# Reading Responses (Set 1)
### Make it Stick: The Science of Successful Learning:
Sep 23

We all assume the best way of learning is memorization; memorize the vocab list, memorize the terms, memorize the equation. But how are we improving your understanding if we are simply just memorizing the function of something and understanding where to connect it? This reading tackles a lot, however its main idea is about becoming a more efficient learning, something that most people probably don't realize they are insufficient at. The authors discussed how effort, retrieval, spacing, and variation and the keys to the best type of learning. The harder the better. When the mind is working harder to learn, according to the authors, the learning sticks better. The harder you're growing your brain the stronger and long-lasting retention you will develop. While many learners prefer to reread something to understand it and maybe even become fluent with it, it creates a false sense of mastery. You might be able to memorize and restate a sentence in Spanish, but that doesn't mean you understand it if its not your first language. You have to break down each word, understand the grammar and accents. Once you do, retrieval practice becomes handy. You recall certain words in Spanish, quizzing yourself and using flashcards, to strengthen your memory more than just reading a sentence off a paper. Now that you're in a good spot of learning the material, for it to stick, you must space out your learning and interleave it. The authors say how breaking down learning, and doing it overtime helps create the long-lasting memory. Distributing practice and mixing subjects to build flexible durable knowledge is called interleaving and is a very effective way to learn the material and remember it.
I remember in middle school when they taught us the difference between growth mindset and fixed mindset. I like to always believe I had a growth mindset where I put in effort and persistence to build my intelligence. Nowadays that doesn't come as easy. However, it is a personal goal that I work towards everyday. Just like learning a new language, I have to keep at it every day and continue to persisting, interleaving, and repeating. This is my understanding a real learning.

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### Haters and Manipulators
Oct 10

"Racism, misogyny, lies: how did X become so full of hatred? And is it ethical to keep using it?"
Hate has become such an addictive rabbit hole to fall into recently. An app like X, formerly Twitter, is one the biggest promoters of online hate. What worries me the most are those who are unaware of the destructive content they receive daily. I might be part of that category, but I know enough to never wish of downloading X on my phone. Social media personalities such as Tommy Robinson and Andrew Tate abuse the platform to further spread hate and essentially promote violence as a positive thing. The big debate, in my opinion, is about "free speech". Is banning certain people or the app itself an obstruction of free speech, even if the speech is toxic and extremely detrimental to today's youth and more? Violence in youth has become more prevalent, and its platforms like X to blame. The persistent hates also help further divide political views that stem from social media and project onto real lives. I think morally, reaming on an app like this does not good and all harm. Taking away a man like Andrew Tate's platform could immediately deescalate on up and coming problem. Other mainstream platforms like TikTok and Instagram most definitely have their share a hate, however according to the article, its very hard to find a positive opinion on X. We've taken a great platform and ruined it.

Williams, Z. (2024, September 5). Racism, misogyny, lies: How did X become so full of hatred? And is it ethical to keep using it? The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/technology/article/2024/sep/05/racism-misogyny-lies-how-did-x-become-so-full-of-hatred-and-is-it-ethical-to-keep-using-it

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### The Darknet
Oct 14

What is the “darknet” and the two technologies (Tor and Bitcoin) it is dependent on? We have two introductory readings and two related news stories.

The "darknet", has always been in my mind something unattainable, non-comprehensible, and honestly, fearful, like the black market. And while it is all these things, there are technologies, that to some politicians and intelligent people are legitimate, involved with the black market. Tor and Bitcoin, are two technological functions that allow the darknet to be as successful as it is. Within the darknet there are markets, such as the Silk Road, where, mostly illegal, products are sold and bought, often through bitcoin. What I find most interesting is the trust users put into the darknet and these functions such as bitcoin. Bitcoin could be worth nothing, but for many its worth millions of dollars. Essentially being its own digital currency, users all of the country use it for their own dealings. If the government were to acknowledge digital currency as a legitimate industry, would bitcoin be used for better? The Trump administration came close to this when a memecoin, $TRUMP, was surfacing a was actually being bought and sold. Token prices of this memecoin soar but did not last long. Quickly after, Melania Trump released her own token, $MELANIA, that quickly went up then crashed. Many digital currency users saw this as taking advantage of the industry. The current administration was viewing it as a cash grab rather than respecting the legitimacy so many users wish it had. However the use of Bitcoin and other digital currencies are not going away. Either we except the usage and learn how to work with it or we let it run the illegal side of the darknet.

Kozhipatt, Jacob. “Silk Road Was The Darknet Market Testing Ground For Bitcoin.” Bitcoin Magazine, 4 Nov. 2022. Web Archive, 10 Sept. 2025, web.archive.org/web/20250910151943/https://bitcoinmagazine.com/culture/silk-road-darknet-market-testing-for-bitcoin

Wright, Jordan. “How Tor Works: Part One.” Jordan-Wright Blog, 28 Feb. 2015, jordan-wright.com/blog/2015/02/28/how-tor-works-part-one/.

Custodio, Nik. “Explain Bitcoin Like I’m Five.” freeCodeCamp / Medium, 12 Dec. 2013, medium.com/free-code-camp/explain-bitcoin-like-im-five-73b4257ac833.

Thompson, Patrick. “This Week in Crypto: $TRUMP Memecoin and Task Force Launch.” CoinGeek, 25 Jan. 2025, coingeek.com/this-week-in-crypto-trump-memecoin-and-task-force-launch/.

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### Midterm Question Practice:
Oct 17

If you do a response, craft two multiple choice questions and two short/essay questions that could appear on the exam. For each question, provide an answer/explanation, or even a mnemonic, in a section below all the questions so everyone can self-quiz.

MCQs:

1) Identify the features of a catfish/scammer victim
a. greed and focus
b. addictive and more trustworthy
c. educated and lack of perspective
d. typically only 60+ years of age

2) Which is NOT a source of cooperation
a. spatial cooperation
b. direct reciprocity
c. avoidant cooperation
d. multilevel/group selection

Short Response:

3) How and why would the Dark Tetrad connect to features of a scammer? What features of the dark Tetrad are found in a scammer?

4) How does the concept of "Truthiness" (Stephen Colbert) and the problem of "wikiality" show the danger of assuming correlation in media? How can Triangulation help?

Answers:

1) b.
2) c.
3) dark tetrad reveals the psychology of a scammer (Narcissism, Psychopathy, Sadism)
4) media can appeal to ones beliefs and falsely source something for credibility. (triangulation --> identifying three credible sources to prove a fact)

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### Shaped
Oct 23

How does digital communication affect our ability to be mindful? How does it affect self-esteem; is it making us narcissistic?

I know I care about other people see me on Instagram. I feel vain and self obsessed even admitting that, but it's true. When I post, I most look forward to the comments I receive. I think how many will I get, who will comment, what they'll say. It's ridiculous and I feel completely simple-minded writing this down but it's a rush when I post and get comments. I also compare comments, followers, and feed, to complete strangers online, internally giving either myself or them more value.
Digital communication truly shapes how mindful we are and how we feel about ourselves. Self-esteem is either scarce, cause we're insecure, or over abundant, cause we're narcissists (Reagle Chapter 6). However, I think even those that are over-abundantly sharing themselves, seek validation online because they also are insecure.
Platforms for Facebook, Instagram, and Formspring, let people connect and express themselves, but also propels comparing each other. We begin to base our self-worth on attention and validation. It doesn't necessarily make everyone narcissistic, but makes us overly focused on how we appear to others instead of how we actually feel. Being mindful online means recognizing when we're preforming for others and when we're being real, which does not come easy in a world of comments and likes.

Reagle, J. M., Jr. (2015). Reading the Comments: Likers, Haters, and Manipulators at the Bottom of the Web. MIT Press.