Sophia Demitrio

 STAR TREK      After watching Star Trek, I very much enjoyed analyzing how Star Trek impacted our future. To start off, I grew up watching Star Wars, and I have never seen Star Trek. So it was super interesting to watch this movie instead. I know Professor Echeverry hates Star Wars which I think is really funny. I really enjoyed the movie and I especially loved the star studded cast it featured. The creativity and action incorporated into the film was absolutely brilliant. The various advanced technology is impossible to overlook. So, when forming our presentation we decided to mainly focus on technology in Star Trek vs. technology today.      I did a lot of research on technology then and now. I found how Star Trek technology, including p hasers, telepresence, ear receiver, tv screens, replicator, ship doors, etc. All of these technologies are seen today in different ways. It was super interesting to see how ahead of its time the Star Trek movies are.      In connecting Star Trek to

      When writing my overall conclusion after The Matrix debate, I used the Cartesian method to compose an introduction, thesis, antithesis, synthesis, and conclusion. What I liked about writing a piece using this method most was simply the fact that I had not written like this before. Something I love about this class is how it pushes me out of my comfort zone; it is more obvious in more creative assignments, but even when it comes to a writing piece, I am still challenged in new ways which I appreciate. Another aspect of this writing method that I can appreciate is genuinely understanding the counterargument to your argument. It is one thing to address a counterargument, but with the Cartesian method, you actually have to fully sympathize with the opposing side in order to write a whole section about it. In this particular assignment, I was already feeling torn between taking the blue pill or the red pill. After the in class debate and writing this paper, I was left feeling even mor

 Red Pill vs. Blue Pill       After much debate between taking the red pill versus taking the blue pill, I can conclude that I would personally take the red pill. Although I see the pros and cons of each pill, if it was brought to my attention that there was a whole truth behind all the lies I was being fed, I would never be able to simply ignore that information. I would need to know the truth. Although it presents more of a risk, I could not take the blue pill and continue living my simulated life happily: I would always wonder what the red pill would show me and regret not taking the opportunity to learn. It is normal to question reality, society, the government, etc. but if given the option to know the truth and know that we could at least attempt to do something about it, what does it say about us if we do not take it and continue to live in ignorance? 

 The Matrix: My Synopsis      Watching the Matrix was extremely eye-opening to me. This movie is considered a classic, yet somehow I had never seen it before this class. The long black trench coats and blacked out sunglasses are an iconic look from the movie. In the beginning, I was very confused about what was happening. It was very ominous: how those outside the Matrix were trying to communicate with Neo inside the Matrix. From the beginning, I thought Morpheus was very suspicious and did not trust him. When he presented Neo with the option of the red or blue pill, I thought to myself that I probably would have chosen the blue pill. The idea of everything you know changing in a second is a scary thought. The idea of what makes you happy no longer being real is also quite intimidating. I give Neo a lot of credit for choosing the red pill. As the film went on, a few concepts stood out to me. The way that the humans were incubated and are being fed the remains of other humans was one of

 AI notes: - in a futuristic society where all ice caps have melted, human resources run low - robots are created to do human tasks  - idea proposed of creating a robot who can love - like the love of a child for his mother - the couple's child is in a coma - Monica is in denial of this, cannot accept the idea of her son not coming back  - to help this, the husband buys a boy robot who is capable of love.  - Monica is faced with the question of does she really want this - once she codes him he will love her forever, cannot be returned and if she decides she does not want him he will have to be terminated  - at first she is mad, but david starts to grow on her - monica decides to keep david and programs him  - david loves his mom so much from tht point on - Suddenly to the family's surprise, martin awakes from his coma. David feels threatened  - monica reads pinocchio to the boys - david is fascinated by the idea of the fairy granting pinnochio's wish to be a real boy - he w

 Phillip K. Dick Research      Phillip K. Dick was an extremely influential figure in science fiction history. As an author, he has written many critically acclaimed novels, the most well-known being "Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?" which inspired the 1982 film, Blade Runner. Dick speaks of a unique religious experience he had in which he encountered God, or a god-like being, which sparked his creativity in writing science fiction.      Dick lectured an essay in 1977 entitled, "If You Find This World Bad, You Should See Some of the Others." He explained his idea of parallel universes, and how there are multiple different realities. However, Phillip K. Dick not only believed that this was true but that he was living back and forth between two different realities. He struggled a lot with his mental health and things that he saw, claiming to have numerous paranormal experiences that contributed to this.      Dick's vision of VALIS ( Vast Active Living Intelli

We decided to incorporate the 3-D feature of a head to resemble that of Rachael, representative of many of the themes we intend to discuss in the presentation. On one side of the head lies images of a piano, spider, and a photograph of Tyrell’s niece and her mother, all indicative of the memories implanted in Rachael. The eye on the left side of the face is that of the artificial owl, a nod to the multicultural symbol of an owl tied to knowledge. This is juxtaposed by a hand-illustrated model of a human brain, below which resides the blue eye of Roy as seen in his last moments, delivering his most “human” quote. Our presentation aimed to elaborate on the notion of human vs artificial intelligence, and highlight the gray area between the two (hence the black and white color scheme of our pictures); how it may be an impossible discernment.  After presenting to the class and having other groups display their projects, I think we realized a need for greater dimensionality in the design of