#when he calls in a false Code September he has 3 seconds of 'no I am not calling to admit my mistake because then I will never live it dow

[disappearinginq]

I am beginning to suspect the reason why I like River Cartwright so much is that he starts off wanting to be a part of the Big Machine, thinking that their intentions are Good and For The People, but as the series goes on, River realizes that he would rather be looked down on by people in charge for doing the Morally Right and Accountable Thing and 100% commits to being a menace.

[mingi-bubu]

Watch “Love O2O” with Me!

Episode 26

we’re baaacccckkkk

four episodes left

i cry :’(

but anyways

as mr tyger inside mark lee himself would say, lezgeddit

damn do i reeaaallllyyyy hate photo boy e.e

UGH NAI IN BLUE IS ALWAYS A LOOK

meeting room yikes

mirror fish’s shirt is good i approve

we’ve seen september in that shirt before

:)

fucklagiohai I’M A LIBRA YOU KNOW I HAVE DECIDOPHOBIA

omg the demo has been moved up to today (01/09) aldkaskd

oh wowwowowow

yieks i do not know if zhenyi had set that up or not

the optomization tech wont be done until the 16th O.O

are they going to give up on it?  the optomization

no hes not

chef boy’s shirt is tight much to appreciate

glasses has tuned out smh

chef boy and nai working together

why does kodak look so disappointed

the way that nai and september interact is so fun i love their relationship so much

what is weiwei wearing

september is beautiful but no braincellls i lveohim

damn nai really cant go one day without teasing wei2 huh

these aer like 3 different singers???  wtff i want to know who they are

is one of them september????

kodak where is your chil babe

provincial champion

kk babe

wei2 is like...this is fruity

this onversation is fruity

THE ALLUSION I SCREAM

as a human?

dlakfjasdkj coding machine im so in love with him

wooo fun timeskips

they said JUICE sponsorship

does chef boy really only wear black???

they have a countdow for when they have to present i am ne

OH HES SO CUTE WHEN HE SLEEPS IM SO IN LOVE IA M PROPOSIGN SEMPTEMENBER

she got too used to the domesticity

what iin the fuck are the boys oding

fuck aristotle

hAND

september looks so good i am in love

i love kodak and september’s relationship

mirror fish has an idea at least

im the guy passed tf out on his keyboard

wei2′s outfit is cute

why do is nai so beautiful

i lov e that weiwei said i will mtother the fuck out of these guys

nai is so in love with her its disgusting

HE SAID I TRUST HER WITH FINANCES

i love stripes hes funny

september i loVE YOU

bitch that was real close to her face i

nai’s shirt is so fun

shut the fuck up with the lovey dovey ees i

ugh this guy again

and hes wearing the stupid fuck bowtie

yiran and her cousin’s relationship though is something i do enjoy

shut up with the puppy eyes

yiran really be like “wtf is this guy on???”

oh nan’as outfit is so cute

nana please stop being yourself

pleaese stop being yourself

nevermind i take it back only the top half of nana’s outfit is pretty

stop pitting erxi and weiwei against each other

is she really gonna buy this shit?

unfortunately yes she is

yikes erxi...

false accusations??  oh is erxi not buying it??

mans leaped for his phone

oh intersting

shes reading him for filth

shes really impressing upon him that she doesnt like him  him

is this man’s only job to give out juice????

i love that forhim

i hate how nai’s eyes instantly fucking soften when he looks at her its so sweet

nai is so happy to have erxi call weiwei i do be a lil emo

asjd;flkasdj nai is such a sweeteheart hes SO whipped for her i am cry

thats a tinie fucking fork bud

the way that weiwei tries to cheer erxi up

i am crying

yes i do love blaming it on him

blame photo boy a lot

she maybe has jealousy?

hm interesting hypothesis

YES ERXI

“I DON’T WANT ANYONE WHO DOESN’T WANT ME” UGH SELF LOVE QUEEN

ajdf;lkasjd let her have her lofty goals

ERXI OH MY GOD

alksdjfaslk she is so dramatic i missed their friendship

erxi hit the nail right on the fucking head

THATS FRUITY

i really want chocolate cake now

hhhhhhhh

he has a roman helment???

bro?

all of whatever nai said just went right the fuck over my head

why does ko look so confusion

lets talk about the amount of trust he’s puttinginto ko for a second hm

KODAK IS LIKE *EYES EMOJI*

adlkajsdlk nai really said move back in with me when classes start again

the way that erxi completely missed the point of what wei2 was trying to imply

bitch you thought

oh my god the recording

girl the way that erxi is ordering FOR NOW ALKSDJFASLKDJF

I LOVE HER APPETIET ITS SO FUNNY TO ME

she and i have the same braincells

OH SHIT SHE WENT THERE

the way that shes just munching instead

long strategy

alfkasldk she said im going to finsih eating first

OH MY GOD WEIWEI WALKING IN I AM

SHOOOKEN

thats all for this episode

thank you for reading!!!

stay safe and stay healthy <333

[comp6841]

Case Study Prep - Doorway Dilemmas

Incident 1: Air New Zealand

Basically the first officer left the cockpit to have a break with the cabin crew. When he attempted to return, he was unable to make contact with the captain via the phone. The captain simply saw this as a crew member trying to make contact and ignored it as he was nearing a navigational waypoint. However, some have said that he purposefully ignored it due to a flight delay with drug testing of the first officer. He then chose to use the emergency override method to gain access to the cabin as he was “concerned” for the captain’s wellbeing.

Incident 2: Germanwings

The first officer of a Germanwings plane piloted the plane into a mountain, killing everyone onboard. Unbeknownst to the captain and the airline, the first officer had suicidal tendencies as a result of 5 years of vision problems and a fear that he was going blind. Before becoming a pilot, he was originally denied a license because of treatment he had for psychotic depression.

The captain had left the cockpit mid-flight to go to the toilet, however when he returned he was unable to regain access to the cockpit. He used his emergency access codes, however the first officer prevented this access. He made multiple attempts to contact but as soon as he felt the plane in descent, he became more desperate. He grabbed an axe (not sure if it was actually this?) and quickly began trying to smash the door down -  however there was not enough time; the banging of the plane into rough mountain surface was the last sound on the cockpit voice recorder.

Incident 3: Swedish pilot

A passenger had locked themselves in the toilet just before the plane was about to land. He refused to cooperate with their instructions (required by safety regulations) to return to his seat. As a result, one of the pilots used an axe to open up the door, so he could remove the man.

Incident 4: Air India pilot

The captain of the plane had left for a toilet break and was unable to re-enter the cockpit due to a jammed door. They were forced to return so the door could be fixed by ground maintenance crews.

Incident 5: EgyptAir 990

The captain of the plane left to go to the toilet, while the first officer Gameel al-Batouti was left in the cabin. Batouti had just taken over from the other junior co-pilot; it wasn’t unusual for the airline to leave the door to the cockpit open. While we was gone, Batouti disabled the autopilot, killing the throttle and dropped the rear elevators sending the plane plunging down. This rapid dive caused zero-g throughout the cabin, however the captain was able to make it back to the cockpit. Unfortunately, he was unable to wrestle the controls from Batouti before it was too late.

Incident 6: Delta Air Lines Flight 1989

After 2 planes had crashed in the September 11 attacks, warnings had been issued through the ACARS system to all pilots regarding potential hijackings, “Beware any cockpit intrusion - two a/c [aircraft] hit World Trade Center”. The pilot sent a message back to confirm he had heard the message correctly, “Ed, confirm last mssg plz - Jason”. However the hijacking had already begun and they didn’t have enough time to secure the cockpit; nor was the doors as strong as they are today. The hijackers maintained “control” of the plane even through a passenger revolt, until its final descent into a field in Pennsylvania.

General Airbus Access Procedures

From the video on the procedures, there are 3 main methods to gain access:

Call the captain via the phone and ask him to unlock the door

Press the # key on the access pad; this requests access in the cockpit, which then must be approved

Enter the emergency code and #, wait for 30 seconds for no denial in the cockpit, then the door opens

Procedural Issues

When considering the problem of whether we should provide access to the cockpit, we need to start thinking about it in terms of type 1 and type 2 errors. A type 1 error (or false positive) would be the case when an unauthorised individual is given access to the cockpit. On the other hand a type 2 error (or false negative) would be the case when an authorised individual is denied access to the cockpit. It may seem that minimising type 1 errors is ideal, however in some cases type 2 errors can be problematic.

The outcome of (1) and (2) may have been different if the other pilot was able to regain access to the cockpit. The problem with providing them with immediate override codes is that when they leave the cockpit, they then become a security liability for the cockpit as well. If the pilot is threatened to give up the codes and a hijacker is able to gain access to the cockpit, this situation is not ideal. (type 1 error) On the other hand, if the other pilot is acting against the interests of the flight’s goals, then we want them to be able to gain access. If a pilot is denying a “good pilot” access, then this is a type 2 error. The only way to solve this dilemma would be through verification by an independent body.

I propose the following modification to procedure to solve this issue - adding an extra 0 to the end of the emergency access code will broadcast a signal to satellite and down to an emergency air control centre. It will transmit the last couple minutes of data from the plane including movements and actions taken in the cockpit. From here it can be quickly judged whether the behaviour is considered erratic and whether to override any denial of access.

The issue in (3) doesn’t pose that much of a risk apart from the fact that the captain is outside the cockpit. It’s probably unnecessary to have toilet doors that can be deadlocked in a plane, so this could be replaced with an easier override method. The incident in (4) doesn’t pose a catastrophic risk as one of the pilots still remains in the cockpit. However we could still minimise the risk through raising the maintenance standards through regulation of this component.

The cockpit door played no role in (5) in preventing the captain access; he was just unable to retake control from the suicidal first officer. However, if he had returned sooner to the cockpit, perhaps it could have been prevented. As such a potential solution could be to require 2 people at all times in the cockpit (so need 3 pilots on each flight). Also more stringent screening and background checks could also reduce the risk of a similar incident occurring again. 

I think that it’s fair to say a lot has been done in cockpit security since the incident in (6) - the doors have been strengthened and the weapons screening procedures increased. Protocols for moving in and out of the cockpit have also changed significantly to reduce such a risk of hijacking.

[gradschoollex-blog]

MODULE 2 POST: Acknowledgement - But Not Acceptance

I picked this picture this week because of the importance of these ladies in teaching me so much beyond my own culture / experiences, as well as their importance in my life in general. In the middle is me, and to the right are two of my best friends: Mercedes, and Shayna. They were a very big part of my learning to understand and accept my own privilege. 

PART 1:

1a. What I learned this week was that DNA-wise, between different races there is really no actual difference. I had aways thought previously that somewhere in the DNA code between human beings were consistencies and inconsistencies that were expressed in phenotypes, which was proven incorrect in “Race: The Power of Illusion” (California Newsreel, 2012). The most salient information this week though was Sue Borrego’s (2016) TED talk regarding white privilege. This week especially, in the face of the death of George Floyd and the lady in Central Park who falsely called the police claiming that a black man was harassing her, even though he had just been asking her to put her dog on a leash. This week has been a consistent reminder that there is a hierarchy within the society of the United States, and there is no lack of clarity regarding where different races land on the list. I think last week while going through the learning materials and doing the reflection paper, it just made me think more about where myself or my friends fall on that chart. I have historically avoided befriending a lot of people who are similar to me because of my experience with many of their lack of understanding or empathy for people of color. Going through the reflection paper it made me feel like I needed to be better and try harder in order to try to make a difference. When watching Sue Borrego’s (2016) talk, it furthered that feeling but as this week has continued and I have seen so many hateful things, it makes me want to retract even further away. 

1b. The idea of intersectionality found in Cole’s article (2009), discusses learning about a person on more than one level of depth. For example, a person has many identifying factors: their age, their gender, their race, their sexuality (Cole, 2009). While frequently it is clear that most people are more than one thing, they are consistently categorized into different compartments rather than looked at as a whole person (Cole, 2009). This is also discussed in the second segment of “Race: The Power of Illusion” (California Newsreel, 2012) when the kids were learning about the DNA-level differences between themselves and their peers. At the end when the narrator was discussing Gorgeous, she described her as both a champion athlete as well as valedictorian of her class and pointed out that most people wouldn’t check both of those boxes for her, but rather opt for the champion athlete (California Newsreel, 2012). Most of society prescribes the same level of description for those around them.  Everyone is placed in their own little category or area because of their appearance, their sexuality, or their gender. Sometimes different factors are used as intersections, but when it comes to race it is generally the predominant marker for society to judge someone on. It upsets me to think about racial categorization, honestly. Through time, there is some sort of facade that it has gotten better but the truth of the matter is that it has not gotten any better, just moderately more concealed. With the steady number of death caused by police, false accusations made against people of color, and seemingly everlasting opportunities cut short for people of color, it is apparent there has been no real achievements or progress forwards. 

1c. My score on the survey was 207. I know the point of the survey was not to be ashamed, just aware of what the color of my skin brings me. But it also sort of makes me angry because of all of the scenarios I don’t necessarily think about day-to-day that affect people who are different from myself.

PART 2:

2a. Generally, research is meant to bring forth information to help grow, learn and adapt. Research can be and is done regarding pretty much any topic. I think that generally it is done for human beings in total, but after some of the course material it has definitely been done for certain groups and at the expense of other groups (California Newsreel, 2012).

2b. I genuinely cannot think of any specific teaching in any of my research methods classes regarding intersectional research or specific methodologies.

2c. Intersectional studies have proven that race, gender, class and sexuality are all fluid and need to be studied in combination (Cole, 2009). When there is a lack of understanding in one of these areas, or they are all studied separately, there is bound to be a disconnect in the results of any given study (Cole, 2009). When building a study, if there is a lack of understanding of the participants themselves, whether it be their backgrounds or their reasoning for being a part of the study, then there can also be an issue with the validity of those results or understanding how the results actually relate to the subjects involved (Cole, 2009). The point of research in general is to understand people and how they relate to each other. When there is a lack of knowledge for the people involved or why they may be choosing what they are in the study (as a result of their background or a part of their identity that is not being considered), then there will undoubtedly be issues is relatedness to the general population (Cole, 2009). 

References 

Borrego, S. (2016, December 9). Understanding my privilege [Video]. Youtube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XlRxqC0Sze4&feature=emb_title

California Newsreel. (2012, September 9). Race: The power of illusion [Video]. Films On Demand. https://digital-films-com.ezproxy1.lib.asu.edu/p_ViewVideo.aspx?xtid=49734

Cole, E.R. (2009). Intersectionality and research in psychology. American Psychologist, 64(3), 170-180.

[raystart]

The Creative World’s Bullshit Industrial Complex

As editor of 99U, my inbox is (thankfully) filled with pitches of all kinds. Mainly, writers who’d like to contribute to this site and speakers who’d like to throw their hat in the ring for our yearly 99U Conference.

And most times, when we dig deeper into a specific person’s pitch, his or her purported authority is more of a facade to make them appear authoritative — and any ideas are actually a mosaic of people also trying to appear authoritative in a disconcerting house of cards.

They are what philosopher Harry Frankfurt would call “bullshitters.” Those that are giving advice for the sake of giving advice, without any regard as to how it is actually implemented, if it can even be implemented at all. “It’s not important to [the bullshitter] what the world really is like,” he says in a short video documentary about the phenomenon (below). “What is important is how he’d like to represent himself.”

BULLSHIT! (H/T Oliver Burkeman).

In these pitches there’s nothing to suggest the person has any original experience or research or insight to offer said advice. Instead they choose to quote other people who quote other people and the insights can often be traced back in a recursive loop. Their interest is not in making the reader’s life any better, it is in building their own profile as some kind of influencer or thought leader. Or, most frustratingly, they all reference the same company case studies (Hello, Apple and Pixar!), the same writers, or the same internet thinkers. I often encounter writers that share “success advice” learned from a blogger who was quoting a book that interviewed a notable prolific person.

The bullshit industrial complex is a pyramid of groups that goes something like this:

Group 1: People actually shipping ideas, launching businesses, doing creative work, taking risks and sharing first-hand learnings.

Group 2: People writing about group 1 in clear, concise, accessible language.

[And here rests the line of bullshit demarcation…]

Group 3: People aggregating the learnings of group 2, passing it off as first-hand wisdom.

Group 4: People aggregating the learnings of group 3, believing they are as worthy of praise as the people in group 1.

Groups 5+: And downward….

The Complex eventually becomes a full fledged self-sufficient ecosystem when people in group 4 are reviewing books by people in group 3 who are only tweeting people in group 2 who are appearing on the podcasts started by people in group 3.

This Bullshit Industrial Complex has always existed. But thanks to the precarious economics and job prospects of the creative person, it is often in a creative’s financial interest to climb the bullshit pyramid. In the short term, it’s creating a class of (often young) creatives deluded into thinking they are doing something meaningful by sharing “advice.” Long term, it’s robbing us of a creative talent.

Don’t Hate the Player, Hate the Game

Being quiet and slowly building mastery and expertise doesn’t pay off much at first. So many creatives must make a calculation: Do I want the short term, could-go-viral-at-any-second thrill of being a vocal expert in my field? Or am I more content playing the long game? More people are incentivized to choose the former — and it’s getting crowded in here.

It’s not our fault. We are set up to reward those proclaiming to have the answers. Sometimes the rewards are higher than those for actually doing the creating, as creatives are getting squeezed. Technology can rob you of your mastery. Automation can rob you of your value. Fickle clients can rob you of a paycheck. But once you’re perceived as an expert on the core premises of creativity? You’re in! Mostly.

There are TEDx events spreading from city to city, websites (like this one!) always seeking out voices to share their views and content to stock newsletters and make the social media rounds. Many sites like Medium are, yes, rich with intelligent essays, but also rich with people giving generic advice in the hopes of selling the next ebook containing aggregated advice from other advice givers. And as more of us are tasked with appearing as experts, we’re incentivized to look the other way. For all of the cynicism around something as innocent as a goddamn logo redesign, the creative world sure looks the other way when someone tells us that the key to creativity is just “shipping.”

Writing About Writing About Thinking About Doing

— False Medium (@FalseMedium) September 10, 2013

As someone who edits a website, there are red flags. The person will claim that they’ve written for site x and site y and have z twitter followers. This is coded language for “take me seriously, because other people have!” Sites like Forbes, Huffington Post, and Entrepreneur Magazine have “open contributor” policies where almost anyone can get published with little or no editorial oversight. And the reason they have those policies? Because more content equals more advertising dollars. The incentive structure for both sides makes this credibility hopscotch arrangement appealing. It’s the Complex at work.

Book publishers, the ultimate authority vehicle, are the capstone of the Complex but are just as victim to changing economics as any blog. Responses to book pitches often do not involve a thorough deconstruction of your idea and its substance. Instead, they will ask “How can you market this book?” Which really means “How big is your mailing list?” No one has the time or incentive to make sure their ideas advance the conversation. Or are even realistic. I know because every day a book arrives at the 99U offices with ideas as recursive as a rushed Medium blog post.

Above: Advice in an actual published (and popular!) book.

Creative people often despise those that criticize work without having work of their own. Something Teddy Roosevelt referred to as “being in the arena.” We respect opinions from those that are in the trenches with us, doing the hard things that we try to do. But this creative expert class is worse than any critic, offering other people creative salvation in an attempt to find their own. We despise critics with no skin in the game but we’ve handed them the keys to our kingdom and the space on our library bookshelf.

Make Room at the Top

The cynic in you may wonder, “Who cares? The more bullshitters out there, the more the non-bullshitters like me will be valued.” But what is frightening is those among us who consider success as bullshitter as actual success.

Let’s be clear here: Those who write books, speak at conferences, or write essays are not all bullshitters. Many (if not most!) are offering advice that takes its audience into consideration. This is not bullshit. This is good.

What I’m referring to are those that believe being “industry famous” in the creative world is success in of itself. Especially those that start out with that goal in mind. This is where the Complex can poison talent. Being industry famous should be the result of some contribution to the world that the industry respects and wishes to learn from. Or insights unique and useful that it genuinely makes people’s lives better.

Increasingly “creative coaches” and people with “keynote speaker” in their Twitter bios are making their quest to earn authority a higher priority than the very reason they got into this in the first place. Fueling the Complex is alluring catnip that feels like you’re advancing your career the same way answering a bunch of emails just feels productive.

If someone cares more about what their industry peers think of them than the problems they are solving, they’re a bullshitter. If the idea of being “known” is barometer of their success above user (or reader) success stories, they’re a bullshitter. They are the internet’s equivalent of a reality TV star, taking advantage of the attention economy by catering to our worst instincts in lieu of substance.

The “first principle” of why people willingly join the Complex is a matter of external versus internal motivation. If you’re fueled primarily by external validation, the best way to get it is by surrounding yourself with people like you and writing as an “expert” for that group. Voila, here come a thundering stampede of people ready to tell you to follow your passion. And when you make choices based on what others will think about you, you lose yourself along the way, and the world loses another creative mind that would otherwise share something original. And then, we’re stuck with the same voices at the top of the Complex. We all deserve better.