MONDAY, DECEMBER 3, 2012
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY GANSAN
PAGE 5A
opinion
It's so cold I've been running extra applications on my phone so it gets hot and keeps my hands warm!
Whoever made the KU Compliments Facebook account is incredible!
Dear everyone else, If you worked as hard as we do to become as awesome as we are, you would be tired too.
Sincerely, engineering majors.
Text your FFA submissions to 785-289-8351 or at kansan.com
Dear frat boys, I don't think the silent part of the library is the best place to discuss how much weed you're going to buy.
I HAVE A CRUSH ON EVERY BOY!
Everyone should make it a goal to go to a women's basketball game this year. They're really good! I think we need to show more support for them.
As a way to get through finals, I think Withey should give out hugs.
Dear FFA editor, Will you marry me?
Editor's Note: Yes.
To the girls who never text first: It's a two-way street.
Fezzes may be cool, but bow ties are cooler.
INFORMATION MANIPULATION
HAHAHAHA KENTUCKY
I just saw Jamari walking without Ben. It was like seeing only one half of catdog.
Does Dumbledore participate in No Shave November?
Would I be considered a tool by all the women if I got one of my ears pierced to be more pirate like?
What makes you think your professor grades essays sober?
Coffee has a "Bailey's free" option?
He did, indeed, agree with drunk me, as I received an A on the alleged paper.
Yes, I am secretly judging you, random people on Wescoe Beach.
To the guys who walk their dogs on campus: I see what you're doing, and I like it.
Human after all.
I bet the FFA editor is feeling lonely because everyone is putting their problems in Whisper now.
Homework? Nah I think "Dawson's Creek" sounds better!
KU quidditch is ranked No. I in the world? Take that Hogwarts!
I figured out what I want to do with my life this weekend: ride a unicycle and balance bowls on my head.
The Chiefs should draft McLemore first overall.
Search engines filter out opposing views
Without your knowledge, you have been trapped in a bubble of information, warping your view of the world into something completely different from those around you. Your Facebook, Twitter, and search history have been harvested to personalize the Internet you experience, shutting out millions of voices completely. There is no more objective truth on the Internet, once the ultimate tool of democratic citizens, only a truth that is tame, user-friendly, and dangerously isolated.
Hahahahahaha Kentucky. (Again!)
Life in the modern world is defined by the speed at which it moves. Anyone who isn't in the loop is miles behind the pack. As an avid participator, I can attest to how easy it is to get caught up in the flow of information. Without even thinking, I accept top results on Google as definite truth, and treat most Tweets as true until proven otherwise.
Such naiveté caught up with me when I believed the tweets reporting that my math professor had been awarding extra credit for simply showing up to class. After three weeks of unfailing attendance and no bonus points to show for it, I grew skeptical. Although I should have been going anyway, it was frustrating that I had been so easily manipulated by a bunch of hearsay. This sent me on a search for the search.
Eli Pariser, CEO of and founder of a number of viral websites, gave a lecture in 2011 about something he called "The Filter Bubble." Search engines are using what we click on and what we type to individualize our results, tailoring them to our favorite color, political lean, and what we find fun. With such a vast wealth of information gathered in the Internet, it seems like a necessity. No one, least of
By Wil Kenney wkenney@kansan.com
all me, is ready to trawl through thousands of web pages to find out why Seal is wearing neon-blue pants with an olive-green shirt. I honestly didn't care enough about the information I received to spend more than a few minutes looking for it. It ideally would be a top priority for all of us to labor out the purest and least-biased information available, but there is just not enough time in the day for most of us.
There are a number of problems with the filter bubble that plague just about every internet user. The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy released a report entitled "Search Engines and Ethics" that digs deep into the implications that information manipulation have for the everyday user. It reported on the various algorithms that engines
fusion, completely obstructing progress. But we can account for this information manipulation.
like Google use, based on our Facebook profiles, Youtube history, and even the locations we are searching from. For the liberal-minded college boy, it means that most of my search results are crowded with Huffington Post and Daily Kos articles about healthcare and economic reform and leave out the opposition, basically without my knowledge. To the casual observer, it would seem that only the progressives are taking the time to even write about the issues.
This is unhealthy for our worldviews and even worse for the democracy we live in. The filter bubble has collapsed our world into bite-sized but incorrect pieces. How can citizens or politicians attempt to discuss the issues of the day if they have been informed of completely polarized truths? These types of misunderstandings between political parties have led to hate and con-
Next time you make a Google search, check for a small pair of boxes in the top right corner and click on the one with the globe. This unlabeled and inconspicuous option turns off personal settings and gives you the closest thing to an biased search possible. When reading your news online, realize the filter bubble you're reading through and go out of your way to consider an opposing view. Small changes like these can affect our political discourse and help spur other larger shifts.
So go out and find why Seal wore such a mismatched suit. And please let me know soon because it's really starting to get to me.
Kenney is a freshman majoring in political science and journalism from Shawnee.
RIGHTS
Google fighting for 'free reign' internet
G oogle is great. And all they do is keep getting better.
What started out as simply a great way to get around the Internet has steadily grown into one of the largest companies in the world.
What Google excels at is making cool stuff. They made Google. They just installed GoogleFiber in Kansas City, Kan., and it's crazy fast. They have a dozen driverless cars constantly driving around parts of the U.S., and they've never caused an accident. And pretty soon, Google will release augmented reality glasses that will do things like show you restaurant reviews right in front of your eyes while you're walking downtown.
But this isn't the reason I really like Google. I like Google because they're constantly fighting for my Internet rights.
This week, a United Nations committee called the International Telecommunication Union will decide, without any input from the citizens of world, if they want to take reign of the Internet. Countries that censor
their Internet, like China and Iran, believe if the ITU has control of the Internet, then they would be better able to control and censor the Internet in their countries.
Google, who thrives on the current "free reign" Internet, has decided that ITU control is a terrible idea, and you should think it's a terrible idea, too. The ITU would control the Internet behind closed doors, led by government officials, and without hearing the voices of the people. It's legislation without representation, but with countries like Russia, Iran and China deciding the legislation. The U.S. is a member nation of the U.N. and would have to follow ITU guidelines. Guidelines like a requirement to ask the government's
permission to start a new website.
The U.S. would probably not start to censor content, but this affects the U.S. much more. China houses half of the Internet users in the world, twice as many as the U.S. These new ITU guidelines would give China, a country where googling phrases like "Tienanmen Square" lead to false news sites, even more censoring power over its population.
So Google is fighting these governments. It's using the fact that it's Google and using its enormous influence and power to make this ITU meeting an open forum for the world. It's started a petition (which you should sign by the way) to get even more leverage over these countries.
Sure, Google is probably doing this because the ITU control would severely limit Google's business outside the U.S. But still, you should be happy that Google is fighting this fight because they still happen to be fighting for all of your Internet rights, whether you care or not.
Simpson is a freshman majoring in chemical engineering from Fairway.
CAMPUS CHIRPS BACK
Is it okay for the NFL to have the Chiefs play Sunday?
Follow us on Twitter @UDK_Opinion.
Tweet us your opinions, and we just might publish them.
SCHOOL SPIRIT
Sports have the power to connect
For a moment, it's as if time is frozen. The slow tick of the clock couldn't move any slower. Everyone is silent. For one side, this could be glorious, something unheard of. And for the other, it could mean their hard work throughout the entire 40 minutes of regulation could be over and not a thing.
Every player stands still and watches as a perfect shot is executed. Fans stand with their hands clenched, others with their hands over their eyes, with just enough space between their fingers to see if the shot fell through. The perfect swoosh of the ball hitting the net could be heard throughout the arena. Half the crowd becomes still, some even shed tears. While the other half goes crazy, jumping up and down with adrenaline pumping through their veins.
While watching the video of Mario Chalmer's 3-point 2008 championship game miracle shot at the last KU men's basketball game, I realized I could never go a game without getting goose-bumps or feeling the biggest sense of pride swell over me in that moment.
Sports connect so many people in such a simplistic way. There's a man with his 8-year-old son pointing out players, and hoping one day he can love the game just as much as he does. There's a recent college graduate longing to be a part of the student section again. There's an older couple smiling and cheering as their grandson gets ready to check into the game. And then there I am: the student, who otherwise would have no connection to these people, can somehow relate to thousands.
Sports can also cause a fun,
sometimes even serious rivalry. Every time I see a Missouri license plate, I cringe a little bit. Seeing someone with your hated team's T-shirt may make you hate every aspect about them. An otherwise completely normal person may make you wince at their hair color, shoes, or anything that can further justify your hatred for that person wearing the disgusting T-shirt. Angry tweets back and forth can get a bit heated after a loss. People will go to extreme means to defend their队.
Even if you're not a huge fan of sports, many other things can connect complete strangers. For example, there was a person in the store who asked me if the shoes she was trying on looked good on her. I told her she should buy them, and then I complimented her cat shirt. It was a simple agreement on one simple thing. Maybe you'll finally meet the group of people who have been following your Tumblr account for a few years, who otherwise you would've never known.
Whether through sports or some other mean, we're all further connected past that first passing glance.
Bickel is a sophomore majoring in journalism from Harper.
@rmschlesener
@UDK_Opinion team captains
made the decision. I'm okay since
it's what the team wanted.
@baileynairn @UDK_Opinion The Chiefs are in a fragile position. Because of the circumstances, they should play, but have recognition of the event.
@MelanieRR
@UDK_Opinion Yes, it's tough
but they have to keep a sense
of normalcy and they have to be
careful about honoring a person
that shot his gf.
Ian Cummings, editor
editor@kanasa.com
Vhana Shaker, managing editor
vshander@kanasa.com
Dylan Lysen, opinion editor
dlysen@kanasa.com
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@cfreddy21
@UDK_Opinion the players were
the ones who wanted to play so
don't see a big problem with it.
Ross Newton, business manager rnew.on@kansan.com
Elise Farrington, sales manager efarrington@kansan.com
CONTACT US
Malcolm Gibson, general manager and news adviser
mgibson@kansan.com
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jschlitt@kansan.com
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THE EDITORIAL BOARD
Members of the Kansan Editorial Board are Ian Cummings,
Vikas Shanker, Dylan Lysen, Ross Newton and Elise
Farrington.