7.1 & DAEMONCptS 401

Adam Carter

Quiz QuestionThe following is true of Websites that practice democratic journalism:A. They display articles that are more factually

accurate than those on traditional journalism Websites

B. They give you easy access to those stories that are of personal importance to you

C. They make it easy to read news stories that are popular with other Website visitors

D. None of the aboveE. All of the above

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AnswerC.

See last paragraph of p. 351

Name some websites you visit that practice democratic journalism.

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QuestionAccording to your book, the following is a useful consideration in evaluating the extent to which you can trust the information on a Website: A. How recently was the information published

to the site?B. How many links to external websites are

included on the site?C. Who sponsors the Website? D. All of the aboveE. None of the above

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AnswerC.

See p. 355: “One good step is to determine who sponsors the site.”

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Quiz QuestionAccording to the book, critics of computers in the 1980s and 1990s argued that computersA. discourage deep thoughtB. discourage discussion with othersC. emphasize thinking based on quantifiable

entities, not judgment and valuesD. All of the aboveE. None of the above

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AnswerD.

See last full paragraph of p. 258.

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Quiz QuestionAccording to the book, the most modern computer models of climate change have the most difficulty handling the following:A. Diurnal variationB. TopographyC. AerosolsD. CloudsE. None of the above

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AnswerD. Clouds

“Much of the variation in model results comes from the still troublesome lack of full understanding of some of the effects of clouds" (p. 366, third paragraph). Diurnal variation and aerosols were mentioned as problems with the initial models, but they are now better handled

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Quiz QuestionAccording to the book, which of the following factors contributes to the accuracy of a computer model?A. How broad is the model’s coverage?B. How well understood is the science or theory

that underlies the model?C. How long does the model require to make a

prediction?D. All of the aboveE. None of the above

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AnswerB.

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Daemon!

Author Background Database systems analyst

Avid gamer

Computing Trends Strong push towards automation

Computing Trends Strong push towards automation Desire for hyper efficiency

Computing Trends Strong push towards automation Desire for hyper efficiency Consolidation of tech

Key Observations You don’t have to be alive to make

money

Key Observations You don’t have to be alive to make

money Rearranging a few key technologies in

interesting ways could have a dramatic impact on society

Opening Discussion Discuss general thoughts Who was your favorite / least favorite

character? What was your favorite scene?

Computing Systems In most SF or thrillers, humans often

battle against hyper-intelligent robots (e.g. Skynet). How does this compare to the story told by Daemon?

Social Responsibility How should we hold individuals

responsible for their actions? Example: the gun assembly scene In this scene, several individuals

anonymously work together in order to create a weapon. It is very likely that each individual has no idea what they are constructing.

Social Responsibility In the machine shop, a group of

engineers debate over the construction of deadly automobiles.

They end up building the machines using a justification similar to: “If we don’t do it, they’ll kill us and find someone else to build them”

Is this a valid argument?

Social Responsibility The fact that the government hides

essential information from the public is a central theme to the novel. How much of what we know is controlled?

Do we only know what we need to know?

Means to and End What, if any good has the Daemon

accomplished?

In order to achieve its goals, the Daemon appears to recruit mostly social misfits. Is this decision justifiable?

Means to and End In order to preserver the secrecy of the

Daemon, Pete Sebeck is executed by the government.

When is it okay to sacrifice a man's life for the greater good?

Can the government's agenda be considered the greater good?

Means to an End Will Sobol's daemon be better than the

political system that it is gradually replacing?

Slave Labor in the U.S. Before being liberated by the Daemon,

Mosley worked at a call center while in prison.

Is it ethical to essentially force prisoners to work for very low pay?

Misc Questions Much of the book is fantastic (not

realistic), however, what are some realistic parallels that stood out as you read.

Misc Questions At one point in the book, the FBI

suggests simply turning off the Internet. This idea didn't get very far.What are the potential repercussions for our

dependency and/or what would be a good back up plan?

And why couldn’t the internet be shut down? Who would stop it from shutting down? Why,

do you think?

Misc Questions In the book there are several instances

where different government agencies are discussing the situation at hand. They are not represented as an individual or individuals representing the group. What is the significance of portraying the agencies that way?

Misc Questions What is the significance of making Jon

Ross a non-U.S. citizen? Why was this hidden from us for so long?

Discussion Exercise: Printed vs. Online Newspapers (Clicker)7.8, p. 394: Some older people lament that most children now in elementary school will never read a printed newspaper. What will they miss? Is anything of significant personal or social value being lost? Overall, is the change good or bad?A: GoodB: BadC: Not sure

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Group Exercise7.13, p. 394: Come up with three questions whose answers you would need for a lifecycle analysis model comparing the environmental impact of juice boxes with the environmental impact of juice in bottles. Consider manufacture, transportation, use, and disposal. See Fig. 7.2 (p. 363) for inspiration.

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Discussion Exercise: Arithmetic in the Head vs. Using Computers (Clicker)

7.12, p. 394: Some people lament that young sales clerks cannot add up bills, compute sales tax, or calculate change when sales terminals aren’t working. To what extent have calculators and computers destroyed our ability to do arithmetic ourselves? Should we no longer teach arithmetic, and instead just teach calculators?

A: Don’t teach arithmetic anymore, only calculatorsB: Teach some arithmetic, but more calculator useC: Teach mostly arithmetic, but some calculator useD: Tech only arithmetic, and no calculator use

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