confined to the U.S. it's international and can seen by anyone with access to the internet. 

We as a people should have a right to our privacy so that we can live our lives in peace knowing that people from all over the world don't have the potential to access our personal information and we can feel safe going on with our daily lives as we utilize technology. 

Values Of Free Expression Reflection: Protect Dissent

 When it comes to people having their own opinions, I believe that everyone should have their own opinions and that we shouldn't be criticized or hated for saying how we feel. I have personally lost good friendships because of simply having to agree to disagree, and it wasn't in a harmful manner. I was just stating my opinion, and because my opinion didn't match theirs, one conversation turned into a heated argument, and who's to say who was right or wrong? Nobody is at fault for saying they feel. 

Out of the 8 Values Of Free Expression, I'm choosing to talk about the eighth value of free expression because I have been a witness to what occurs when freedom of speech and opinion is looked down upon. criticized, and eventually turned into hatred or violence, both physically and verbally. I believe that everyone has the right to say what they want, when they want, and how they want. It's up to them to decide on how they want to deliver their message, but nobody should be hated or "cancelled" for their opinion, which is why I appreciate the value of expression, and I believe that if everyone considered having a positive outlook to this value, then it would open our minds to healthier communication and reduce violence.

After reading a few pages in Steven H. Shiffrin's book "Dissent, Injustice, and the Meanings of America", I found this writing to be very insightful. He shares that the Free Speech theory should be taken beyond protecting or tolerating dissent (Page 91). He goes on to mention that a healthy society has to go beyond just "tolerating" dissent just because it is a legal necessity, and that it should constantly value its purpose. People should want to have healthy societal patterns without it being a form of a requirement, but because of the world we live in it has to be enforced to at least accept the minimum, and it goes deeper than just an "agree to disagree" moment, it applies to all of the layers of topics (race, gender, religion, social class, etc.). 

Applying this to my own life, I believe that creating an environment where freedom of speech is met with open-mindedness and compassion instead of hostility and fallouts. The most patriotic thing we as a people can do is support someone who's presenting a different perspective. For me, it is like a moment to step away from a culture of judgment and into a culture of welcoming all types of opinions, even if I don't agree to them. 

I strongly believe that this is also tying into world peace, to ultimately have people all over to be on one accord as far as how we should treat each other, rather than having someone dictate us we should just naturally be willing to agree that everyone should have the right to say what they want and out of respect we can learn to agree to disagree. We should be able to create spaces where people can feel safe to speak their minds without having fear of being criticized and attacked, and ultimately challenge the status quo.

Top 5 Sources of News

The importance of news looks different for everyone, some might find one piece of news extremely important, while others might find that same piece of news totally irrelevant. How people get their news also looks different; the use of social media has helped narrow down what kind of news you see based on what you like within your algorithm across platforms. 

Instagram 

Majority of my news comes from Instagram. Following my local news station as well as other influencers that share the news of things going on nearby, keeps me in the loop and informed with what's going on without having to turn on the tv. Because of my algorithm on Instagram, it shows me content based on what I interact with on a daily basis, the news I see usually relates to things that matter to me or impact my surroundings. It's a convenient way for me to stay informed no matter where I am. 

Apple News 

I also get some of my news from Apple News, usually when I want more detailed information about a larger story. It's convenient as the app is built in my phone so I don't have to do too much searching. It gives me full articles from different news outlets. 

My parents 

My parents are another major source of where I get my news from. The flow of everyday life as a college student can be full of many tasks and activities so checking the news isn't always something I just automatically go to or see. When I have my phone calls with my parents, they'll always catch me up on things I haven't seen and most of the time it's news pertaining to where I'm from but sometimes it's about things around campus or other states depending on how many it is. This keeps me in the loop without actively having to search for it.

 Source: FreePik

Friends

My friends are another way of hearing the news. Having conversations on campus sometimes includes talking about things they've seen on social media that I might have missed on social media. Usually this source of news isn't the same as the news that I'll receive from my parents. When important things happen, my friends will come and tell me, especially when I take breaks from social media which is a primary source of where my news come from. 

Google 

When I need quick information or want to learn more about something specific, I use Google. Searching allows me to get recent information about current events. The Google app sometimes sends notifications about trending news stories and sometimes if it's interesting to me or I want to learn more about it then I'll click it and start to skim over it. 

Instead of relying on traditional news sources like television or newspapers, I get my sources of news through social media, news apps, and conversations with my family and friends. These sources are easy access to my everyday life and allow me to stay updated while having a busy schedule, and I'm still able to stay aware of important events.