Blog Post #4 - Technology

The telephone is an outstanding invention that has impacted our society in many different ways; without it we would be lost. The evolution of the telephone has come a long way since the idea of one was created by Antonio Meucci in 1849. Elisha Gray is also tied up in the controversy as to who was truly the first to invent the telephone. Gray had invented a number of telephone devices.  Both were actually one of the first people to develop the design of a talking telegraph or telephone but then some issues arised which is now why Alexander Graham Bell is widely known and credited for being the inventor of the telephone. This is because Bell was awarded the first successful patent for the telephone. Bell came to the United States as a teacher for deaf people which then sparked the idea of “electronic speech” while visiting his mother who also had impaired hearing. This then initiated the idea of inventing a microphone and then later the first telephone or as he referred to it the “electrical speech machine”. The entire motive behind inventing the telephone was to essentially improve communication through groundbreaking work in sound technology as well as improving education for the deaf. The invention of the telephone has forever changed the way people communicate with each other. 

The telephone dramatically impacted society for the better, in my opinion. This was a significant push in the right direction for the implementation and spark of technology and communication between people. This definitely made contact between people faster and easier. The amount of time it took to send messages was cut down somewhat dramatically. As time went on telephones evolved from landlines and switchboards to cell phones and cell towers. This has ultimately shaped the way how almost every single person communicates with each other in current society. I would say back then that the invention and evolution of the telephone was extremely positive. But it can also be argued that now in the present day that there could be some negative effects because in recent times telephones are not just used for phone calls and sending messages. Social media can now be accessed on these devices and these different applications can have a negative effect on someone due to harsh comments and the spread of cancel culture but it also goes to show how the invention of one device can be tied to the invention of another device. Many can be intertwined and now in current times a majority of these inventions are all in one device or can be accessed through a single device like the cell phone. Overall without the invention of the telephone I don’t think we would be as advanced as we are today. This invention sparked the change in the positive direction for growth and improvement. It is also truly amazing to see how far we have come from looking at the image of the  first telephone to seeing all the new phones that we have today.

https://www.loc.gov/everyday-mysteries/item/who-is-credited-with-inventing-the-telephone/ 

https://www.pbs.org/transistor/album1/addlbios/bellag.html 

Blog Post #3 - Eight Values of Expression

  

The First Amendment guarantees freedoms concerning religion, expression, assembly and the right to petition. It guarantees freedom of expression by prohibiting Congress from restricting the press or the rights of individuals to speak freely. In the First Amendment there are eight values of free speech which are marketplace of ideas, participation in self government, stable change, individual self-fulfillment, check on governmental power, promoting tolerance, promoting innovation, and protecting dissent. These values all play into why freedom of speech is so important. Out of the eight values the one that resonates with me the most is individual self-fulfillment. This is because I do agree with the fact that free speech enables individuals to express themselves which then allows them to create and craft their own identity. Also through this freedom of speech is intertwined with the aspects of human dignity, human agency and autonomy. I agree with everything that is stated and it is true that people's freedom of speech also lies with their values and how they feel about themselves and others around them. These values can be seen and are prevalent in everyday life. For example the Individual Self-Fulfillment value was most obvious during the protests regarding Black Lives Matter. People were out on the streets expressing their opinions and ideas on the Black Lives Matter movement and what they thought was right. Many people came together to support a cause that they fully and completely believed in and they wanted to fight for the black community. I believe that if this was limited people would not have been able to protest in the way that they were all around the world or even at all. I do believe that not only through this movement but through this value that diverse groups of people are able to come together and have a sense of community. Another one of the eight values that can be seen in our society is the promotion of tolerance. Through the promotion of tolerance it has been argued that the freedom of speech, especially through our practice of extending protection to speech that we find hateful or personally upsetting, teaches us to become more tolerant in other aspects of life. This value can be seen in our society through the legalization of same sex marriage. Before the law was passed making this legal people were extremely intolerage of people in same-sex relationsips and especially same-sex marriage. Now that a law has been passes people who choose to be homosexual can express themselves and not be discriminated for it because it is legal. But there will always be the outliers who break the idea of being tolerant. It can be seen that not only through just these two values I chose to emphasize but through all eight that there are many aspects and ideas that lie within the first amendment to ensure that we are all able to have our freedoms. These ideas ensure that everyone can have a voice in our society and so we can all feel free under the first amendments. 

Blog Post #2 - Supreme Court

The SCOTUS is the highest federal court in the United States and the ultimate check and balance to the power of congress and the president. I think it is extremely interesting that more than 100 justices have served on the U.S Supreme Court since its first session in 1790. I also was shocked to see such a low number considering the size of our population but there are also many specific credentials that one must fit into in order to be a supreme court justice. These justices also are appointed for life which means they can only be removed through impeachment. It was also interesting to see in the video that a committee does not vote on a justice instead they vote to send a nomination to the full senate “ with a recommendation of approval or rejection” and the final votes simply requires a simple majority of senators present to pass. The video provided a good amount of information that I did not know about the Supreme Court and it was very informative and I felt that there were many takeaways from it. The video made me feel more informed about the Supreme Court and this aspect of our government. I also believe that every piece of information in the video is important to gain basic knowledge about our Supreme Court because this is the highest court in our government and it is the last resort for those looking for justice. 

Blog Post #1 - Top 5 news sources

Snapchat - One of my main sources of information on news that I receive is from snapchat. Snapchat allows me to see all different types of news and articles that are going on all over the world. On the main page of snapcaht, catagories pop up like, people magazine, beauty and cosmetics, sports news, etc.
I really like news from snapchat because it allows you to look at different catagories of news and you can read deeper into what is going on in that subject. I would recommend snapchat to others because not only is it a high usage app that everyone interacts on, but you can also find interesting news you may not find on other social media platforms.

 

Facebook - Facebook is another way I receive information and news. When I scroll through my feed, sometimes news channels will pop up with a current issue in the world. Facebook also allows people to comment, like and share anyones post which can show activity that is done on peoples posts. I like facebook because it is very open-ended and allows you to interact with others and find news. I would recommend this app to someone because its a great way to interact with others and you can easily find news when scrolling through the home page.

 

Tik Tok - Tik Tok is one of the most popular social media plaforms that are used today. Tik tok is a great way to keep up with certain trends that are going on and news. Tik tok has an icon at the bottom that says "discover". When you click on discover, it allows you to look up anything of your interest, whether that can be sports or cosmetics. Another trendy thing tik tok has is that when people post videos, they use hashtags. I would recommend this app to someone because it is a great way to stay up to date on what other people are posting. 

 

Twitter - Twitter is more of an opinion based app which allows people to make comments on others posts, thoughts that they have, really anything they want to post and let people see. Twitter is a very interactive app which can keep people up to date of what is going on. I do use twitter to look into the latest news and big issues that are happening in our world. I find it really interesting to look at peoples posts about the latest news and their opinion about it. It is interesting to see what other people have to say about certain issues. I would recommend twitter to someone because it is an app where you can be really interactive with anyone and it is a great way to stay up to date about news. Twitter also allows easy access for anyone that is looking to make their own account and create their own posts. 

USA Today - USA Today is one of the most well known websites where you can find any latest news and any information. I use USA Today if I want to look up news articles, breaking stories that are occuring, and any current events that are taking place. USA Today is also not just a website for news, you can look up for any sports thats occuring or other entertainment. I would recommend students my age to use USA Today because this website allows you to look up anything within your interest and stay up to date with the latest news.