"Did You Know 4.0"

Take a look at the video link below:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mmz5qYbKsvM

This video provides several examples on how technology affects the world we live in and how technological advances change the way we, as humans, live our lives. In this video, it says, "We are currently preparing students for jobs that don't yet exist... using technologies that haven't been invented... in order to solve problems we don't even know are problems yet." (0:45-0:56) How does that make you feel when you first read that? Are you scared? Proud? Maybe a little intimidated? Human technology is becoming so advanced that it can be intimidating but it is only growing faster and faster.

With all this in mind, how do you feel about what technology is doing to humans and to the world in which we live?

The Subaltern in American Culture

In many ways, especially in Western Culture, we like our heroes to be strong, so that we can better identify with them. However, in this novel, the real heroes, not in the traditional sense, are the underdogs, the underclass, those who we do not usually associate with power or heroism. We also mentioned in class that the book could be seen as an experiment in and of itself. How do you think the casting of the subalterns as the "heroes" or the "discoverers" lend to the unfolding of the novel and its overall suspense?