I Have a Hypotenuse

Okay, I mean to title this post as “I have a hypothesis” but I figured that a random non-sensible title would attract more attention.

I am an avid user of common phrases and often do not take the time to think about what the individual words that make up the phrases truly mean. “I have a theory” is one such phrase that I would use when there is something I wish to test. The focus of this phrase is the word “theory”, and when given some thought, the word doesn't make much sense when used in this manner.

Our textbook, New Keywords, defines a theory as an hypothesis that has been confirmed by experiment. It also describes a theory to hold some sort of conformed acceptance and technical authority. During class, we've discussed that a criteria for being a theory is having an opposing side of skepticism. When the phrase “I have a theory” is used, the word “theory” often doesn't hold any confirmation, authority, nor the existence of an opposing resistance. A more accurate way of stating the phrase would be “I have a hypothesis”.

This lead me to think about common phrases I use on a regular basis. One thing I commonly say is “can you open the lights?” with the intention of asking someone to turn the lights on. The grammatical misuse of the word “open” is obvious here, though the intended meaning is still easily understood. As an experiment, I tried to go through Thursday without misusing any words in my casual speech. This experiment was short lived after I stubbed my toe on my friend's bed after waking up. “Son of a bitch that hurt!” I exclaimed, and the misuse of several words followed immediately after. Though grammatically incorrect, the statement I made is generally understood to express the extent of my pain through colorful vocabulary.

After extensive pondering on this topic, I've come to the conclusion that these words are not misused as long as the public accepts and understands the meaning of them when used in such a manner. It seems almost unnecessary to force every word to follow its Oxford dictionary definition strictly. Perhaps words can be even be defined through their common use. As long as a certain use of a word in a phrase is accepted by society, then it should be grammatically allowed. That's my theory anyways.

The Links Don't Mean Anything

So I am to write a blog about a few random words that might work well together in a sentence. I don't believe that anyone can do a word's definition justice by just grouping it with other words under a giant theme without the use of examples. Thus, I will select a few words that we've discussed in class today and run through them with an overlaying topic in mind.

MEDIA is a plural form of the word “medium”, and the general sense of the word here is the broadcasting of information and ideas. The modern example of the word that comes to mind is the digital media known as the Internet. Indeed, the Internet is the greatest media that anyone has to offer with the ability to allocate information and ideas to anywhere around the world almost instantly unless you're still on dial-up. Even now, this blog is acting as a digital media, transferring my thoughts to your eyes in the form of text through the Internet. Almost anything including audio and other visuals can just as easily be mediated through the Internet short of tasting and touching. But hey, at least there's always music, porn, and World of Warcraft.

NETWORK is very similar to the word “media” in the sense that it also relates to connections between people and that it shares the second letter “e”. Whereas the world wide web would also act as a decent example for a network, I find that a more precise definition of a network might come from Facebook or MySpace. Both sites act as a social network that connects people through Internet as a media based on friendship, interests, location, or any other topic aside from being Amish. However, Facebook seems to be more of a system of transactions than a network, seeing as how people are allowed to send digital plants, eggs, or even gifts to others in their network. I wouldn't be surprised if people would be able to send STDs through Facebook one day. Because these sites use the Internet as a media, they are extremely open networks and are hardly limited to anyone. This is a problem that MySpace typically encounters as people are often networked to others that they don't want any connection to. However, those who evaluate their own worth via the number of networked people on their MySpace probably have bigger problems than having an on-line stalker.

TECHNOLOGY is the genesis of the Internet, and thus accelerates the availability of media and networking. In the current day, the word “technology” is used to describe a technical advancement; thus, I can think of no better example than mankind's ultimate technological achievement: the Rockstar energy drink. Let's face it, any creation that allows me to type up a 584 word post at 2 o'clock in the morning must be the greatest form of technology in the world. Technology is an ever changing creature, affecting the forms of media and networking as it evolves. Technological advancements are always appearing, such as the invention of Cable Internet or Sugar Free Rockstar. Unfortunately, along with those advancements come technological falters, such as the creation of nuclear arms and Rockstar Cola. Nevertheless, as technology advances, even the definitions of “media” and “network” can be affected. Who knows what would happen if technology advances to the point where we can combine Rockstar Cola with Facebook and World of Warcraft? Perhaps the head of every computer nerd would explode, and it would taste awful.

A Morning Before Coffee

The process of obtaining the textbook for UWP 101 began 8:30 in the morning for me. As I woke up, my eyes barely open and my body still wrapped in the comfort of my blanket, I opened myself to two options. The first option was to get out of bed, go through my morning routine, and head to the bookstore to purchase the textbook before class. My second option was to sleep for another thirty minutes.

When given a choice between any number of options, humans pride themselves in being able to put logic before instinct to determine the best decision. Being raised an American capitalist, I then determined the pros and cons of each option to find which would yield the most benefits with the least costs. The first option, getting the book before class, required that I leave the comfort of my bed and leave my apartment without the company of my roommate, who is also in the same morning class but was still sleeping at the time. The benefits of that option was that I reduce the risk of the bookstore being out of textbooks before I purchase one. The second option of sleeping in offered me a tempting lure of the happiness that is my futon, and the elongation of the momentary bliss that is sleeping until the last minute. The difference between the two options was simply a trade between abstract benefits and physical materials. Now, all that remained was the simple task of weighing out the benefits and costs of each option. Materials and services always outweigh abstract ideas in a capitalistic viewpoint, so the first option was simply the optimal one.

Simple things become complicated very easily. It was the risk of not obtaining the textbook that I was trading for the comfort of sleep rather than the book itself. Now, the amount of risk must be considered before I can make my decision. This includes estimating the number of classmates who would buy the book before class and the decision should depend accordingly to that. Game theory states that the optimum situation would be one where everyone in the class decides to sleep in and buy the book after class; this is the situation that I should follow. However, this only applies if everyone in the class was in the same circumstances as myself and understood the benefits of game theory. Assuming a normal distribution, elementary statistics state that only half of the class would buy the book before class, meaning that there should be books remaining in the bookstore for me if I went there right after class. Sun Tzu states in The Art of War "Speed is the essence of war. Take advantage of the enemy's unpreparedness...". So I should choose option one after all?

Sunlight hit my eyes, and I suddenly realized how warm I was in my blanket. The calculations, the theory, and the textbook can wait. I closed my eyes and succumbed to my morning drowsiness. Sun Tzu can be evaluated when I'm not sleeping.