our dark patterns

Huh.  I publish a post about technology that affects all of you by routinely cheating you and your family out of money.  And the post gets SEVENTEEN page views?  Ignorance is expensive.  Hope you have it to spare.

january 29

Today is Cake Wednesday, and I would rather get you paid than risk getting you sick, so hack this topic and write.  If you have questions or need clarification, you can collaborate with friends (making sure of course that what you turn in is original and uniquely yours) or comment to this post.  Use the journal as a pre-write.  I look forward to reading your work! -dp

JOURNAL TOPIC:
What would you do if someone paid you $500 to write your next essay?  What type of incentive would motivate you to do your best work?  What if the essay prompt asked you to think about ways to help your friends manage conflict using four questions: Is it the truth?  Will it build goodwill and better friendship?  Is it fair to all concerned?  Will it be beneficial to all concerned (will everyone get something positive out of it)?  Think about a way that you can help friends have a good argument (the search for truth we've been talking about all year) that answers each of these questions.

AGENDA:
1. Journal
2. Write THIS ESSAY on paper and turn in your draft to Ms. Anderson at the end of the period. 

january 28

[Nobody ever plans to get sick.  My plan was to start in on The Great Gatsby with you today.  Now I'm thinking more along the lines of Tech Tuesday, Cake Wednesday, and Hopefully-I'm-Back-In-Class Thursday.  Please use the time to your greatest advantage.  Some of your blogs don't have a post since last decade, and that is not going to cut it come progress report time, which is already approaching...]

JOURNAL TOPIC:
It's an old joke: "You can pick your friends, and you can pick your nose, but you can't pick your friend's nose."  Why not?  In half a page (minimum) of thoughtful reflection, please explain your views on personal boundaries.  When is it OK to reach over and pluck something out of someone's hair, or tell them their shoe is untied, or their fly is unzipped?  Do some people invite this level of personal connection, or is it simply never OK?  Please explain and use examples to illustrate.

AGENDA:
1. [Mindfulness whenever you want to take a minute]
2. Journal
3. Post at least two makeup assignments (or, if you're all caught up, add a graphic design or widget) on your blog
4. Publish today's posts (see below)

TODAY'S POSTS:
1. Please read at least one article in the "Dark Patterns" post.  Publish a post on your blog in which you comment on this practice and describe an example from your personal experience.  If you don't have a personal experience, discuss the idea at your table and find someone who has. (title: DARK PATTERNS)
2. Reflect on yesterday's ignite talks, and publish yesterday's post if you haven't yet.  Find at least two speakers who impressed you with their ideas and/or enthusiasm.  Ask them how they came up with their ideas, and report on this in a blog post. (title: BEHIND THE IGNITE TALKS)

tech tuesday: dark patterns

Have you ever been on a site, thinking about buying something, when a message pops up that says, "31 people are looking at this!" or a timer appears that indicates unless you click before it runs out, you will lose the deal? 

Those tactics are called "dark patterns" -- they seem like they give you an insider angle, some sort of advantage that will help you get what you want, but really they are just ways to manipulate you and get you to buy whatever you're looking at.

Dark patterns are simply tricks used in websites or apps to get you to do things you didn't intend to. 

For more on dark patterns, check out: https://www.darkpatterns.org/

To see the article that goes with the headline above, go to:

https://www.latimes.com/business/story/2020-01-28/how-online-stores-trick-you-into-buying (NOTE: This one is "hot off the press" from today's Los Angeles Times)

Also, this:
https://www.bbc.com/worklife/article/20191211-the-fantasy-numbers-that-make-you-buy-things-online

ignite talks: period 6

Joseph: Is social media a teen addiction?

Michael: What is school for?  Since everything else has changed, and school

Anacareli: Is school about learning or about grades and passing?

Jesse: What happens when someone dies?

Nancy: What does the Mandela effect target and how does it influence our thinking?

Maria: [absent]

Fredy: What is the impact of climate change?

Joaquin: How are smart phones manufactured?

Jasmin: Is life an illusion?

Cristhoper: How do we have justice for all in our Constitution but we can’t treat each other equally?

Valeria: Why do girls abort their pregnancies?

Daniel: How does climate change affect our atmosphere?

Diego: Why is the average baseball viewer older than viewers of other sports?

Gabriel: Can we go without the internet or have we become completely dependent?

Gabriel Magana: Why is it harder for young people to find jobs?

Bernardo: [absent]

Celmon: Where do we go where we die?

Pablo J: Why do people put you in a category or stereotype you before they meet you based on your appearance?

Diana: Why do people think marijuana is bad for you?

Sam: Do we need education to be education in life?  What about a high school diploma?

Pablo H: [absent]

Edid: Why do people that challenge the government disappear or die?

Tristan: Why is the U.S. government so against so immigration, especially since the founding fathers were immigrants?

Jasmine G: Why do we stereotype?

Nelson: What is the government hiding from us?

Alejandro: Why is there still racism?

Alex: Do dreams mean something?

Jayleen: Do we really need what we learn throughout high school?

Isaac: [absent]

Cam: Do we need college to be successful?

Jose: Is there such a thing as a perfect person? 

Christian: [absent]

Danny: Why are motorcycle accidents becoming more frequent?

Angel:

Wendy: Why is that everyone targets immigrants even though the work hard and people take advantage of them?

ignite talks: period 4

Itzel: Why is society like this now? 

Lizbeth: Will there ever be a time when humans will be immortal?

Ray: [absent]

Araceli: Will the world ever be a better place?

Isaias: Why isn’t there more respect in the world?

Jeronimo: If humans weren’t around, which animal would be at the top of the food chain?

Christian: Will viruses and war bring the world to an end?

Noemi: What happens to us after we die?

Robert: What is inside a black hole?

Armando: Does school care about us or about making money?

Victor: Does music affect the mind?

Bernardita: Is there life after death?

Alex: Why do we still get homework in high school?

Elizabeth: Why are people so insecure about themselves?

Soledad: Why do some women decide to get abortions?

Juan Mejia: What will be the next step in our evolution?

Juan: Why hasn’t school changed even though the rest of our society and economy has?

Gael: What would happen if there weren’t any law enforcement agencies or officers?

Lyna: How has your journey been so far in life?  What made you who you are today?

Jenny: Does the school care about education or rules like the dress code?

Rene: Why do we still have racism?

Nicole: Why is it hard to earn enough money to live and pay increasing costs of rent and food?

Angel: Why do care about people’s genders instead of just letting them be who they are?

Carson: Is there a point in time when technology takes over the world?

Miguel: Why do some police officers take advantage of their power?

Ramon: Why do people change when they get what they want?

Edwin: [absent]

Jose:

Pedro: If we got rid of school would society continue?

Lesli: Is the government spying on us?

Erick: Why do people think communism is bad?

Daniel: Why do we avoid improving and funding school when we spend so much effort and money on the military?

ignite talks: period 3

Dayana: Hair and crime?

Luis: Why are girls so complicated?

Juan: Will we ever be able to desalinate and drink ocean water?

Salvador: Are we already immortal?

Jose: Is there life after death?

Guadalupe: How will our actions about our ecosystem today influence the future?

Mallory: Why do we take things for granted?

Ivan: What is the purpose of life?

Diana: How does music affect our mental health?

Adolfo: Do you really need a college degree?

Yarely: Why do we have to conform to society’s standards?

Ximena: Are plastics and straws the problem, or are we the problem?

Ulices: What is the relationship between consciousness and reality?  (Thinking, feeling, and being)

Gerardo: How does the law of attraction work?

Efrain: [absent]

Stacey: Will time travel ever be real?

Joannes: Why do dreams feel so real?  Why do people fear them?

Flavio: What would happen if the Earth ran out of water?

Lucero: Why do we dream?

Jovanny: Is there life on other planets?

Judid: [absent]

Erande: Why does the world react so late to problems?

Erasmo: Why is family important?

Michelle: What do we when in something in our lives has to change, and we are afraid of taking the leap into the unknown?

Christopher: Do students do better without homework?

Deanna: How do psilocybin mushrooms help address depression, anxiety, addiction, and other problems?

Marcos: Why is the alphabet in A-Z order?

Marlene: Why is there an age limit on certain things?

Kevin: Is it possible for humans to live on Mars?

Gladys: Why are school dress codes enforced mostly on females?