PLJ Portfolio/ Description- Story

After browsing the portfolio section residing at the end of the chapter "story" in Daniel Pink's novel "A Whole New Mind", I choose to respond to the activity titled "Write a Mini- Saga". The description stated that story is prevalent in our society and to underscore its significance, the reader must experience the thrill and addictive nature of composing a mini- saga. A mini- saga is simply a short story condensed down to a mere 50 words. It is only considered a mini- saga if the 50 word mark is encountered exactly- no more or less! Now, here's my mini- saga:

It was a cold winter night and the old man slept as though he had never before. The wind howled and the lantern positioned next to my vigilant face flickered. Suddenly, the door fell and men rushed in; they dressed in white with sinister hoods. "Don't let them take me!" cried the old man.

The story I have just conveyed has a message. And what better way to express this through story; like Daniel Pink said, "If a picture is worth a thousand words, a story is worth ten thousand".
Pink's entire chapter "story" is centered around the idea that story is so much more understandable, connectible, and applicable when compared to sheer factual information. Because of this, the future will undoubtedly select the masters of story telling as the successors of tomorrow. This phenomenon can be understood with an example. A text book manufacturing company conceives a book that is factually accurate and resourceful as well. A competitor is also interested in the same field, yet the second company manufactures a textbook with personal stories used to effectively convey a message emotionally compelling and attractive to the reader. Which would a customer purchase, a text book describing the KKK (as referenced earlier in the mini- saga) and their influence in America, or a personal narrative emphasizing the evil that was the Ku Klux Klan? Obviously, the customer would purchase the latter, even though the first conveyed the message, the second did it effectively. Now, the reader will truly and wholeheartedly understand the material and not simply the facts. Another example underscoring how decisive story will be in the success rate of the impending future would be one of a car pamphlet. The pamphlet that best describes the car in a fashionable sense will obviously be selected. The customer does not yearn for specifications, among with include gas mileage, material of composition, and such, but they do long for a personal description of the car, not simply facts. Essentially, the pamphlet promoting a car will undoubtedly earn more money if the description includes a personal review. Today, everything is already functional, now its design in the form of story is what deciphers between a winning and loosing product. The United States has evolved to the point where utility (specifications and a standard "description" of the vehicle) is only secondary to significance (personal experiences associated with the product and attractive marketing strategies achieved through story). The key point highlighted is that story is important, more so than simple facts, today a product needs to be practical or functional but at the same time, personal, like a story.

PLJ reflection of portfolio- Design

As instructed after completing the chapter “design” in Daniel Pink’s book "A Whole New Mind", I took the liberty of browsing the portfolio section at the end of each chapter. The activity I accepted as the most influential and most connectable was titled “Participate in the Third Industrial Revolution”. The small description included with the book stated that design is a key factor in the business world; it spelled out the magnitude of this statement by providing an example in the form of a web site. The web site referenced was a designer page allowing a customer to customize a shoe and eventually purchase the personalized dream shoe. Although the price for an individually designed shoe of this genera is excessively overpriced (at 120 dollars per pair!), the Nike shoe company will surly profit from this scam. As I journeyed to the site, I was greeted with a familiar Nike logo and a large array of attractive footwear. Basically, the designing aspect of the customized shoe is simply choosing an already existing Nike shoe and altering its normal color scheme. The prospect seems elementary and utterly boring, but once I had begun the program, I couldn’t draw myself away. I was in full control of my shoe and could simply delete the unfavorable aspects of the shoe and also add new components resulting in a truly attractive experience. The font and Van’s shoe design web sources were also wonderful to operate. It all depends on an individual’s personal preferences, but overall, design will impact the world, economics, and daily conduct. I guess I can wholeheartedly unionize my opinions with David Small’s when he states “The proliferation of mass customization of consumer products will have a powerful and empowering effect on how ordinary people see design.”

PLJ Design and relating it to the classroom/ change in learning

The chapter in Daniel Pink’s novel, "A Whole New Mind" explores the principles of his common theme abundance. Abundance references a large surplus as instituted by overproduction of similar products. One byproduct of this phenomenon is another discussed term christened “design”. Because of the abundance of strikingly similar products, companies are now hammered into art plants instead of production plants. The world has evolved to the point where functionality is instantly guaranteed; now right-brain design has become the dominant feature in a multitude of products and practices as well. Personally, I would consider Design one of the most decisive aspects of life on earth today. Businesses are constantly in hot water, especially if they haven’t employed right- brained designers to enhance the beauty of products. Here’s an example: Daniel Pink specifically states that presently, more automobiles exist than the entire population of the world. What does this signify? The answer is overproduction. Why is there an excess of autos? Because of abundance. This abundance must be suppressed by incorporating attractive design into merchandise.
Businesses today are fueled by design; the ones which are incapable of selling cars (as an example) are driven out. People don’t purchase a new car for functionality because utility is automatically included; the product needs to be complimented with other attractive accessories and appendages.
Personally, seven months ago, I invested in a new bicycle. Why did I select the one I did; because of the color and a neat little spring present under the seat? The bicycle that I owned prior to that more modern one was perfectly fine in condition. It was fully capable of navigating, riding and enjoying, yet the more modern cycle earned my approval because of its accessories. This was the sole response to abundance – design. When overproduction results in a large surplus, the only rational response available is to produce a product that is unique, not simply operational, but also attractive! What distinguishes a winning product from an inferior, its all design! Design has even squirmed its way into classrooms. Take the English class I am composing this essay in. I owe my ability to work on this assignment during class to one sole aspect of design, a laptop computer. Previously, paper and pencils became the norm for education. Recently, a designer formulated an idea in response to the ineffective (for some students like me) conservative manners by which Arapahoe’s classrooms operated. They introduced laptops because it was an effective DESIGN. Designs are not limited to the physical components of life; they can also assume the form of an idea, or something mental. The designer who devised this plan to incorporate the laptops was visualizing the benefits of learning, or a non material thing, but even though learning is not considered “real”, it’s still considered design. A laptop, as previously discussed, is infinite in capability and visually advantageous over orthodox customs. I, with the presence of laptops in class am capable of much more when compared to past methods. The laptop has unlocked new potentials, new information, and resources; I can type faster, convey material more effectively (due to the mass of information online), and devote less time to smaller details the computer automatically mends. I am therefore more efficient, more independent (because the Internet is almost like a teacher), and significantly more capable of performing. The laptop has certainly been adopted due to its revolutionary design, and as a byproduct, the student monitoring the machine has definitely benefited! Analyzing my learning as a whole, I would classify myself as a visual learner. On numerous tests and quizzes administered in my previous English class, I scored a greater average when the assignment involved a computer (visually oriented in the learning spectrum). Computers have obvious advantages over traditional teaching methods and have won my admiration because of their revolutionary design!

PLJ Change in learning week 1

Analyzing the first week of the new semester, it’s difficult to select a class in which my learning has changed. It’s probably most prudent to select my English course over any others, for in that English class, new technologies have been introduced which complement our current novel, "A Whole New Mind" by Daniel Pink. One of the first things Pink discusses in his novel is a term he has titled “automation”. In the context of Pink’s book, the term is used to correlate with the act of replacing conventional aspects of work with easier and more efficient computers. As in my English class, computers have successfully replaced the conservative paper and pencil; now, with the adoption of laptop computers in this English course, students are capable of much more. Speed, resourcefulness, and portability are just a minority of benefits associated with computers. Previously, constructing an essay would consume infinite amounts of time researching and frankly writing the paper itself. With the introduction of computers, the average student is no longer bound by the confines of the two dimensional paper and pen, but is able to access the wonders radiated by a computer. The computer is an improvement also in the sense that it is a universal device; a computer plays host to an endless barrage of weapons to be utilized in an assignment and is faster than traditional practices any day! The internet is constantly expanding; incorporating helpful information into its boundaries; students will have a significant amount of information at their disposal due to the powers of laptops in classrooms. Being a component of the “generation that constantly seeks instant gratification”, I can certainly proclaim my love for the laptops that render me capable of accessing necessary information in a flash. By nature, I am a generally impatient person, so the computers have impacted my life to the point where I constantly rely on them for my every whim and need. On this page alone, the spell check has defiantly found at least 10 misspellings and has corrected them; I am in the process of using the internet to compose this piece (the directions are located on the Arapahoe website)! The computer should be certainly considered a breakthrough in technology, it has affected my learning immensely (meaning that I use a computer for practically every assignment or task I need to complete) and is also efficient, effective, and favorable!

PLJ reflection of brain dominance test

Today, fourth hour honors English class was responsible for completing a personal assessment correlating with the amount of dominance over the corresponding brain hemisphere the remaining part executed. The results demonstrated my prevalence in left- brain thinking by some 14% (not a small statistic). Although I had expected this outcome (or a similar one), thoughts of the future suddenly filled my mind. Will I end up becoming something I’m bad at like an artist or designer against my will? Because according “A Whole New Mind” (by Daniel Pink) I might. As discussed previously, Pink incorporates three decisive terms that could mean a job as a right hemisphere thinker. Again, they are the three a’s, Automation, Abundance, and Asia. I plan to pursue a career in the engineering field (specifically dealing with aircraft) and the book specifically mentions that in other Asian countries such as Russia and India, the average wage for an aircraft engineer is approximately $650 a month in the Russian Federation and about half that in India! Will my future be claimed by a foreign competitor or worse, a computer? It’s an agonizing prospect, but one to surly unfold someday.
The globe has revolutionized to the point where computers have become more efficient and resourceful than even people comparable to the chess champion Garry Kasparov. Asia is infinitely more fit for cheap labor opportunities, and abundance has already claimed what people like me want to be. It appears that the only probable way to earn a sufficient living in the fast impending future would be to either excel unimaginably in logic and computation, or pursue a career the arts, which may not be very visible for the vast majority of people (including myself). The average man, it seems, will not achieve prosperity considering that most of us are only moderately proficient in art and logistics and not human prodigies. Automation has comparable effects if not more severe impact on job losses (for example, I referenced the self checkout lines at DIA; they eliminate the need for human operators). I wouldn’t classify myself as excessively upset right now, but I would appreciate the “help” I’ll hopefully receive in the next six chapters! I agree strongly with Pink’s book and hold most of its discussed information to be true, but I sincerely hope he is misled.

PLJ reflection of Daniel Pink video

Today in Honors English period four, we as a class were required to watch a presentation given by Daniel Pink himself. The crowd was generally small, but Pink made remarks that would have pleased a whole stadium. The video was a recording of a live lecture presented by Daniel Pink to an audience in an auditorium. His lecture addressed his whole book “A Whole New Mind” and was condensed down to around an hour (amazing considering his book exceeds the 250 page mark). The topics that Pink touched on were of a familiar nature to me and occasionally, I would recognize specific quotes or props directly from the initial book! Because the film was directly based off the novel, that’s what won my vote; the idea of actually being able to comprehend the discussion beforehand and during significantly added to my pleasure. Daniel Pink is amazing at conveying messages whether it be in the form of motion picture or traditional text; this movie has ultimately and visually helped me grasp Pink’s ingenious points.

PLJ reflection of the introduction- chapter 3

"A Whole New Mind" has been christened “a miracle” by Tom Peters, a “favorite business book” by Thomas Friedman, and “a very important, convincingly argued, and mind- altering book” by Po Bronson. Due to my unyielding accordance with these critiques’ statements, I will defend this title to the end! Daniel Pink is one of those authors who does not stress information to excess, but rather proposes solutions and recommendations for coping with rapidly impending problems. He writes with an enormously appealing user- friendly tone and humor as well; frankly the first three chapters have completely altered the view I have adopted on the world!

I was intrigued by the fact that Pink explained how and why our nation was slowly shifting from the informational age to the conceptual age in a simplistic, yet meaningful manner. I thought it was notably well how, in the second chapter, he condensed all the reasons contributing to the shift down to three universal words. Automation, Asia, and Abundance really aided me in my understanding of his arguments and also put the world today into perspective.

Maybe, Americans will become a society based solely on right brain capabilities; this prospect scares me! I would probably classify myself as a left brain thinker and not being able to be paid sufficiently (due to the three A’s) for my services would be a nightmare! I also agreed with Pink’s statement concerning the overflow of similar products (abundance). The time has arrived where all items are functional and it’s up to the designers out there to develop more appealing merchandise! I had never really considered that in all businesses today, there is a fierce competition not for prices or the ability to function properly, but for emotional and artistic value. Even in the film, it was mentioned that the CEO of GM proclaimed that his company was waging a war to produce the most artistic driven products, the ones with emotion and creativity. Again, I am not what a person would box as creative, and people similar to me are probably in trouble as well.

Automation, while the most obvious, will impact the most lives by definition. Computers are everywhere, technology is extremely abundant and every day, people are loosing their jobs to “smart” metal. For instance, consider the self check – in counters at DIA, those machines are able to formulate responses faster and more efficiently than an average worker, thus eliminating the demand for living applicants. Those unfortunate enough to become a victim of this type of scenario are also prone to be attacked from Asia as well. The solo attack suddenly becomes two pronged as the avrage worker's wages present in Asia plummet. It is only in the best interests of employers to hire cheap workers who will complete tasks for less income; as a result of this practice, left- brainier Americans beware!

I have always considered myself as a strictly left- brained person, yet now I regret it. Math and Science have always been my passion and not being able to pursue a career involving those fields of study would be agonizing; especially if a hunk of metal would replace me! Although this is all true, Pink is said to introduce six “senses” that may soften the load of anxiety I am now experiencing, but for now, all I can say is that this book is truly mind boggling, read it if you want to ponder on the subject of a current occupation, or simply to think!