Reading Reflection No. 2

The book that I read for this exercise was Cognitive Surplus, by Clay Shirky.

·         What was the general theme or argument of the book?

Shirky, recognized that people are using their free time more to better themselves and the people that they interact with. Instead of using this time for sit around and eat chipotle and watch baseball, people have been using this time to showcase their knowledge and show other people this. This has been facilitated by how big the internet is. People are taking to the internet to showcase what they know and what they have come up with. Think about it you can find a YouTube video teaching you how to do anything from tying a tie to how to change your scooters carbonator.

·         How did the book, in your opinion, connect with and enhance what you are learning in ENT3003?

                       This book brought forth many interesting ideas. It showed that innovations since the printing press and the internet are helping society by connecting people's thoughts and their discoveries. For the most part this has benefited society (a cognitive Surplus). This greater connection between people helps facilitate business. For example a kite manufacturer posted 3D plans for a kite and they were contacted by a kite maker for the plans. This shows that in this highly connected society we can find oppurtunities anywhere. For example this can save the kite maker money form R&D by buying the rights to those plans from someone else. It showed that opportunities are all around us, we just have to look around.  

·         If you had to design an exercise for this class, based on the book youread, what would that exercise involve?

  I would make the students choose between: editing a Wikipedia page to expand on what is already there and add an actual section, create a Wikipedia page for themselves, or and make 3 original memes and post them to various meme sharing platforms or blogs (ifunny, I Can Has CheezeBurger, 4chan, 8chan), or make a 5-10 minute YouTube video either teaching them how to do something or giving your own analysis on a situation.

·        What was your biggest surprise or 'aha' moment when reading the book? In other words, what did you learn that differed most from your expectations?

The biggest ‘aha’ moment that I had when reading the book was when I read about what motivates us to express what we know and learn stuff online. It really connects with me. Shirky noted that people share what they know online to show a competence for the subject, and becoming part of the group that knows how to do that or shares the same beliefs. Which really hit me because I want to start a YouTube vlog about poker like how Doug Polk, and Andrew Neeme have.