Read this table before you email me your question. That way you will be able to be more specific with your questions. Some of the exchanges I've had with other groups are displayed in full when deemed generally instructive for other groups facing similar more philosophical questions.
| Q.: I had a question about Descartes
article...It is in the last paragraph of the article, which seems to be the
crux of it. Okay, I get that Descartes is stating that the human body is like a complex machine...etc. whose arrangement of organs allow it to move as naturally as a clock. But when Descartes says: "In order to explain these functions, then, it is not necessary to conceive of this machine as having any vegetative or sensitive soul or other principle of movement and life, apart from its blood and its spirits....etc" Is Descartes saying that we need not think of humans as having a 'soul' but that all we do is a result of the complexity of our 'machine-like' parts...If so, then why does he say "apart from blood and "spirits," which is the key word that confused me. It seems like it is a contradiction...as the word 'spirit' suggests something that is not machine-like, but intangible. If you could shed some light on this it would be very much appreciated. A.: Descartes established a mechanistic physiology where he describes the human body in analogy to an automaton that is driven by several fluids, such as air, blood and the animal spirits, which, as he says somewhere, are a very subtle matter similar to the spirit of wine?. 'Animal spirits' = nervous fluids (medium of transmission of information). Animal spirits whooshing through the pores of the brain which helps him explain dreaming, imagination, memory. Basically, Descartes did not know about molecular chemicals yet and all he could see were these physical things, like blood and the animal spirits (cell fluids and other bodily fluids. He knew however that blood and other liquids must have a function – remember, it’s a machine where all is well-oiled and thought out – but it was impossible for him to know yet how these fluids work. So animal spirit is his way of getting around the fact that he cannot explain the mechanics of chemicals. Consider also that Descartes was living in a particular historical time. Impressed and inspired by the art and skills of late renaissance engineers who built complex trick fountains (http://www.stadt-salzburg.at/internet/stadtverwaltung/betriebsverwaltung/t2_85218/t2_86194/t2_38980/t2_39039/p2_39444.htm) in the gardens of and around Paris and other cities, Descartes compared us, "this peculiar automaton": with the grottos and fountains in the gardens of our kings that the force that makes the water leap from its source is able of itself to move divers machines and even to make them play certain instruments or pronounce certain words according to the various arrangements of the tubes which the water is conducted. And truly one can well compare the nerves of the machine that I am describing to the tubes of the mechanisms of these fountains, its muscles and tendons to divers other engines and springs which serve to move these mechanisms, its animal spirits to the water which drives them, of which the heart is the source and the brain's cavities the water main. Moreover, breathing and other such actions which are ordinary and natural to it, and which depend on the flow of the spirits, are like the movements of a clock or mill which the ordinary flow of water can render continuous. External objects which merely by their presence act on the organs of sense and by this means force them to move in several different ways, depending on how the parts of the brain are arranged, are like strangers who, entering some of the grottos of these fountains, unwittingly cause the movements that then occur, since they cannot enter without stepping on certain tiles so arranged that, for example, if they approach a Diana bathing they will cause her to hide in the reeds; and if they pass farther to pursue her they will cause a Neptune to advance and menace them with his trident; or if they go in another direction they will make a marine monster come out and spew water into their faces, or other such things according to the whims of the engineers who made them. And finally when there shall be a rational soul in this machine, it will have its chief seat in the brain and will there reside like the turncock who must be in the main to which all the tubes of these machines repair when he wishes to excite, prevent, or in some manner alter their movements. So at this point Descartes has not yet faced the question of really integrating a more spiritual concept of "soul" into his mechanical philosophy. There is no vital soul, just mechanical processes. The mechanical philosophy says all natural processes work by contact action -- there is only matter in motion. Ensuing from this philosophy, as you can imagine was a long and continuing discussion on "free will" versus determinism (all our actions are predetermined). But that is another story... |
| Q.: I was re-reading the three readings
for the week of Nov.2/04 and I have difficulty grasping the essence of the
readings. Would you be able to help me with the important take aways for the
Socrates, the Timeline and the Descartes readings? Thank you. A.: I will give you a very condensed version. For more preparation on these texts, hit the library and google. There is tons of material on their thoughts and ideas. on Socrates: the basic take-away is that a) the inventor (e.g., engineer) may be too seduced and enamored with his or her creation so that s/he cannot see the actual value and ramifications of her invention for the larger good or society and the culture in general. and b) that even though technicians and engineers often do not think so, technology always has unintended consequences that again, the inventor may not be best to anticipate. This is somewhat of a critique of the instrumental view of technology (remember? technology as value-neutral!). Descartes: spends the best part of the "Treatise" outlining the ways that our body (this machine's) senses are informed by the singly material operations of the cardiovascular and nervous systems. His purpose, again, is to show how a soul is not necessary to the bodily functions of man - that our bodies all operate the same, and according to rational physical principles. It’s called mechanistic philosophy Timetable: be familiar with the decades of significant events. |
| Q: For the final exam, do you expect
that we will be writing the exam for the full three hours? Or are we
expected to write a similar amount to the midterm exam?
A: The exam will last a max. of 90 minutes, just like the midterm. |
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Q.: To my understanding the exam is non-cumulative, so is the first lecture that we should start from the "fundamentals of high-tech markets" which commenced on Nov. 2? We won't be responsible for m-commerce or the google presentation for example, even though they weren't tested on the first exam right? A.: It is non-cumulative and the material to be covered for the final exam begins with the Nov. 2 lecture. Q.: To what extent do we have to be familiar with the dates/events in the technology time table? As well, do we have to be familiar with the descriptions of certain movies outlined in the appendix of Goldman's readings? A.: You should at least know the decade of major events such as first computer, atomic bomb, Chernobyl, etc.. No, No need to be familiar with Goldman's appendix. Q.: The online reading by Dibbell "Rape in cyberspace" is not listed under the readings for the course outline so i'm assuming we aren't responsible for it for testing purposes and that it is only there for our interest..is that right? A.: Correct. It's in fact part of the reading for an MBA class I teach. For purposes of efficiency I maintain only one site with digital readings. |
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A: (limit to Bullet Points)
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Q: Do we have to address a specific issue concerning the company, or simply briefly describe the current situations or environments for the company? A: The answer to this depends of course on your choice for the project. Ask yourself: what do we want to do? What is it we want to know? In other words, what you need to research and understand depends on whether you want to, to give you some examples, explore the meaning of virtual communities for the formation of a brand in the face of free expression of consumer dissent (e.g., the Starbucks community), or the role of virtual environments in product testing, or the next generation of the portable games. |
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Q: We have identified PlayStation Portable product line, an extension of its well known PlayStation brand, to be our research target. Sony has put significant marketing efforts on the product to prepare its official launch in Japan market next month. People are closely watching whether Sony's PSP can surpass Nitendo's GameBoy Advance to dominate the next generation of portable gaming market. Our first question is, since Sony is such a large enterprise, it's virtually impossible for us to study the marketing strategy of the company as a whole. So, can we focus on the strategy of one specific product line (or one market segment) instead? A: I would strongly discourage you from studying Sony as a company. Studying "the gaming market in Japan" is already a huge and in reality undoable project. Why do another strategy project at all? Do you not want to do something else for a change? You are already doing a case. Instead, why don't you research the 'nature' of the next generation games and outline the differences between Sony and Nintendo games? Present a history of computer games and tell us where they are at now (what do they do? what needs do they fulfill? why are they continuously being played? etc.), what we can learn from the trajectory that you identified? In other words, what will games look like in the future? what needs will they fulfill in the future, where is the industry headed in the future? You can still talk about marketing ( a lot actually, like segmentation, consumer needs, product development, positioning, etc.) but in a less prescriptive and more exploratory way. HAVE FUN WITH THIS! LEARN SOMETHING YOU WANT TO LEARN DOING THIS!
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Q: We notice that in the course outline, there are very specific and clear requirements for the case study. So we are also wondering whether the same criteria apply to the research project. Due to the limited information we can find as outsiders, we might not be able to obtain enough information to identify the firm's internal strengths/weaknesses. A: Of course not! How could you? So, don't and focus instead on something else that you CAN find information on.
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A: We have the impression that the research project is more flexible than the case study. If this is true, could you please suggest what possible areas we can focus on for this specific topic? Following is a brain storming list of possible items we could study: Q: You are correct. The research study is much more open to your own inclinations. A tip, why don't you guys detach yourself for this study from strategic thinking and competitive analyses etc. and analyze "the culture of video gaming" instead. Delve into the allure of these games, try to discern what makes them so addictive, look at the differences among them and how they fulfill different user needs, think about the role and meaning of games in the larger socio-cultural background of western and eastern post-industrialized contexts. In other words, my suggestion would be, use the study to UNDERSTAND THE VIDEO GAME ITSELF. And within such a study, integrate some of your points from below such as the 4Ps, branding, and cultural differences. Look at these links at think about it: http://www.ischool.washington.edu/robotpets/onlinediscussion/ http://portal.acm.org/citation.cfm?id=642611.642660 http://www.robots.org/2002_Spring_Robot_Games.htm http://www.daimi.au.dk/~hhl/MindFest/
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Q: How many pages we should write for the write-up? |
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Q: How long can the presentation be? A: The presentation should be between 25-30 minutes. |
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Q: How many pages we should write for the write-up? A: Usually 15 pages double-spaces, times 12, is sufficient. The limit is 20 pages double-spaced. |
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Q: Regarding the set of readings (max. 20 pages) we need to assign for the class, are they the articles we collect from different sources, or the final report we will write? A: The readings are selected by you to prepare the class for your topic. You should select two to three articles form the business or academic press. |
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Q: Does everyone need to present? A: No. |
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Q: Since our group is going to do an interview with one manager in Manulife financials, is there any form we need to sign for this purpose? A: Yes. Download this form and change the red parts to make them fit your project. Print out this form and have it signed by your informant. |
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Q: Sorry sir, but i think our group is a bit confused on
the topic for the research topic. We will be presenting our research topic
at the second half of the course, thus, are we limited to analyzing only
high-tech companies?
A: No! See syllabus! Q: By high-tech companies, do you mean computer, digital camera companies etc..., or can we also study network companies whose operations are solely virtual (ex: neopets, sims etc)? A: If you want to study a company (which I discourage), yes, you could look at computer manufacturers, especially high-end producers that, for example, design programs and hardware for NASA, rather than Dell and Compaq (or Microsoft for that matter) that produce for a mass market. Sure, digital camera manufacturers could be an option. |
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Q: Can we also study network companies whose operations
are solely virtual (ex: neopets, sims etc)? A: That depends. Earlier you had asked me "is it suppose to be a company that is solely based online like Neopets or can it be a company that uses online as a component of their business like Dell Computers?" and I pointed out that you should not put the emphasis on the internet (ie., online, electronic network as main focus of the research project) but on companies, products, markets, or objects that operate in, include, or are being marketed as high-tech. Sims and perhaps Neopets are cross-over topics because you can either choose to analyze their interactive/network character or the fact that they are "virtual environments" mediated through a technology-intensive infrastructure. I will read your proposal very carefully to make sure you address the technology-aspect of video gaming if you choose to go with that (ie, graphic quality, chip advancements, standard wars, etc.). Now, obviously, other products like hand-helds or radio frequency technology are also related to networked communication and the Internet but they are also high-technology dev |