# Reading Responses (Set 1)
Checklist for a [good reading response](https://reagle.org/joseph/zwiki/Teaching/Best_Practices/Learning/Writing_Responses.html) of 250-350 words
- [ ] Begin with a punchy start.
- [ ] Mention specific ideas, details, and examples from the text and earlier classes.
- [ ] Offer something novel that you can offer towards class participation.
- [ ] Check for writing for clarity, concision, cohesion, and coherence.
- [ ] Send to professor with “hackmd” in the subject, with URL of this page and markdown of today’s response.

## Reading responses 5 out of 5

### Jan 19 Fri - How the web works

In today’s digital world, secure communication has become crucial. The development of HTTPs and its underlying protocol, TLS, has transformed how we send sensitive information over the internet. After going into the complexities of HTTPs and learning how it works, I can confidently say that its significance cannot be overstated.

One issue that caught my attention was the significance of certificates in establishing the authenticity of entities. These certificates, certified by trusted certificate authorities (CAs), link a machine’s public key to its identity. It stops malicious actors from presenting their own public keys and claiming to be the server a client is attempting to connect with. I am intrigued by this process since it offers an extra layer of confidence and avoids impersonations.

The Diffie-Hellman key exchange was one concept that initially confused me while reading about HTTPs. The idea of two parties agreeing on a shared secret without transmitting it over the connection appeared wired at first. However, the supplied visualisation, which involved combining colours, helped shed some clarity on the process. Alice and Bob can derive the same shared secret by exchanging mixtures of their private keys and agreed upon constants rather than sharing their private keys. While I now have a basic knowledge of the Diffie-Hellman key exchange, I would like to go deeper in order to fully comprehend the concept.

### Feb 02 Fri - Cooperation

Cooperation is a fundamental aspect of human behaviour that can be observed in a variety of settings. In the context of the Prisoner's Dilemma, collaboration refers to both prisoners’ decision to not confess resulting in a shorter jail time for both of them. As Nowak highlights “These mechanisms of cooperation shape cultural evolution too, the patterns of change in how we behave, the things we wear, what we say, the art we produce, and so on." (Nowak, 2011) cooperation not only impacts an individual’s outcome, but also has a large impact on the overall behaviour and cultural expressions for a society.

A reason why people may choose to cooperate, according to the prisoners dilemma is to archive a mutual beneficial outcome, in the real world people can choose to cooperate in order to maintain their reputation, as they value it and like to be seen trustworthy especially in a corporate environment. by cooperating individual can maintain social connections, which can be beneficial in life.

Despite the potential benefits of cooperation, there are times when individuals may refuse to cooperate. In the prisoner’s dilemma one factor is that there is a big incentive of self-interest as each prisoner is tempted to defect or confess, resulting in personal beneficious such as a less time in prison. Individual incentives can outweigh the desire for mutual collaboration, resulting in a poor outcome. In the real world a factor that can effect cooperation can be when there is a lack of trust. Individuals who lack trust may be hesitant to cooperate, afraid that the other person would defect and take advantage of their cooperation.

Regarding professor Reagle’s gossip section, where Dunbar states “the individuals that a person keeps in contact with and can track relationships for—is 150 people.”(Reagle, Para. 5) I would say I disagree as think I am able to maintain more. Seeing as I’ve lived in three different countries and made friends, and have a large family I’m sure I can track more.

### Feb 16 Fri - The Darknet
The term "darknet" describes a portion of the internet that needs specific software or authorization to access, and it’s not indexed by traditional search engines. It gives users a platform to stay anonymous and untraceable and is frequently linked to illegal activity. Two major technologies that are heavily utilised by the darknet are Tor and Bitcoin.

Tor, also known as the onion router, is a vital piece of technology for the darknet that gives users privacy and anonymity. In order to accomplish this, Internet traffic is routed via a network of volunteer-run relays. Through a network of intermediary computers, these relays bounce connections from a user's PC to destinations. This procedure adds to the anonymity and security of the darknet by making it difficult to track down any specific user. As Wright stated, “Tor works by bouncing connections from your computer to destinations (such as google.com) through a series of intermediate computers, or relays.” (Wright, 2015)

The Darknet also heavily relies on Bitcoin, a decentralized digital currency. Bitcoin allows for anonymous transactions, making it a popular choice for carrying out financial activities on the darknet. Although it was widely misinterpreted, its blockchain technology offered an immutable and transparent record that made it appealing for anonymous transactions on sites like the Silk Road. The close of the Silk Road, brought attention to the association between Bitcoin and illicit activities, which resulted in long-lasting stigma and criticism of the cryptocurrency. “Central to Silk Road was the concept of buyers and sellers hiding their identities. Two technologies served as the marketplace’s agents of anonymity: the software Tor, and the cryptocurrency bitcoin.” (Kozhipatt, 2022).

### Feb 20 Tue - Exam Review

1. What is the function of a DNS?
a. It handles addressing and routing.
b. It requests resources from servers
c. It translates hostnames into IP addresses.
d. It reliably delivers data.
2. Which of the following is an example of a Tragedy of Commons?
a. Lighthouse
b. Boston Common
c. Cable TV
d. Police Department
3. What is the difference between dis-information and mal-information?
4. What is a cookie?

**Answers**
1. C
2. B
3. Dis-information refers to false information which is designed to cause harm, while mis-information can be true information used out of context to mislead or cause harm.
4. It’s a small piece of information which a web server asks to remember and send for when you return.

### Feb 27 Tue - Shaped

Digital communication can make it difficult for us to stay mindful. There are countless distractions and things to compare ourselves to online. The steady influx of new information can divert our attention away from the current moment. However, we can try to strengthen our focus by scheduling specific tasks and being clear about our goals. There are tips and tricks available to help us remain focused and mindful when using digital devices., and example of this is to set limits and boundaries when using a device and to keep track of screen time.

The way we evaluate and assess interactions online can impact our self-esteem. When we place too much emphasis on quantifying and turning human interactions into commodities, we raise concerns about how this affects how we feel about ourselves. In today's dating scene, with so many possibilities and continual scrutiny, we may be more ready to explore other prospective matches rather than commit to long-term relationships. This can have an impact on our self-esteem and overall well-being. As stated in the text “If self-esteem is understood as simply thinking well of oneself and is promoted through the flattery of fixed traits (such as “You are so pretty” or “You are so smart”), such comments can backfire. However, self-esteem can also be understood as the ability to consider and make use of positive and negative feedback (for example, about what works well and what can be improved)” (Reagle, 2019), Before reading this part in the chapter, my main thought of self-esteem was our perception of ourselves. However, after examining the influence of evaluating and judging relationships online, I believe that correlating self-esteem with positive and negative feedback, and learning how to use it to improve ourselves in all aspects, is a more constructive viewpoint.