###### tags: `CDA`
# 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

### Learning - RR No. 1
In their book *Make It Stick*, authors Brown, Roediger, and McDaniel argue that learning is an acquired skill. Their main reason for why this is true is that some learning techniques work better than others. They write, “Many teachers believe that if they can make learning easier and faster, the learning will be better. Much research turns this belief on its head: when learning is harder, it’s stronger and lasts longer,” (p. 9). Rereading and massed practice (like cramming) are the most preferred methods by students and teachers, but are the least effective. Rereading is deceitful, as we confuse familiarity for mastery. Memorizing the text is not the same as mastering the text’s meaning and ideas. Rereading and massed practice have proven not to be durable methods. Retrieval practice (like flashcards or testing) works much better, especially alongside periodic practice, which strengthens retrieval routes. Testing lets you know your areas of weakness, helping you gain mastery.

The authors also disagree with the popular argument that standardized testing creates a reliance on memorization and isn’t an accurate measure of ability. They say we should think about standardized tests as practicing retrieval and that testing can be used as a tool for learning. While I agree that testing is helpful to learning, standardized tests hold so much weight in today’s society that they become permanent measures of a student’s intellect and development as opposed to identifiers of weakness. Younger children’s development can change dramatically over weeks and months, and standardized tests held once a year paint overly broad assessments. They also create competition and comparison, holding children up to a broad, unaccommodating standard. Standardized tests don’t put the student in the context of their individual education, only rewarding those who excel past the national average. Can we rely on these extrinsic values to motivate students to learn better?

### Cooperation - RR No. 2
“It is a powerful mathematical cartoon of a struggle that is central to life, one between conflict and cooperation, between the individual and the collective good.” (p. 12) says author Martin Nowak in describing the Prisoner’s Dilemma, a game with two players whose individual decisions will affect both outcomes. On a much grander scale with much grander consequences, is a public goods game including more than just two players. Citing a study by Manfred Milinski, Nowak defines the two “ingredients” of cooperation: information and publicity. “When playing a public goods game, others have to know that you are doing your bit for the world,” writes Nowak, “Only then can an individual’s regard for his or her own reputation be fully exploited,” (p. 28). This is known as the reputation effect, which Nowak believes could be used for good. For example, having mandatory stickers on non-electric cars warning others of the dangers of the car might discourage people from buying them because of public shaming.

On the internet, I’ve seen a lot of this exploitation Nowak writes of. People proudly share their charitable efforts in posts, videos, and images. When people share links to donate to a cause, it creates pressure for others to donate and share. “Challenges” also show the reputation effect. Whether you are challenged by someone else to do it or not, there is social pressure to do the challenge, especially charitable ones like the ALS ice bucket challenge. Nowak doesn’t detail the role of the internet in public goods games, but I believe it has great potential to promote cooperation in today’s society and achieve goals for the common good.

### Social networks - RR No. 3
“The first fax machine was worthless,” Rheingold writes (p. 198). That’s because, as he goes on to explain, fax machines don’t communicate, humans do. Humans don’t just communicate, they create networks. While human social networks through speech have existed since the origin of humankind, modern technology is amplifying the reach of social networks. According to Sarnoff’s law, the value of a network maintained through one-way broadcast mediums increases arithmetically. Add more receivers, add that much more value. In contrast, Metcalfe’s law explains that the network value of “many-to-many” networks like the Internet increases even quicker by multiplying the reach. Quoting communications researcher Castells, Rheingold shares how these networks are transforming society, “Power does not reside in institutions, not even in the state or in large corporations. It is located in the networks that structure society,” (p. 201). We can see this in social movements like #MeToo or Black Lives Matter, both of which have created real-world change by engaging supporters online. It’s almost impossible to log on to social media without seeing a link to a donation page.

Another transformation is the rise of “networked individualism”. The portability and personalization of new technology has made it so that “the person, rather than the household or group, is the primary unit of connectivity,” (Wellman et al. as cited in Rheingold, p. 211). This makes being on the Internet a much more personal experience, which leads to a better sense of belonging for many. It’s much easier to find your niche online and instantaneously be able connect with other people who have the same interests. But what happens when you only develop your social networks online? While socialization online is still socialization, it is very easy to pick and choose who you socialize with and become trapped in a bubble. I would be interested to see the differences in traditional and online social circles, and how the conditions of one affect socialization in the other. Maybe one day we’ll live in a world where our social circles only exist online. What will the future of social networks be?

### Haters - RR No. 4
Godwin’s Law states that “‘as an online discussion grows longer, the probability of a comparison involving Nazis or Hitler approaches 1’” (Godwin as cited in Reagle). This might seem like an illogical or extreme correlation, but Joseph Reagle’s Reading the Comments explains how and why the Internet gets so heated. Reagle references many psychological studies in his book, applying them to online behavior. For example, participants, wearing either a hood or nametag, were instructed to administer electric shocks to others in Phil Zimbardo’s 1969 study. Those with hidden identities under the hood were more likely to administer shocks than those with nametags. This “loss of sense and social norm,” as defined by Reagle, is deindividuation. A variation of this study was performed 10 years later with KKK-like outfits and nurses’ uniforms. This demonstrated depersonalization, or “a shift from sense of self to toward a group and its norms,” as those in KKK-like outfits were more likely to administer shock than those dressed as nurses.

You’ve probably heard people say, “You would never say that to someone’s face,” in the context of online comments, showing deindividuation’s role online. Reagle mentions Kathy Sierra, a programmer and blog author, who was disturbingly harassed and threatened by members of the blog Mean Kids. Reagle describes the incident as a “trollplex,” defined as “an attack by people who come from varied backgrounds, exhibit varied behavior, but share a target, a culture, and venues”. In my opinion, a trollplex is another example of depersonalization. Sierra’s story, and the lack of accountability in its outcome, worried me. How should we handle the harmful content that many would call “free speech”? The First Amendment doesn’t stop individuals or organizations from prohibiting speech. I agree with people like Sierra who believe in the accountability of leaders that create negative environments that promote harmful speech. While people like Elon Musk and Donald Trump may see themselves as vigilantes in the free speech movement, they are the ones contributing to a culture of hatred and, ultimately, violence. As Albert Bandera says, “People suffer from the wrongs done to them, regardless of how perpetrators might justify their inhumane actions,” (Bandera as cited in Reagle).

### Practice Midterm Questiosns - RR No. 5
1. According to the lectures, this type of encryption is the **most secure**:
a. Symmetric key encryption
b. Onion routing
c. Caesar cipher
d. Asymmetric/public key encryption

2. According to the lecture on haters, which of the following studies relates to **depersonalization**:
a. The 1972 marshmallow experiment
b. The updated 2012 marshmallow experiment
c. The KKK and nurses zapping experiment
d. The hooded zapping experiment

3. Explain the differences and similarities between the Tragedy of Commons and Public Goods.

4. Explain one of the solutions to social dilemmas and why it works.

**ANSWERS**
1. According to the lectures, this type of encryption is the **most secure**:
a. Symmetric key encryption
Explanation: A common key is used, which can’t be sent to other places without being compromised.
_**b. Onion routing - correct answer**_
_**Explanation: Multiple layers of encryption are used, making it impossible to find the identity of the client.**_
c. Caesar cipher
Explanation: Letters are shifted over by the same number, this is the least secure method.
d. Asymmetric/public key encryption
Explanation: A public key and private key are used, but certificates are necessary to verify the public key and the identity of the client is public.

2. According to the lecture on haters, which of the following studies relates to **depersonalization**:
a. The 1972 marshmallow experiment
Explanation: This experiment concluded that a child’s (in)ability to wait to eat a marshmallow could predict success later in life.
b. The updated 2012 marshmallow experiment
Explanation: This experiment concluded that a child’s (in)ability to wait for a reward was based on trust.
_**c. The KKK and nurses zapping experiment - correct answer
Explanation: This experiment showed that those dressed in KKK-like outfits were more likely than those dressed as nurses to administer more shocks, displaying the concept of depersonalization where people reorient their behavior to fit more salient norms.**_
d. The hooded zapping experiment
Explanation: This experiment shows that those wearing hoods were more likely than those with name tags to administer more shocks, displaying the concept of deindividuation where anonymity makes you lose your inhibitions and sense of self.

3. Explain the differences and similarities between the Tragedy of Commons and Public Goods.
_**The Tragedy of Commons is rivalrous and has to do with overconsumption, while Public Goods are non-rivalrous and have to do with underproduction. Both are non-excludable.**_

4. Explain one of the solutions to social dilemmas and why it works.
_**Government intervention in the form of taxes can solve a Public Goods dilemma because it ensures the creation/maintenance of a public good through public funding when no other sources are willing to contribute.**_