Profession

Within his short story, “Profession,” Isaac Asimov extensively examined western education and where he felt that it was leading our society. By strumming up a fanciful and yet tasteful science fiction tale, Asimov indiscreetly offered up a philosophical analysis on the value of original thought to his readers. Initially, Asimov painted the picture of a world where individual thought was discarded, and humans were treated as though they were merely machines.

Instead of taking the time to learn information the old fashioned way, doctors fed individuals all of the information needed to perform certain professions with a tape that resulted in retaining a lifetime of knowledge within a matter of a few mere minutes. As the story progressed, the main character George grew increasingly uncomfortable with this system and went out on an adventure where he would seek to challenge it. He wanted to encourage individuals to learn the old fashioned way, through books. The problem was that no one wanted to learn through books when they could easily retain knowledge from a tape.

I believe that the story made two specific arguments for and against Western education. In the most obvious sense, he stated that while advanced technology opens worlds of possibilities (such as universal networks of interconnected planets), but relying upon it makes the user increasingly lazy over time. In the story, George’s friend did not want to learn about new equipment because the instant tape that could teach him was not available to him. He rather lose the Olympics and a chance to go to Novia (for his dream job on a dream planet) than open a book and learn the hard way. This part of the book pointed directly to the point that I made above.

While Asimov made the point above, he fooled his audience by making it seem that individual thought was entirely unimportant and perhaps even unnecessary in this futuristic society. It was only at the end of the book when George’s acquaintances explained that he was special since he had the power for not only original thought, but had the mental capacity to comprehend and invent ingenious ideas. It was then that George was told that original thought was necessary to power the systematic educational system that he had witnessed for his entire life. Through the culmination of these two ideas, Asimov states that while original thought and intellectual exploration were the most respected and highest forms of learning, that mass production and a simplified system is necessary to move a society forward as a whole.

I happen to agree with both parts of Asimov’s thesis, although I do not think that it is fair. In today’s society it is entirely obvious that originality and genius are considered to be the most precious gifts. At the end of the day a novelist does not contribute as much to the maintenance of daily life as an electrician or a plumber. At the end of the day, an expressive artist is usually starving, because while his work may be ingenious and original, it does not support the maintenance of society. His paintings do not put food on anyone’s table, and it certainly doesn’t build houses. Ultimately this type of higher thinking is a luxury. We have seen this throughout history. First and foremost, the members of a society are mainly concerned with survival, maintaining food, shelter, and clothing. It is only after those needs have been met that they will take the leisure time to throw themselves into the appreciation or participation of higher learning and original thought. Take the Pax Romana as an example. Since the Roman’s basic needs were met, food was plentiful and wars were minimal. These favorable conditions gave Romans the opportunity to take leisure time in studying and advancing. This is why at this time we saw a surge in the discovery of knowledge and in the production of art.

Furthermore, I think that Asimov’s thesis is deeply related to my present life as a student. Although many students may not consider it this way, to study is a luxury. While at school I devote most of my time to intellectual exploration, and the rest of that time to sleeping, eating, partying, relaxing, and the like. I’m in a lucky position where my parents are paying for my education because they have made enough money to take care of the family’s visceral needs. And now make the investment in my future so that I too can one day afford to take care of a family’s visceral needs. While I am here, I am simply here. I do not need to worry about where my next meal is coming from and don’t have to think about fixing a leak in my roof. I don’t have to worry about fixing the heat. There are other people who are there to do those types of things for me. They are paid to do them and they do them all day long. The man who makes the school food and who fixes the buildings is busy doing his work and does not have the leisure time to pursue original thought. Regrettably, there are more maintenance men than there are philosophizing men; this is because in order for someone to have the ability to foster creativity another man must pick up his slack to support the basic structure of the community. This is a simple fact of life that has existed since the Neolithic revolution when the first towns were invented.

Deck the Halls with Narsocism

Now that the holidays are coming up, people are scrambling to find the best gifts for their loved ones. In traditional self-absorbed behavior many people are asking for gifts based upon their Facebook information. In order to fill this need, a new company has emerged. Ninuku Archivist is now cornering the market on the world’s most egotistical gift. They are offering a service that, or a fee, Ninuku Archivist will compile the incredibly unimportant and self indulgent information from a person’s Facebook page. After collecting a sufficient amount of life altering information, the service will create “chapters” which can easily be printed out and turned into a book.
The service is incredibly convenient and can even be accessed by joining the group on your Facebook.

This gift is successful in displaying just how narcissistic society has become. It has become so severe that no long photo albums or scrap books will fill our need for our own self worship. Now we need a printable version of all of the incredible gems of wisdom we type into our statuses. It will be such an asset to have these printed copies of pictures of us drunk at frat parties, and taking self portraits in our mirrors. Heaven forbid we forget the times we “liked” comments, and beat our friends on Farmvile.



http://www.digitaltrends.com/social-media/turn-your-facebook-into-an-actual-book-with-ninuku-archivist/


http://technabob.com/blog/2010/11/26/ninuku-archivist-facebook-book/

The Greatest Prank Ever.

As a former employee of an independent coffee shop, I have encountered dozens of people in their “café offices.” These are the people who come into a coffee shop and spend hours using the establishment’s free wifi. As an employee who works on tips, these people were the bane of my hourly wage existence. Sitting for hours, taking up space, and ordering one $3.50 latte is not helping me pay my tuition. While my job depended upon my patience of this, I have found a significantly satisfying cure. A comedic performance group, “Improv Everywhere” launched a running prank called “Mobile Desktop.”



This prank was composed having people enter Starbucks locations with large desktop computers and setting up as one would with a laptop. They brought the desktop monitors, modems, keyboards, speakers, and mouse. The Improve Everywhere members ordered coffees in order to secure their patron status and set up around the store. The reactions of the staff members as well as other customers were that of shock and confusion. Without believing this was a stunt, the customers and staff believed this was a new trend. After being questioned about it, they said they didn’t understand the point of bringing an entire desktop computer with you to a café.

This prank proves just how reliant everyone is on technology. The fact that an obviously ridiculous prank can be misinterpreted as a new trend shows just how blindly the world yields to “technological advances.” We are a generation enslaved by the new ipod or playstation. We need the next new thing in technology simply because it is the next new thing. The advances in the new versions of the products are minimal but never the less, they must be purchased. This prank not only satisfied my vengeance for idle nontipping laptop users, but also revealed just how influential technology is on society today.

The Profession..Thesis for the termination of Free Will?

The “Profession” by Isaac Asimov depicts the struggle of individual living in a communal society and world. The main character George resented the “Olympics” because of its overall intent of examining the ability of the each individual process of attaining knowledge, in other words IQ They are taught to read at the age of eight and then educated at the age of eighteen. The choice of professional specialty is decided by the analysis of the brain; the recipients have no choice in the matter. They are assigned roles and expected to pursue the specific careers they have been given. The best of the educated people compete in the “Olympics”, in hopes of being "bought" by an advanced Outworld. Being bought represents the advantage of being shipped to the highly advanced planet called Outworld and working with those who are just as smart if not smarter.

Earth has become a centralized society were children are educated by an almost instantaneous direct computer/brain interface, a process referred to as taping. Despite the odds against him George is determined to become a computer programmer, and hopes to qualify for "export" to an Outworld. On Reading Day and Education Day, which are the days when individuals are allowed to test their ability. However, concerns are raised about George's ability to be educated and he is told that his brain is unfit for any form of Education. He is sent to a House for the Feeble Minded. Determine to find a solution he embarks on a journey in search of truth. To his surprise he finds that people who are deem feeble, hold a wealth of knowledge that provides access to those whom their society deems qualified.



The main premise of the story is the conflict of eliminating free will and total control of the individual based on what is “best” for everyone. I believe that today’s society is completely different; because America is a capitalist society that thrives on the ambition of the individual. In American society “what is best for everyone”, is each individual working towards a goal and in the process of them bettering themselves they better society. Not all places around the world are like this, some promote a communal existence in every aspect. I personally would disagree with 65th century Earth and 21th century American society. I believe that a balance is needed; too much of either neglects the essences of human interaction, and individuality. One must be conscience of self yet be relevant for others.

Profession

I believe that this story, "Profession", is saying that electronics and technology are taking over our society and that the ‘old ways’ of education are becoming less prevalent. Of course this story is an extreme exaggeration and embellishment but it gets a point across. Our society relies so much on technology that often people do not know how to function without it. In the story the profession the ability to read does not come about as a learning process but it is an ability that is infused into people with a machine. The same goes for education. People do not actually learn. They are provided with the knowledge about a given subject and their education is never furthered. In a sense this is true today. People learn differently these days. We are ‘programmed’ to learn through technology. With the world at our fingertips, via the internet, its not as necessary to learn as it use to be. We are able to find whatever it is we need to know in an instant. This is not real knowledge, it is unable to be built upon. For example, my public health class requires that we take exams online. This allows us to look up answers while we are testing. To many college students this means there is no need to learn. You can get the answer through technology. This is like in “Profession”. An individual is infused with a specific type of knowledge but is unable to build upon it. They do not learn in the traditional way. Although I believe that technology is continuing to ‘take over our lives’, it will never be as extreme as in “Profession“. I do not believe that a computer analysis will ever determine our professional careers.


I do not believe that education will ever be so single tracked that other or continued learning will be improbable and looked at as crazy. I feel that learning will always occur through books and remain facilitated by technology. Sometimes technology plays a bigger role in learning than others, but learning will always occur through ‘traditional’, or as called in “Profession” ancient ways. I also do not believe that ones profession will be chosen in such a way. A person is able to direct their mind. If he or she wishes to study and excel in science they can do so but if they wish to study history they can do that as well. The “Profession” points out that ones brain is set at birth. This is not true. The brain is an impressionable thing and can be altered through knowledge and experiences.


Although learning through technology is a great tool it is not sufficient. People may think that it is all you need in order to progress and be successful in life but I disagree. I think it takes real knowledge to become something. Knowledge is necessary to create and be innovative. This is the lesson that George learned at the end of the story. Although having a specialization is desirable in the story, it is the people who receive no profession that are essentially the most valuable.

Grande Vinilla Latte Please!

Wherever I am in the country I know I can walk into a Starbucks and feel at home. I order the same tall vanilla latte and am surrounded by Starbucks’ familiar green and white logo. After I place my order and the employees work together in the same systematic way and my drink slides across the counter--just right every time.

The warmth of my late is always there when I need it most, but I have never put much though into its background. The other day I was standing in line waiting to place my order when I started thinking about the magic of Starbucks. I know that Starbucks started out as a simple coffee shop in Seattle Washington and became a worldwide sensation, but I wanted to know more.

I decided to contact a friend who has worked as a Starbucks manager for the last four years. He explained Starbucks’ data system that has allows each coffee shop to work in the familiar manner that we all know. “Our data allows us to staff accordingly for each workday. For example, if it’s a holiday I will look at the amount of staff we used the year before, and can staff accordingly to the statistics from the year before” Jon explained. As for drinks they also supply accordingly to their weekly sales data. “Our data makes or lives a lot simpler, we know what to expect and are never through off course for the most part. We know what our customers like and know which drinks sell the fastest at what seasons of the year.”

The reason Starbucks has become so successful is because they don’t just have one type of coffee—they cater to everyone’s need. I know I have heard some of the longest, most bazaar coffee orders while standing in line at Starbucks, but that’s what the customer wants—a personalized coffee. Starbuck’s data has allowed them to understand their customers every need. Maybe every business would be so successful if they gave their customers a verity of choices that suited everyone.

Technology and The 19th Century

Telegraph system was original invented without electricity. It was a system of semaphores, and other signaling apparatus, set within physical sight of one another. Samuel F. B. Morse conceived of an electromagnetic telegraph in 1832 and constructed an experimental version in 1835. Morse and his partners Leonard D. Gale and Alfred Vail created a model electric telegraph which transmitted patterned "dot" and "dash" pulses over a wire. He did not construct a truly practical system until 1844, when he built a line from Baltimore to Washington, D.C. The first message via telegraph in the United States, "What hath God Wrought?" Shortly after this successful test, telegraph lines were erected to connect the major eastern and northern cities. This invention profoundly affected the development of the West. It was an important discovery and helped make railroad travel safer, and allowed businessmen to conduct their operations more profitably. This invention helped change the world because it brought about the invention of the Morse code. This made the telegraph a major asset to the military, being used first at Varna during the Crimean War in 1854. It was widely used in the American Civil War, where rapid deployment techniques for land-lines were developed; the Spanish-American War found the first use of telegraphy for newspaper correspondents (1898). The first military use for radio telegraphy was during the Russo-Japanes War in 1904 – 5. I often wonder how did the inventor come up with these idea and what was it about their society that they felt needed to change? I know I have a lot of suggestion that I think would better our society in the 21th century but I wouldn’t know where to start! Would you?


http://inventors.about.com/od/indrevolution/a/telegraph_2.htm
http://web.mit.edu/invent/iow/morse.html
http://www.telegraph-history.org/samuel-morse/signature.html

"The Profession" Written By Isaac Asimov: What He Got Wrong and the Growing Market for Personal Devices in the Educational Sector

The story Nine Tomorrows portrays a world society where author Isaac Asimov fears that technology, specifically computers, will control society and hinder education. He believes that technology will educate people “effortlessly” with computer programs. He is also concerned that reading textbooks will become absolute, which in his eyes is a dramatic program without education. I strongly agree that technology has changed the way students obtain information. Students that have papers due use websites such as Google Scholar and rarely use actual textbooks. Isaac Asimov also believes that using technological innovation for education is detrimental to the educational process; he is concerned that people will not obtain information from books. I completely disagree with him and believe the complete opposite. Finding information online is a much quicker process compared to sorting through textbooks to find information one may need. Personally, over the past four years in college I can count on one hand how many times I actually used a textbook for a research paper, excluding paper topics stemming directly from the textbooks required by the professor.

Educational institutions across the country are evaluating the amount of money that is wasted on purchasing hard copies of textbooks, as well as the educational value that they can bring. Not only are they more expensive, but also using electronic books makes it much easier for students to complete the readings. The state of California is one example of public school systems that have switched from standard textbooks to electronic versions. Using electronic books is the foundation of how technology is going to change the concept of schooling throughout the nation. This will make the education system less expensive and more efficient.

Universities throughout the country have been evaluating the educational benefits of supplying their students with devices such as the Iphone and Ipad. Seton Hill University in Greensburg Pennsylvania began supplying their students with Apple’s Ipad in September 2010. The Ipad allows students to download versions of their textbooks, take notes and share files. I believe this is only the tip of the iceberg when it comes to colleges and universities supplying their students with comparable technologies. Over the next couple of years as the economy becomes stronger and endowments are replenished from pre 2008 levels more Universities are going to implement similar programs to enhance their students’ educational experiences.

I think that Isaac Asimov made some very good predictions and was very accurate with a lot the assumptions that were made. The problem that I have with his theories is that he views the innovations in computers and technology as a negative rather then a positive. The innovation in technology over the past fifty years has been incredible. Technology has made it much easier for people to acquire information, which is opposite to what Asimov said would occur when people stopped reading books. Personally, I am much more knowledgeable of the world and financial information because of applications that I can download and access on my cell phone.

I believe that it is safe to say that the advancement in computers and personal devices that have occurred over the past few years is only going to increase. It will be crucial for companies like Google, Microsoft and Apple to release products that are incredibly innovative in order to maintain their strong market position. I believe that over the next few years the market for these devices will begin to trickle into the educational sector. Companies will even begin creating software and special features specially intended for educational use. It is market that is not fully capitalized, where there is a lot of room for growth.

DATA Fuels Inventions And Life

In today’s advanced world with technology and marketing where ever we go, the most underappreciated and valuable part of our system is: DATA. All decisions we make and events we choose to observe involve data.

Data is used every day by companies and people. Data helps a company determine how much of a product they need to stock based on the previous sales data. A person will check the weather and watch the news. Believe it or not, weather and news services are all providing data. Weather and news is data, also known as content.

When it comes to an insurance company setting rates, they must sort through millions and millions lines of data to determine the best rate for a group of people within a given demographic.

Data can be more than just simply making a decision. Data can be used to create phenomenal inventions that have significantly changed our society and how actions are taken. For example, it has changed how we deal with medical issues and emergencies, and has even helped with the development of robotics.

In terms of medical issues and emergencies data has been funneled into computer systems within databases and has allowed medical professionals to quickly input symptoms of a patient and determine a diagnosis. It has also allowed research teams to come together and determine further causes of various diseases and to come closer to solving them. Data has allowed us to even start to understand the DNA code.

From the video, Robot Evolution, these robotic devices are created that are able to jump around. They may be simple right now, but as Data is pulled together, these devices are able to become much more advanced. Simply, by incorporating more and more data into the main system of these robots we are able to allow a robot to look up a condition, and then respond to a condition in accordance with the instructions of the data.

In the documentary of IDEO, Innovation through data analysis, this is a prime example of how analysis of enormous amount of data has led people to not only see the world in a different light, but to also experience the world in a different way. IDEO invents almost 90 new products every year, of these products most help make our lives significantly easier.

IDEO sits down in focus groups and plans new products based on what is going on in the world. Taking all this information and determining what people need and want, and putting it all together to make products that make our lives easier significantly changes everything.

The computer was derived from simple concepts of trying to for example, decrypt codes. But eventually it turned into an advanced system that allows us to communicate, do business, purchase items, and so much more. Computers have literally changed how the world works for us. We can order a product from the comfort of our home and not talk to one person.

Loads of data and research has come together to create these tools and inventions that have improved our lives and changed our world.

Organic Food Craze

Americans are becoming more and more concerned about the use of pesticides, growth hormones and chemicals in the process of growing their foods. They are choosing farmers market produce, joining CSAs, and buying organic meat, dairy and grain products at the grocery store. Restaurants are also reacting to the organic demand by offering meals that are made with organic ingredients.

Is organic food all that it is cracked up to be health-wise, or are we consumers spending our money under false pretenses? This debate will run and run and we will ultimately make our own decision, but these decisions are heavily influenced by facts about the food that we eat. While the health benefits may have been exaggerated by some, it makes sense that something grown organically will be good for us. There is enough data out there that supports this- many tests have been run in the past and there is concrete evidence to back this up. It is clear that the craze for Organic food makes it one of the fastest-growing groups in the food industry today, to the extent that Organic foods are costing more than double the price of our usual foods and may end up hurting some household budgets. Because of multi-million dollar advertising campaigns, the consumer believes that organic food is healthier for you. Also, there are a number of talk shows or programs on TV that will always have some nutritionist come on TV and talk about what organic foods us consumers need to be buying in order to be healthy. There are also many books on organic food, internet websites, etc. This certainly affects our decision-making when it comes to food shopping. We have now become obsessed with the “nutrition facts” and how much saturated fat something has or what ingredients we should look out for that can be harmful to us, etc. There are also always new reports on the news about what food may harm us, or which foods promote weight gain and we get to the point where we think: Everything is bad for us! So we are spending all of our money on organic food, because the media is telling us to and because there are enough reports to show that farming organically is good for both our bodies and our planet.

I personally do not make my decisions based on all this information because I like to eat what I want- however, it does kind of scare me sometimes and I will think twice or quickly take a look at the “nutrition facts”. But it doesn’t impact me to the point where I will not buy something just because it has something “bad” for you in it.

Pepsi or Coke?

So which of the two is really the best tasting soft drink Pepsi or Coke? Is there anything substantially different that truly sets them apart? And which one do the people truly prefer?


This competition has been going on for some time now, since the 1970s to be exact. There was a national campaign created for the sole purpose of proving once and for all which brand was the best. Pepsi started the whole thing in 1975 with their Pepsi Challenge ad campaign. Pepsi was somewhat of the “new kid on the block” as far as its national appeal. However, it is a part of a company that was established back in1907. Coke has been up and running since 1887. Pepsi faced extreme low going bankrupt and really need so remarket to turn the company right side up again. Coke also went through various remarket to stay afloat. The battle was a market strategy Pepsi ran with to raise their consumption sales. When the actual result came back most of the people could not tell the difference between the two, taste wise. The diehard Pepsi and Coke drink were also thrown for a loop, finding they were unable to distinguish the sodas. It was only when the people knew which brand they were drinking from, they could state their preference. Coke showed up more as a preference for many due to previous feelings about the band. It had been around longer and many people described a sort of nostalgic feeling when they had one. Nonetheless, the sales for Pepsi continued to increase, despite the data. So had Pepsi gradually become Americans favorite soft drink? Or was it their skillful advertisement that shifted the majority vote! Pepsi finally proved that it was American’s favorite after increasing sales over the years playing on many of the opinions expressed towards Coke via advertisement.

source:: http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/237023/pepsi_vs_coke_the_battle_of_a_century_pg2.html?cat=71

Data Influences Decision Making

In the case of IDEO, data influences decision making in how they innovate for their new products. They have people from many different areas of expertise and study, such as biology, engineering, business, linguists, marketing experts, psychologists, and much more. They use all of their personal information from their areas of study to their full advantage when brainstorming ideas for their successful products. They do all of their research on things, such as the revamping of a shopping cart, and knowing that when it gets windy out, a shopping cart has been clocked at 35 MPH. With this data, they decided to use a completely different type of structure for the shopping cart so that if it does hit into your car, there can be minimal damage done. They also look at the danger factors that shopping carts pose to children who go shopping with their parents, and what they could do to minimize those dangers to children. This danger concern was brought to their attention by data presented by one of the women who made it important to know that many children are hospitalized from accidents with shopping carts while their parents are too busy looking for their items. Another thing that IDEO looked at in this example was the rate of theft for shopping carts-who knew that shopping carts would be stolen anyway. Because they used shopping baskets in the new design, stealing the cart would be useless because you can’t use it without the baskets, which would be collected after your items are bagged and hung on the hooks that surround the frame of the cart.

IDEO harbors the use of data to make their decisions in their company and look at all of their options before making the best decision, they weigh out the benefits for each thing and actually vote on what they think is the best. They use all of their minds and put them together to make the best product with all of their resources. The use of everyone’s ideas from the top prototypes for shopping carts, provided a completely different outlook on grocery shopping for everyone. They took the preconceived notion of what we would say to be a “normal” shopping cart and turned it into a completely different look, and idea on shopping. By taking into account all of the data that they were presented with, such as crowds in the store, they were able to show how grocery shopping doesn’t really have to be so stressful like it usually seems. Having the ability of leaving the cart behind and going through your desired aisle with a basket allows for less crowded aisles and happier people, because they won’t be waiting for some inconsiderate person to move their bulky carriage out of the way or get bumped into by one because the soccer mom was rushing to get to her kids game. There is one drawback of this though – what if someone decides that they see your cart unattended and they are a huge asshole and steal some of your merchandise out of the baskets?

As a whole I think that data always influences decision making especially when it is provided in bulk. Another example of this could be the Holocaust. Sounds crazy I know, but the amount of data provided to the Germans to turn against the Jews during this time was unaccountable. Propaganda was everywhere and it drastically changed the view that Germans previously saw when they looked at Jews. In my opinion the data that was provided was absolutely absurd from what I have learned in my seminar, and the fact that views were changed so drastically without question to these accusations is beyond me.

Suicide Streamed Live on Ustream

A 24 year old man in Japan posted on his Ustream account that he was going to kill himself the following week. Many people were commenting on his post saying things like "Do it right now" and "is this a joke?". Just this Friday Japanese authorities reported he had indeed committed suicide, after receiving 911 calls from the viewers watching the Ustream. Sociologists states that "social media has created new challenges in fighting societal problems such as suicide". Japan is one of the leading nations when it comes to high rates of suicide."Every year almost thirty thousand Japanese kill themselves" CNN reporter Kyung Lah



It is such a surprise to see social media having an even more negative effect of society psychologically. This story also makes me wonder how is it that people can really watch something like a suicide...live?

Could it be that it is not social media but our society that propels, controls, and utilize social media in a manner that creates this kind of medium in which people feel they can commit suicide live via internet?
How sad it is to come to the realization that reality is so skewed in this day and age that the people watching the Ustream were not sure if it was even actual footage?

Lah states that situations like this depict a acute shift in society's notion of privacy especially among young people of our generation. Assistant Professor Aucouturier of Temple university states that this is going to change our lives in the future, specifically "the issue of what is acceptable to broadcast" and how important other people's opinions are.



It is beyond disappointing that someone who needed help reached out via social media and no one took him seriously. We need to come up with better strategies that help us realize and fully comprehend how close we are to one another thanks to social media. So that things like this do not occur again. I think it is fair to assume that a post or comment on social media sites is almost as good as a phone call conversation. My experiment two weeks ago is a testimony to that. It is just as much our responsibility to survey what goes on social media sites, as it is the responsibility of those who provide on host the sites for us. Especially, if it can help us help someone else.

Source:
http://www.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/asiapcf/11/12/japan.suicide.broadcast/index.html

"The mind knows not what the tongue wants"

If I told you that data is the critical tool in how industries make you consume and saturate the markets with products. You most likely would say "no shit Sherlock". However, if I told you this, you wouldn't think that data is the tool to make people happy. A tool to horizontally reach demographics and create new business strategies and marketing styles.That one way of using data allows for organizations or companies to make people happy by giving them "something expensive, something to inspire to, to make them turn their back on what they think like now...". However, on a horizontal scale industries can use data to discern that there is the different kinds of mustard for different kinds of people. Data can demonstrate patterns and trends allowing industries to transform from good-to-great as Jim Collins says. Data can allow industries to change their tactics, and approach to a consumer base. It can dictate how research and development begins to progress for future product lines. Data is everything boys and girls. But enough generalities I will give some example to demonstrate my point. While watching the online video of Malcolm Gladwell he articulates how data can change corporate strategy. He illustrates how data can eliminate universals thus leading to horizontal market saturation. That horizontal saturation is a product from understanding data. That data showed it was worth wild and their was the ability to foster growth through the understanding of variables and veritably. He explains this by telling the story of Howard Moskowitz. Who is most famous for re-inventing tomato sauce.

Howard Moskowitz was approached by Pepsi. His task was to find the best diet Pepsi between 12% and 8% band of aspatain. After the data came in Howard realized that the data was a mess. While prior to Howard most corporations would just take an educated guess and market based off it. However, Howard suggested and in fact did break the data down into clusters and realized that the data showed something interesting. He realized that the question wasn't whats the best "pepsi", rather the question is what are the best "pepsis".

He then was approached to consult for vlasic and showed how they needed to be looking for the perfect pickles. He told vlasic they needed to not only improve their normal pickles but create a zesty pickle. Then he began to consult for campbells soup. He told them they needed to categorize and vary the sauces. He said they needed to vary them "according to every conceivable way that you can vary tomato sauce. By sweetness, by level of garlic, by tartness, by sourness, by tomatoey-ness, by visible solids." Then he took all the tomato sauces on the road to New York, Chicago, Jasksonville, and Los Angeles. Then he gave ten bowls of tomato sauce to people over a 2 hour period, after which they rated the sauces from 0 to 100. Once he had the data he didn't' look for one point of popularity, rather he looked at all the clusters and attempted to sort the clusters into marketable segments.

He realized Americans fell into three groups: sauce plain, sauce spicy, and sauce extra chunky. And of all three facts the third was the most significant. Specifically because in the 1980s you would not find extra chunky tomato sauce. Prego (campbell) said to Howard" you telling me that one third of Americans crave extra-chunky spaghetti sauce and yet no one is servicing their needs." To which Howard replied in the affirmative. So Prego went back reformulated their tomato sauce. After they released their extra-chunky tomato sauce it took over the spaghetti sauce industry.

"And over the next ten years they made 600 hundred million dollars off the line of extra-chunky sauces." Howard's astute idea of perfect pepsis, pickles, etc in combination with his poignant examination of data demonstrated that horizontal was the way of the future. People all over the industry realized that their approaches were all wrong. The other food corporation began to emulate this tactic to promote and stimulate growth. For example there were "14 different kinds of mustard, 71 different kinds of olive oil..."

Now you why is that important? It is important because "Howard fundamentally changed the way the food industry thinks about making you happy." It dispelled "assumption number one in the food industry." It "used to be that the way to find out what people want to eat--what will make people happy--is to ask them." However, the focus groups Prego and Ragu did for years did not reflect the data mostly because "people don't know what they want." Malcolm Gladwell quotes a phrase Howard loves to say: "The mind knows not what the tongue wants."

Howard made people realize they don't know what they want. To which Malcolm demonstrates (with some deal of levity) discussing how people really like their coffee versus how they request and say they like their coffee. Secondly Howard demonstrated the importance of horizontal segmentation. He dispelled the traditional practice of using data. It dispelled the notion that to make people happy you had to do it by giving them "something expensive, something to inspire to, to make them turn their back on what they think like now...". His deconstruction of the vertical model, and his vehement illustration of how all mustards, tomato sauces and so on existed on a horizontal plane. Thus eliminating the notion that "there is no good mustard, or bad mustard. There is no perfect mustard, or imperfect mustard." Howard asserts that "there are only different kinds of mustards that suit different kinds of people" Howard "fundamentally democratized the way we think about taste."

The third thing Howard did (articulated by Malcolm) was the deconstruction of the "notion of the platonic dish." He dissolved the idea that there is a perfect way to make a dish. He, Howard, eliminated the ought to be mentality in the food industry all from an examination of data. Howard's use and examination of data changed how the entire food industry operated and produced products. Howard broke the traditional methods thus created growth and development for an industry. He asserted that you should not use the data to attempt to find the "one thing" that a large amount want. Rather he suggested that the industry examine the data and find different varieties of a good that covered everyone in the market, for total saturation.

It's All We Know

There are surveys and questionnaires given to people all the time so researchers could get a better understanding of what it is people want and like. The more information we have and get, the easier it is to make decisions based on that, right? So you would think. However, I think the more information you have, the harder it is to analyze and really get the gist of it what it is you really have. Researchers do test all the time. What I find very interesting is how some researchers know their subjects are confronted with clearly differentiated alternatives before they take certain test or take different surveys. I read Malcolm Gladwell’s book, Blink, over the summer. In it, he talked about trying to get certain ideas and images in participants’ heads before taking a test or survey. For example, some of the subjects watched negative videos and listened to negative words, while other subjects watched positive videos and listened to positive words. This impacts the way people think and make decisions because of what the last thing they were thinking about was. And what makes people associate certain ideas with other ideas is previous data as well. Data and statistics, the numbers, are proof and sometimes that’s all people need to believe something and that always impacts the way people make decisions.

In one of my classes we looked at a lot of data and statistics about racism. When I look at things like residential segregation, class inequality, and occupational stratification there is an enormous amount of data about these things and a lot of times, they’re one-sided. For example, blacks tend to live in poor neighborhoods so when we pass by a poor neighborhood and see blacks, it seems normal. We seem the same patterns in this world and we’ve learned accept them because to us, that’s just the way the world works. What we read, hear, or learn from experience is what we tend to believe because that’s what we know and at the end of the day everything goes back to the data analysis that researchers come up with.


http://www.ted.com/talks/malcolm_gladwell_on_spaghetti_sauce.html

http://portal.acm.org/citation.cfm?id=628027

4 Ways that Data Analysis has Enhanced Societal Efficiency

1.) Population Skepticism: The ease with which large amounts of data can be compiled, analyzed and the results made readily available for the public, has added to the issues of trust that exist between the general public and the media. Results of data analysis are used frequently to prove a point due to how readily they can be obtained. Not all are legitimate, and the result is that people are beginning to critique data analysis more and more before they accept it as legitimate information. People can refine their searches and gain more accurate information.

2.) Science: Science as we know it would be nowhere near as successful as it is today, without the ability to store large amounts of data and analyze them quantitatively via the computing technology available to modern laboratories. Websites like PubMed and the National Center for Biotechnical Information allow for input of information and analysis of results almost within seconds. You can determine the evolutionary distance between species by typing the nucleotide sequence of a gene into a search engine, and in less than a minute, you can compare it with sequences found in the genomes of other species.

3.) Business: Corporations thrive when their commodity is in demand, and they are making a profit. The ability to quantitatively determine what exactly is in demand is an enormous resource for modern corporations. To be able to provide consumers with what they want helps business. Today, there are records of purchases by online buyers; there are surveys that specifically ask people what they like and do not like about a product. The ability to analyze results allows for greater profit based on customer satisfaction. This allows for greater efficiency in a McDonaldized society…increasing the profits of our most efficient corporations.

4.) Knowledge: Access to statistics regarding experiences, purchases, product satisfaction and disease diagnostics across populations, has given rise to a more cautious population. People take more time to “google” Honda vs Hyundai, or check out ConsumerReports before they decide which car to buy. He who is experiencing right upper quadrant abdominal pain, can research scientific journals or type his symptoms into WebMd before he deems it necessary to go to the hospital. With WebMd’s ability to refine search results from the multitude of medical cases in its’ database, the patient can get a better idea as to the severity of his illness.

People enjoy feeling like they are part of the majority. They like to compare themselves to others, because that is an aspect of human nature. One gains perspective as to where they stand in society. By quantitatively understanding the norms and experiences of the rest of the population, one can gage his actions with more confidence. More thinking takes place in the world of data processing, before actions are taken.

Not all results of data processing advancements are positive. But, one thing is for sure. Without the ability to compute large amounts of data for quantitative analysis, society would not be where it is today.

The Meaning and Impact of Data: From Individuals to Companies

Decision-making is a process of exploring the possibilities, and merging with a group or themselves in order to come up with a solution. Using data to make a decision can be explained in numerous ways.  Corporations, schools, students, teachers, scientists, researchers, innovation teams, and individuals use data to make decisions every day.  Making a decision based on data is common for everyone that is human.  We make decisions from what we read, write, see, and hear.

In dealing with the question of, how enormous amounts of data leads people to change their concept of how the world works involves sources like the media, press, and face-to-face conversations. Making sense of data and information to make a decision is in our human nature.  Some examples of the decision that we make are weather reports seen on TV, the prices of what food is in grocery stores, what school to go to, and what doctor to see.  Using the information that is available to us guides us through life.  During our days as humans we can decide not to deicide, and make decisions that we think are sometimes right and wrong.   

Thinkers and feelings are two categories of what kind of decision maker someone is.  A thinker may use things such as there reason, logic, and objectives in order to make a decision.  In order for a feeler to make a decision they use their, heart, and values.  This relates to the specific data that an individual chooses to believe or use.    

In the business culture data and decision-making is a very important skill to have not only to help others but individuals that are making a decision.  This brings up the topic of problem solving within a business, and a lot of the time this is put on the CEO, management, and team leaders.  In a professional environment using data to problem solve and make a decision requires recognizing the task at hand.  In a business and corporation it is important not to make decisions that will hurt the company. Sociology of Management, a current course I am taking discusses how good corporations make decisions that help and at times hurt a business. How the Mighty Fall, by Jim Collins one of he required books for class explains decision making and how data/information from successful and unsuccessful companies can help other corporations succeed. Decisions making has two major stages, problem identification and problem solutions.  Problem identification is “information about environmental and organizational conditions that are monitored to determine if performance is satisfactory in order to diagnose the cause of shortcomings, while the problem solution is a stage where alternative courses of action are considered and one alternative is selected and then implemented”.  How does this relate to the topic of how data leads people to change notions of how the world works?  Well, to make a decision in business there are steps that need to be taken to insure that the right decision is made. 

Data is collected from several parts of a company in order to hire the right people in order to put the right people in charge. Data is also collected to show and give other businesses a format to follow when hiring the right people. This is seen in a study done by Jim Collins, in How the Mighty Fall.  He describes two companies, Hewlett Packer (HP) and International Business Machines (IBM).  Both companies hire new CEO’s in order to achieve excellence after the corporations have fell tremendously in the early 1990’s.  HP hired Carly Fiornia, because the board at HP wanted a powerful, glamorous, exciting and celebrity leader.  In 1999, right before Fiornia was hired she was announced as the most powerful woman, right above Oprah Winfrey.  Fiornia did not succeed the expectations of the company because even though she was so powerful she didn’t use the right techniques and steps.  Fiornia made rash and fast decisions that helped the company in the short-run, but then hurt HP in the long run.  She was too busy with creating new slogans, and attracting media such as The Wall Street Journal, and even did a TV commercial.  She was eventually fired because the company began to fall.  In contrast to HP, the newly hired CEO of IBM, Louis V. Gerstner wanted to first concentrate on the task at hand and began to meet with management face-to-face to collect data in order to organize a plan for success.  He took a much different approach then Fiornia where his priorities revolved around basic activities, such as making sure the right people were in key seats.  He wanted to “regain profitability, increase cash flow, and put the costumer back at the center of everything” (Collins).  He took a much more pedestrian method, and declined to many interviews, and stories that media wanted to do on him because he saw that it would hurt the company and take it off track. 

When compared to Fiornia, and asked why he didn’t feel a sense of crises? He stated, “I have a sense of urgency that never changes whether we’re doing well or poorly.”  This is the right way to do things because he saw the large picture of things, while Fiornia didn’t.  In conclusion Gerstner increased profitability by slow and gradual change, while Fiornia used a more erratic pattern of change that did not work.    

This is just one example of many that show how data can change the way people’s notions of the world; in this case it was a company atmosphere.  Reviewing data, forming hypothesis, and creating the right plans of action helps not only companies but also every day people in society.  Both IBM and HP wanted to become great companies and they hired new CEO’s to help them do this.  Both companies collected data and information that helped them succeed and not succeed.  When a company fails the blame cannot only be put on the CEO’s/ leader but it is the data that the board of that company used.  Data is used to move toward a goal of creating positive change, and the decisions from that data can also be unsuccessful.
Why Data Matters

Innovation, invention, and implementation are also aspects within a company where data.  These are three aspects that companies use to become an effective and powerful force.  In order to become a successful competitor in the corporation world, companies must take risks, accept failure and work from their failures, and get everyone from small employees to large to participate in plans and implement them.  It is a company as a whole, and not just one person that collects data that they see important.  Getting the whole company involved in data collection is very important in decision-making because it is a deciding factor of a successful corporation.