Your intellectual journey essay is due via email by Thursday, December 20.

For Wednesday, December 12:

Read "Remember This?" by Alec Wilkinson in the May 28, 2007 issue of The New Yorker. The article is available on-line here.

Email me a point you find most worthy of discussion in class next week either because you find it compelling or disagreeable. Explain yourself, albeit succinctly. Proofread and edit your message for clarity before sending. The email is due no later than 9pm on Tuesday, December 11.

For Wednesday, December 5:

Read Part IV ("Getting Out of Trouble") of "Loose Wire."

If you are not debating on December 5: Post a recent article relating to the reading. Make your post at: my.slc.edu. (From the login page, you can find the forum by clicking on the course link and then clicking on discussion; the forum for this assignment is entitled "Articles for December 5.") The article you post should be from a reputable source - if you are not sure if your article is suitable, please run it by me first. You should include not only the URL for the article, but its full reference and a concise description (no more than a few sentences) of what the article is about and why it is relevant. The article you select must be unique - so check the other articles that have been posted before posting yours. The article must be posted before 9pm on Monday, December 3 and the sooner the better.

For Wednesday, November 28:

Read the second part ("Property" - Chapters 6-10) of Lawrence Lessig's "Free Culture" and read "Technology, the Stealthy Tattletale" by Christopher Maag from October 27, 2007 edition of the The New York Times. The latter is available online at: http://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/27/technology/27tracking.html.

The second writing assignment is due at the start of class.

For Wednesday, November 14:

The second writing assignment has been assigned. It is due on November 28.

Read the Preface, Introduction and Chapters 1-5 of Lawrence Lessig's "Free Culture" and read the sections entitled "Introduction", "Productivity Tools", "Browsers", and "Encyclopedias" in Jeremy Wagstaff's "Loose Wire." The latter is available at the bookstore and on reserve at the library. The former is available on-line via a Creative Commons license at: http://www.free-culture.cc/

If you are not debating on November 14: Post a recent article relating to the reading and some aspect of either digital copyright or open-source software. Make your post at: my.slc.edu. (From the login page, you can find the forum by clicking on the course link and then clicking on discussion; the forum for this assignment is entitled "Articles for November 14.") The article you post should be from a reputable source - if you are not sure if your article is suitable, please run it by me first. You should include not only the URL for the article, but its full reference and a concise description (no more than a few sentences) of what the article is about and why it is relevant. The article you select must be unique - so check the other articles that have been posted before posting yours. The article must be posted before 9pm on Monday, November 12 and the sooner the better. However, you should do the reading (or most of it) before selecting your article so you can gauge its relevance.

For Wednesday, November 7:

Read the following:

• Chapter 14 ("What Happens When We All Have Dog's Hearing?") in "The World is Flat" by Thomas L. Friedman.

• "Can You Hear Me Now?" by Sherry Turkle in the May 7, 2007 issue of Forbes. The article is available on-line here.

• "The Daily We" by Cass Sunstein in the Summer 2001 issue of Boston Review. The article is available on-line here.

Email me two points that you find most worthy of discussion in class next week either because you find them compelling or disagreeable. (You can find one point compelling and one disagreeable.) Explain yourself, albeit succinctly. Proofread and edit your message for clarity before sending. The email is due no later than 9pm on Tuesday, November 6.

For Wednesday, October 31:

Read Chapters 12 ("Globalization of the Local") and 13 ("If It's Not Happening, It's Because You're Not Doing It") in "The World is Flat" by Thomas L. Friedman and read the "Millions for Millions" by Connie Bruck in the October 30, 2006 issue of The New Yorker. The article is available on-line here.

If you are not debating on October 31: Post a recent article relating to the so-called "digital divide" that is not about the One Laptop Per Child project and that relates to some portion of the reading. Make your post at: my.slc.edu. (From the login page, you can find the forum by clicking on the course link and then clicking on discussion; the forum for this assignment is entitled "Articles for October 31.") The article you post should be from a reputable source - if you are not sure if your article is suitable, please run it by me first. You should include not only the URL for the article, but its full reference and a concise description (no more than a few sentences) of what the article is about and why it is relevant. The article you select must be unique - so check the other articles that have been posted before posting yours. The article must be posted before 9pm on Tuesday, October 30 and the sooner the better. However, you should do the reading (or most of it) before selecting your article so you can gauge its relevance.

For Wednesday, October 24:

Read Chapters 1-6 (and the related end notes) in "Linked" by Albert-László Barabási.

Email me one point (indicating which chapter and page) that you find most worthy of discussion in class next week either because you find it challenging to understand, compelling or disagreeable. Explain yourself, albeit succinctly. Proofread and edit your message for clarity before sending. The email is due no later than 9am on Wednesday, October 24.

For Wednesday, October 17:

Read Chapters 10, 11, 15, 16 and 17 in "The World is Flat" by Thomas L. Friedman.

Email me two points (indicating which chapter and page) that you find most worthy of discussion in class next week either because you find them compelling or disagreeable. (You can find one point compelling and one disagreeable.) Explain yourself, albeit succinctly. Proofread and edit your message for clarity before sending. The email is due no later than 9pm on Tuesday, October 16.

For Wednesday, October 10:

Post a recent article relating to the reading on my.slc.edu. From the login page, you can find the forum by clicking on the course link and then clicking on discussion; the forum for this assignment is entitled "Articles for October 10.") The article you post should be from a reputable source and either be evidence in support of Friedman's arguments or evidence to the contrary. If you are not sure if your article is suitable, please run it by me first. You should include not only the URL for the article, but its full reference and a concise description (no more than a few sentences) of what the article is about and why it is relevant. The article you select must be unique - so check the other articles that have been posted before posting yours. The article must be posted before 9pm on Tuesday, October 9 and the sooner the better. However, you should do the reading (or most of it) before selecting your article so you can gauge its relevance.

You are expected to have read the postings and at least glanced at, if not actually read, the articles that the other students have selected before class on Wednesday evening.

For Wednesday, October 3:

Finish reading "Faster" by James Gleick.

Email me the titles (and chapter numbers and starting page numbers) of the two chapters of "Faster" you find most interesting and include a sentence or two explanation for each, describing why you find the chapter interesting. You can agree or disagree, like or dislike the chapter; it is what makes fuel for class discussion that is most important here. That includes pointing out technologies or ideas that have become outdated since the book's publication. The email is due no later than 9pm on Tuesday, October 2.

Do the writing assignment based on " Faster". The essay is due at the start of class.

For Wednesday, September 26:

Read Chapters 1 and 2 in "The World is Flat" by Thomas L. Friedman. The book is available for purchase at the campus bookstore and is also on reserve at the library.

Post a recent article relating to the reading on my.slc.edu. From the login page, you can find the forum by clicking on the course link and then clicking on discussion; the forum for this assignment is entitled "Articles for September 26.") The article you post should be from a reputable source and either be evidence in support of Friedman's arguments or evidence to the contrary. If you are not sure if your article is suitable, please run it by me first. You should include not only the URL for the article, but its full reference and a concise description (no more than a few sentences) of what the article is about and why it is relevant. The article you select must be unique - so check the other articles that have been posted before posting yours. The article must be posted before 9pm on Tuesday, September 25 and the sooner the better. However, you should do the reading (or most of it) before selecting your article so you can gauge its relevance.

You are expected to have read the postings and at least glanced at, if not actually read, the articles that the other students have selected before class on Wednesday evening.

The reading for the following week (October 3) is "Faster" by James Gleick. The book is also available at the bookstore and on reserve. There is an associated writing assignment due on October 3 as well.

For Wednesday, September 19:

Read all of the following (preferably in order):

1. Chapters 12 and 13 in "Guns, Germs, and Steel" by Jared Diamond.
2. Section 1.7 in "Computer Organization and Design" by David A. Patterson and John L. Hennessy.
3. Chapters 4-8 in "A Brief History of the Future" by John Naughton.
4. Chapter 0 in "The Information Revolution" by J.R. Okin.

Email a reaction paragraph no later than 9pm on Tuesday, September 18.

For Wednesday, September 12:

1. Send an email confirming that a) you received this and b) you are, in fact, in this course. Please send this to me as soon as you receive this message.


2. Send an email (no later than 5pm on Wednesday 9/12) succinctly answering the following questions:
   1. Which of the topics indicated by either the course description or the course syllabus most interest you?
   2. Have you every formally (in college, high school or elsewhere) studied computer science and if so in what capacity?
   3. How technologically savvy do you consider yourself? Please explain.
   4. Have you traveled extensively or lived outside the U.S.? If so where, when and in what capacity?
   5. How often and from what sources do you usually get or read the news?


3. Find an article on the Web that concerns the development of new computer technology, particularly faster or more powerful technology (ideally, but not necessarily, something that contrasts new developments with past trends). If you are having trouble finding something or not sure it is what I have in mind, just ask me. Once you have found the article, send me: a) the full reference (title, author and where it appears along with the URL); b) a short (sentence or two) description of the by which you found and selected the article; and c) a short (paragraph or less) description of the article.