Anyone who has googled a simple question and sifted through pages of biased, promotional, or outright false blogs and articles in pursuit of a legitimate answer can affirm that "democratized access to publishing leads to so much crap that it's killing culture" (Rheingold). Rheingold explains that licensed publishing once proved a durable solution to this highly relatable issue, but is no longer affective or even relevant due to universalized web access. A new, reformed solution, he proposes, is teaching readers to recognize the differences between 'good' and 'bad' writing.

Summa bonum : the highest good, especially as the ultimate goal according to which values and priorities are established in an ethical system.

"...the summa bonum of educated life"

Clay Shirky uses this term in reference to a refined balance existing between media and its interpreters. This point plays directly into Rheingold's argument that we are currently in a period of media saturation and information over-exposure, and moreover that this is a phase in a historically repetitious cycle.

Although the young Walter Lippman was addressing an entirely different set of issues when he claimed "U.S. citizens are too gullible and ill informed to govern a modern, complex society" his statement still applies, to some degree, to twenty-first century America. It's a bit extreme to say Americans are incapable of governing a modern, complex society, but it is no exaggeration that gullibility and misinformation play a major part in modern American media. Without the prevalence of gullibility and misinformation, Russian propaganda would not have so easily penetrated American news feeds and likely would have had no influence on the 2016 presidential election.

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/09/13/us/politics/russia-facebook-election.html

Rheingold spends a lot of time addressing and evaluating the issue of media-induced dissolving of sustained attention. Unlike many other writers such as Carr and Jackson who also recognize this issue, Rheingold goes a step farther to say something can be done in response. At this point in his argument, Rheingold moves away from simply stating, restating and restating again that human agency opens up the possibility for proactive behavior, and provides actual examples of possible actions that can be taken. An example of possible remedies he provides is teaching meditation practices and attention training in the home, classroom, or even workplace.

"Humans have agency."

This incredibly simple statement both condenses Rheingold's counterargument towards "technological determinism," and summarizes one of the major themes present in the reading. We may lose the capacity for sustained, focused attention. We may read in a nonlinear, scattered manner at the expense of depth and concentration. We may even substitute the web for personal memories. These affects, however, are not guaranteed, because humans have agency. Humans maintain the ability to observe new technologies, adapt to the environments created by them, and thrive.

In 1440, Johannes Gutenburg brought mechanical movable type printing to Renaissance Europe, introducing an era of mass communication which permanently altered the structure of society. Rheinburg, just as he did before with the invention of writing and the telephone, briefly exemplifies Gutenburg's media revolution to support his argument that, in response to a disruptive abundance of communications, a culture can choose to educate widely and benefit greatly. If Gutenbrug's 'printing press' managed to break the literate elites' monopoly on education and learning, spiking massive increases in literacy, what can we expect with the growing presence of the internet and worldwide web connectivity?

image from http://www.gettyimages.co.uk/

Rheingold continues to combat anti-internet hysteria, this time in defense of search engines. He brings up an interesting point that the machine's affordances, or properties that define its intended use, do not limit the way we use the mechanism. This point interests me because it not only serves as an effective counterargument to Carr's statements regarding search engines and hyperlinks, but also holds true to more situations than just the search engine instance. Yes, search engines reduce the online exploration process to a person's ability to recognize and input key words, but this does not debase the entire research process, rather accelerates it.

"...people were writing things about the telephone not unlike what people are writing about these technologies."

This quote from Claude Fischer shares a connection with a quote from Plato later in the reading regarding the invention of writing.

"...The fact is [writing] will produce forgetfullness in the souls of those who have learned it. They will not need to exercise their memories, being able to rely on what is written.. "

The underlying connection between these unique scenarios is an introduction of crucial new technologies into society. The internet, and more specifically social networking, serves as the third wave of revolutionary technologies in human social connection and society in the aggregate. With this new wave of revolutionary technology follows a new wave of perspectives and interpretations, many of which, as Rheingold acknowledges, take a harsh tone of forewarning. Where many critics may claim the internet and its properties are in the process of degrading human interaction and brain function, Rheingold takes a more proactive stance. He chooses not to isolate his focus on the situation, but instead ponders what can be done in response to the situation.

Rheingold examines the increasingly accessible web as a kind of new frontier that grants new opportunities and poses new threats. Directing his focus mainly at the affects of this new frontier on people's attention and ability to concentrate, the negative affects detailed by Rheingold are, for the most part, limited to distractions from goals and interpersonal relationships. The threats posed by this growing frontier, however, go far beyond social media addictions and poor parenthood.

Also taking advantage of growing web connections are terrorist groups such as ISIS. People with the potential to commit horrific acts that may not have otherwise been reached by these groups are now highly accessible via internet presence and social media profiles. J. M. Berger outlines the multi-step, online recruitment process used by terrorist groups

"...Isolation – Potential recruits are encouraged to cut ties with mainstream influences, such as their families, friends and local religious communities"

If oxytocin really is capable of being released via digital stimulus, it may be the active ingredient in the toxin that is online terrorist recruiting. Recruiters are capable of showing potential candidates support and understanding that candidates likely never experienced through relationships with family and friends.

https://www.brookings.edu/blog/markaz/2015/11/09/how-terrorists-recruit-online-and-how-to-stop-it/

Rheingold uses this closing statement to transition out of the introductory portion of his argument, and into one of his argument's main themes: "[dealing] with distraction without filtering out opportunity."

Already covered at this point in his argument is the idea that the limitless nature of the internet presents new dualistic opportunities for learning/distraction. Reihngold employs anecdotes regarding attention and distraction, as well as examples of neurological studies to subtly develop his response to this growing issue. With this selection from the reading, Reihngold explicitly summarizes his response that the benefits and harms of internet are not inevitable factors that affect the internet's users, but are instead harnessable and avoidable.

This excerpt serves as an example of a Mohegan basket going beyond its practical use. In the place of a letter or journal, a minister from the Mohegan community sent his sister a basket as a record of his journey. The basket, along with serving as a record of events, may have contained objects that tacitly revealed other aspects of his journey.

The author takes some liberty here in explaining the cultural significance behind the stylized leaves, strawberries, and even the individual dots. The designs, so carefully and intentionally applied, likely possess multiple layers of significance, and are certainly subject to multiple interpretations, but planr beings, interdependent relationships between the people and the land, and dots as people might be taking it too far. The author makes several claims of debatable accuracy, but fails to provide any citations of evidence. It's possible that this interpreter has begun "[allegorizing this] textual object out of its materiality." (J J Cohen, The Life of an Object)

http://www.inthemedievalmiddle.com/2014/04/the-life-of-object-digital-curation.html

By examining the tools used by the Mohegans, we take a direct look into their daily life and practice. The specialization of individual baskets testifies to the Mohegan's sophistication in the field of basketry. Additionally, the specialization of baskets raises questions about the baskets' ceremonial and utilitarian properties. Does a particular kind of basket play a stronger cultural role than others?

In response to an earthquake that damaged or destroyed hundreds of Italy's cultural and historical sites, the Italian minister of culture Dario Franceschini encouraged Italian's to visit museums located in regions hit hardest by the earthquake "as a sign of solidarity with the population." By destroying the buildings that once stood in these Italian historical sights, the earthquake reduced the cultural value of the area. This cultural value came simply from the age of the buildings that once stood in these regions, and more specifically from the generations of Italians that witnessed, maintained, or even lived and worked in the buildings.

The demolished buildings, without their humble presence in Italian history, are little more than rubble. Mohegan baskets are affected similarly by their practicality and humble presence in daily Native life. Without the ritualistic process of their creation and the understood meanings of their designs, Mohegan baskets are little more than baskets. However, "by touching every aspect of daily native life, both past and present, basketry is imbued with cultural and spiritual power."

http://www.cnn.com/2016/08/25/europe/italy-earthquake-historic-sites-damaged/

For an article focusing on the cultural significance of a object and its adornments, a visual understanding of the subject matter is crucial. Without the in-depth physical description provided at this point in the passage, the reader would be completely dependent on the black and white, single frame photo shown at the beginning of this excerpt. When it comes to the intricate color designs on the basket's exterior, the photo does not do the work much justice.

A common place of misconception is the absence of a common alphabet among early Native cultures. Although evidence of texts and manuscripts exists, these inscriptions don't always parallel the outreach or application of western alphabets. In terms of established alphabets early Native literacy is largely theoretical. However, by the standard of Native text beyond written word existing, widespread Native literacy becomes an arguable concept. The passage includes wood splint baskets, pictographic signatures, and painted plain tipis as possible examples of texts that may transcend written word.

Something to account for when considering objects as texts is the unintentional narratives that objects often tell about their makers, and origins. In the case of the Mohegan painted wood-splint basket, the painted exterior undoubtedly tells us much about the maker's concept of aesthetics, but the practical details such as the newspaper lining reveal far more about the Mohegan culture and the circumstances prompting the creation of the basket. For instance, the fact that a newspaper from 1817, Hartford, Connecticut was used as the basket's lining immediately orients the basket's creation both geographically and chronologically. The date and location provided by the newspaper do no give us exact historical coordinates, but they certainly serve as strong hints in the right direction.

The use of newspaper linings, an interesting display of Native cultures' innovative and adaptive inclinations, goes beyond just the Mohegan culture. Natives heralding from differing nations used this same peculiar method of protecting a basket's interior goods which introduces a third, intriguing quality of Native cultures: homogeneity in the way of invention and practicality. If practices as specific as the use of western newspapers on the interiors of baskets can be found from nation to nation of Native people, what other qualities of baskets are shared among nations, and can basket stylization be understood as text?

An excerpt from earlier in the reading sheds more light on the idea behind the creation of a wood splint basket as a communal process:

"Wood-splint basket making was not a solitary effort; it was one that involved contributions of labor from within the community." (pg 53)

In much the same way that a traditional novel follows a plotted course from author, to editor, to publisher, to binding companies, a Mohegan basket, from selection of the appropriate log to the binding of the final splint, is influenced by each member of the community that oversees its creation. The basket's completion and effectivity serve as testaments to the cohesive nature of the community, without need of signatures or individual accreditation.

The painted wood-splint basket, a practical day-to-day object, demonstrates the same reverence towards the eastern and western facing openings that are observed in Mohegan ceremonial arbor. This alone exemplifies the cultural significance of the basket. In what other context would a household item be adorned with a culturally prevalent design than the basket itself holding cultural significance?