###### tags: `Reading Responses Set 1`
# Alex Kouyoumjian 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.

### Jan 28 Fri - How the web works
Did your last internet search jeopardize your private information? Well, probably not thanks to cryptographical implementations in your browsing. You may be wondering, "but how am I protected, I haven't installed anything." And you'd be right, but that's where the cryptography comes in.

You may have noticed that most URLs begin with http or https. Whats the difference? The "s." Standing for Hypertext Transfer Protocol, the user's request and server's response are in plain text. If accessed by the wrong people, this information is easy to decipher and steal. Now on the other hand, through https (s standing for secure), the data exchanged is encrypted so that no malicious party can interpret it. Hartley Brody describes it excellently as translating your request into gibberish and then having the proper recipient decode the gibberish back into legible information.

It's fascinating that all this background protection happens seamlessly and (practically) instantaneously, to the point where the majority of web users don't even know it exists. Like with most of the advancements in the digital age, people often have little knowledge of if and how they are protected. We are certainly in the age of skipping over the fine print, as we all fall guilty to accepting the terms and conditions of services without fully reading them. This contentment to being susceptible is especially dangerous in our age with how public our lives are. Knowing the basics of cryptography could save your sensitive information like banking, social security, and even addresses from falling in the wrong hands.

### Feb 08 Tue - Learning
"Wow, do I really know how to study?" This thought continually popped in my head throughout reading chapter 1 of [Peter C. Brown's](https://www.amazon.com/Peter-C-Brown/e/B001HMNSLS/ref=dp_byline_cont_pop_book_1) [book](https://www.amazon.com/Make-Stick-Science-Successful-Learning/dp/0674729013). I want to respond to a few of his most controversial claims about the effectiveness in the ways people learn, relating them to how I study.

#### "We are poor judges of when we are learning well and when we're not" (p. 3).
I have mixed feelings about this one. The experience of a concept you've been struggling with finally *clicking* is unmatched. I believe this feeling allows many to properly judge how they are learning. However, Brown makes an excellent point that people tend to gravitate towards easier studying practices. Is the material only *clicking* on a surface level, and because you studied through ineffective medians, it will not stick long term? That is for you to decide.

#### Space out practice produces longer lasting learning and more versatile application. (found on p. 4)
This is my favorite take from chapter one. Brown believes that learning through getting a little rusty between sessions- even interweaving the practice of multiple subjects, makes retrieval of information harder, but produces better results. This really challenges my beliefs of studying as I am definitely a victim of "cramming." However, I fully agree as "space out practice" promotes long term learning through actually retaining the information, mirroring how the real world works. Workers don't just learn the skills they use the day before a project and then forget them immediately after. So why should we study like that?

### What I Got Out of the Reading
This has easily been the most enjoyable reading response I've done so far. I felt like it being so applicable to me has enabled better critically analysis. I don't think I'll ever look at studying in the same way. I am going to try and change some of my bad habits, especially cramming before tests. I also plan to try doing "space out practice" to see if I can fully agree with Brown.

### Feb 22 Tue - Haters
Are the people you know living alternate lives on the internet? The anonymity resulting from the rise of social media and the web has given users the chance to live multiple lives without repercussion. The lack of direct consequence and accountability, as is often present in offline interaction, allows many to become totally different people online. Whether it's in rage after losing a round in a video game, spite from having a different political or philosophical belief, or in the pursuit of chaos through trolling, the anonymity of the internet has turned both good and bad people malicious.

#### The Troll
I want to focus this reading response on trolls. The above cartoon depicts the essence of a twitter troll hiding their face like how a user can hide behind a username. Susan Herring defines trolls as "one who sends messages that appear outwardly sincere, that are designed to attract predictable responses or flames, and that consequently waste time by provoking futile arguments." This aspect of wasting time often leaves the victim frustrated and angry.

#### So why do people spend so much effort on being a troll?
They do it for the feeling achieved from making someone else upset. I relate this to how people feel after pulling pranks. If it is successful, the victim is often humiliated in some way. The rush from upsetting the victim leads the culprit(s) to enjoy it more. Now take this prank analogy and remove all traces of who is responsible for the prank. This is similar to the environment created on twitter and many internet platforms. This anonymity allows people to troll for sport, making it a "fun" hobby with little to no consequences and absolutely no accountability. Furthermore, unlike a prank where you may feel bad for the victim and stop, internet trolls rarely see the full extent of their actions. Without seeing how their trolls affect others, they are able to continue hurting others without thinking twice.

### Feb 25 Fri - The Dark Web
The Darknet, which enables numerous transactions of contraband leading to tragedy, is run on a browser funded by the State Department and the Department of Defense! Ohh the irony...right? In order to fully understand, we need to go deeper into what the dark web truly is.


#### The Tor Browser
The Tor browser is "free software that masks your location and activity. Originally designed by the Naval Research Lab, Tor receives 60 percent of its backing from the State Department and the Department of Defense to act as a secure network for government agencies as well as dissidents fighting oppressive regimes" ([Kushner](https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-news/the-darknet-is-the-government-destroying-the-wild-west-of-the-internet-198271/)). The browser has enabled many good causes like allowing activists to spread news during the Arab Spring, hiding domestic violence victims from online stalkers, and letting people browse without being tracked by advertisers. Along with providing the government with a secure software used for their sensitive information, the Tor browser has many benefits.

#### What does this have to do with the Darknet
Unfortunately, Tor is also the software used to run the dark web. Its anonymity has enabled evil people to commit malicious actions. Enabling the buying of contraband used in terror attacks, transactions of deadly drugs, human trafficking and torture, and more, the dark web contains egregious material epitomizing the worst parts of humanity. Tor's excellence in preserving the user's anonymity has become a double-edged sword as it protects both good and evil people from being tracked.

#### Why it is so difficult to police the dark web
Simply put- the deep web is enormous, representing more than ninety percent of the web. This is the part of the web that is not accessible through conventional search engines. Instead, "the Darknet lurks in the Deep Web, because the sites there can’t be found by search engines either. But here’s the big difference: The Darknet is composed of people and sites that want to remain anonymous and, unless you’re using the Tor browser, are nearly impossible to find." ([Kushner](https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-news/the-darknet-is-the-government-destroying-the-wild-west-of-the-internet-198271/)) This makes it so difficult to track the origin of material on the dark web.


Consequently, Tor has forced law enforcement into a hopeless game of whack-a-mole. Every time a "mole" is closed in on, it ducks its head below the surface and another three appear. The article compares the Darknet to being the wild west. Enforcing the law in the most lawless part of the net is seemingly an impossible task.

### Mar 01 Tue - Exam review
#### Multiple Choice (answers at bottom)
##### 1. Which of the following properly describes HTML?
A) location of the web resource
B) marked up Webpage content
C) addressing and routing
D) name to address mapping

##### 2. Eliminate the ineffective way(s) of studying/learning. (select all that apply)
A) spaced practice
B) cramming
C) highlighting
D) interleaved practice

#### Short/Essay Questions
##### 1. When searching on the internet, what effects does the algorithm have on your experience? Are people of different backgrounds and beliefs likely to get the same results from a search? How does this limit the potential for a united community on the internet? Pull from an outside source if possible.

##### 2. What does it mean to be a hater vs a troll? Why has trolling online become so common? What role does anonymity play. Further, how does the dehumanization of screen-to-screen interactions make people act differently than they would in real life? Alternatively, do you believe most trolls are just "bad apples"? Which of these reasons for people acting rotten online do you think has the greatest effect?


#### Answer Key - Multiple Choice
##### 1. B
Review [here](https://reagle.org/joseph/2022/cda/cda-syllabus-SP.html#:~:text=MDN%2C%202016%2C%20%E2%80%9C-,How%20the%20web%20works,-.%E2%80%9D) for help.
##### 2. B and C
Review (Brown, Roediger, McDaniel, 2014 Make it Stick: The Science of Successful Learning, ch=1; plus “take aways” of the other chapters) in class zip file for help.

#### Short/Essay Question Explanation
##### Essay 1
This question is focused on the effects of [filter bubbles](https://reagle.org/joseph/2022/cda/cda-syllabus-SP.html) and [echo chambers](https://www.wnyc.org/story/143347-echo-chamber-revisited/) on internet searching. Your answer should include one of, if not both terms and elaborate on how the algorithm targets results that you are likely to agree with and click on. There should be mention of how identical searches yield different results based on this algorithm.

An outstanding response would use references like Robert Putnam- "we are bowling alone" to enforce how the internet promotes individualism. Strong arguments may mention how people tend to have partial memberships in multiple networks, rely less on permanent relationships (easily formed and disbanded), the long-distance implications of the internet, and the strength of social ties.

Overall, this question is asking for an understanding of the search algorithm's biases and how the internet promotes individualism over forming communities.

##### Essay 2 - Example Response
A hater is someone with malicious intent to emotionally harm others. It is often personal. A troll directs their effort towards making people upset and frustrated. They don't know their victims personally. Trolling has become so popular because of the anonymity of the internet. Without the consequences and accountability shielded by the anonymous nature of online interaction, trolls never understand how their actions are affecting others. The screen-to-screen element dehumanizes the whole situation as the troll often forgets they're hurting real people.

I believe that most trolls aren't actually bad people. Because of how dehumanized the interactions can be, I think people who normally would act with kindness and compassion in person become rotten online. While other aspects like anonymity and accountability play large roles in enabling trolls, not being able to see the people you interact with is the leading contributor to internet trolling.