The Eye of the Beholder

I am currently reading Benjamin Franklin’s autobiography in digital form so this topic really hit home with me. I do not think that ease of access limits the quality of information or devalues the knowledge gained from it. Instead I believe that the easier information is attainable the better off  we all are. 

What is wrong with people being able to access information previously unavailable to them? Just because you can hold some artifact in your hand does not guarantee that you understand it any more than someone who has not seen it or touched it firsthand. If that were the case history experts would have no relevance unless they had touched the garments actually worn by Napoleon or held an original copy of the Iliad.  I agree with the writer of the article when he said asked the question about the view from the top of Mount Everest.  In the end who is to say which person thinks the view is more majestic, it is all subject to personal interpretation. 

I think that by giving more people access to limited information or artifacts perhaps more people will gain a greater appreciation of rare items and strive to see them in person and take a real concern over the preservation of them.  I believe that in order for humanity to continue advancing education must always be expanding, opening new doors and discovering new ideas.  We cannot find ourselves stuck in rut just to preserve the sanctity of research.

Wikipedia, My Guitly Pleasure

I loved this article and I personally use Wikipedia all the time. I like to go on there to get quick information on topics that randomly catch my attention. If I want to know the name of Flash’s rogues gallery or what planet Darth Revan is from there is no better source but I do understand why it cannot be used as a credible resource for academic research.

I often go to Wikipedia on topics I am having to research in order to give me some quick ideas. I like to use it as a launching pad for my research. I will usually take any information that I find relevant and do further research to gauge its level of credibility. I will also use the reference sites at the bottom of the page to search for further detail, although those sites must be carefully screened for credibility also.

I found it fascinating to learn about the ongoing battles behind the scenes from site editors about language, opinion, and credibility. I never gave much thought to the people behind the entries. I also enjoyed learning how the site itself was created using nothing more that wiki software and how it grew so rapidly after it was introduced. I found the information on how the site is monitored and edited interesting as well.

I know that a lot of people have strong feelings about Wikipedia but it should be seen for what it is, a fun site to go and get quick information on topics of interest without having to do a ridiculous amount of research.

A Great Cliffhanger

When reading Acts 2&3 I was reminded of Frankenstein’s monster. The way the creature felt abandoned by Victor is similar to how Eliza must have felt. She was a creation of someone else, no longer herself.  Even during Higgins and Eliza’s argument on page 76when refereeing to her he says, “The creature is nervous after all.”

Eliza felt used and less human that Higgins. She wanted to be happy again and be the person she wanted to be. She wanted to have a job, a happy life and fall in love. Instead she had been turned into something that had nothing. She was still the same poor girl she had been before but now she was educated, clean and “civilized”. She could not fit in with the upper class because she had no money but she could not go back to the lower class because she would have been seen as too snobby.

Higgins mother had warned him about this in Act 2 but he dismissed it with little care as to how this experiment would affect Eliza just as how Victor abandoned his creation. However unlike the monster Eliza had someone that had fallen for her, Freddy, waiting just outside her window. The monster had no one and hunted Victor to the ends of the earth to force him to make him a mate.

Not knowing what happens in Act 5 leaves the audience in a state of suspense after Act 4. Does Eliza find happiness, does Higgins realize the folly of his way. It’s a good “Empire Strikes Back” cliffhanger and I can’t wait to find out what happens next.