Serendip is an independent site partnering with faculty at multiple colleges and universities around the world. Happy exploring!
GIST
![Anne Dalke's picture Anne Dalke's picture](https://serendipstudio.org/exchange/files/pictures/picture-39.jpg)
Welcome to "GIST": A Course about Gender, Information, Science and Technology, offered in Spring 2011 @ Bryn Mawr College. This is an interestingly different kind of place for writing, and may take some getting used to. The first thing to keep in mind is that this is not a place for "formal writing" or "finished thoughts." It's a place for thoughts-in-progress, for what you're thinking (whether you know it or not) on your way to what you think next. Imagine that you're not worrying about "writing" but instead that you're just talking to some people you've met. This is a "conversation" place, a place to find out what you're thinking yourself, and what other people are thinking, so you can help them think and they can help you think. The idea is that your "thoughts in progress" can help others with their thinking, and theirs can help you with yours.
We're glad you're here, and hope you'll come both to enjoy and value our shared imagining of the future evolution of ourselves as individuals and of our gendered, scientific, technological world. Feel free to comment on any post below, or to POST YOUR THOUGHTS HERE....
![anonymous123's picture anonymous123's picture](/exchange//files/images/SerendipStudioAvatar.png)
Bloodchild Group Posting: Tiffany, Leamirella and Oak
In our group discussion, we began to think of host bodies and parasites as ambiguous binaries. The categories of each became unclear as we tried to put humans, technology, and other aspects of life in relation to the Terran and Tilc people in Bloodchild.
![Apocalipsis's picture Apocalipsis's picture](https://serendipstudio.org/exchange/files/pictures/picture-836.jpg)
Observations & Interpretations of spreston, vgaffney, and Apocalipsis
Bloodchild Observations
Analysis of power between creatures and humans
Power within family, creatures and how it affected the role of the mother
relationships between beings; human, animal and Tlic (species)
Relationship between Gian and his brother, T’Gatoi, and his sister
Usage of eggs to carry on species and the desire for the humans to be breeders
Butler’s discussion of male pregnancy
The dependency of both species on each other and the rituals to preserve humans
How did the flesh eating bacteria originate?
T’Gatoi and the role of love/ care/ bonds because that was her second home, what happened to her first home?
The role of the eggs and the sedation/ desensitization of species in human life
![Amophrast's picture Amophrast's picture](https://serendipstudio.org/exchange/files/pictures/picture-856.jpg)
Bloodchild - interpretations and observations
From: m.aghazarian, smile, marina, hilary_brashear
Interpretation: Commentary on complications of interdependent relationships. Role of technology outside of a binary and how it brings a personal aspect into these relationships between humans and technology. Metaphor for relationship between humans and technology (in story humans represent technology; the creatures represent us).
- Not slave/master relationship, but interdependency. Gan has affection for T’Gatoi even though pain is involved. More complicated relationship than master/slave.
![MSA322's picture MSA322's picture](https://serendipstudio.org/exchange/files/pictures/picture-868.jpg)
BloodChild Interpretation Cara and Muna
Aspects of bloodchild that struck most to us were the ideas of unnaturalness, family and interdependence between both the T'lic and the Terran humans.
![Hillary G's picture Hillary G's picture](https://serendipstudio.org/exchange/files/pictures/picture-790.jpg)
Hillary G and Phrenic Bloodchild Interpretation
Observations:
Aliens usually choose human males to be “hosts” of their young.
Very complex relationship between humans and aliens (are they slaves? Are they mates?)
Sterile eggs are intoxicants (as well as alien stingers)
Gan chooses to honor bond between the species and chooses to accept the risk involved with impregnation
Interpretation:
Although Butler does not intend to write a story of slavery, the “pregnant man” story exposes gender issues of inequality and subjugation.
![MissArcher2's picture MissArcher2's picture](https://serendipstudio.org/exchange/files/pictures/picture-732.jpg)
Observations and Interpretations of Bloodchild: fawei, MissArcher2, and rubikscube
Observations:
rubikscube: it was disturbing but that made it interesting. I noticed that Lomas had brown flesh, which surprised me because that wasn't how I had pictured him. In thinking about what the Tlic and the Terran actually are, we assume the Tlic are bugs but we didn't have a clear picture of the "humans." This reminded me of Twilight because of the reaction to human blood. Right from the beginning I thought of Kafka's Metamorphosis: is he a bug, is he not a bug? I don't know how relevant this is.
![merlin's picture merlin's picture](https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/a6d5b49cbe6de88689a20ef2130cc796.jpg?d=https%3A%2F%2Fserendipstudio.org%2Fexchange%2Ffiles%2Fimages%2FSerendipStudioAvatar.png&s=85&r=G)
Merlin group
1. Gan was selected from birth that he was made to bear young
2. The sister was less grossed out because she was raised from birth with the idea that she will have something alive inside of her.
3. He thinks of her as an aunt, protecter, family member.
![ekthorp's picture ekthorp's picture](https://serendipstudio.org/exchange/files/pictures/picture-866.jpg)
tangerines, shin1068111, ekthorp’s response to Bloodchild
In this story, Human are treated as an incubator technology, which equalizes males and female roles because both now serve the same purpose and play the same role.
![aybala50's picture aybala50's picture](https://serendipstudio.org/exchange/files/pictures/picture-451.jpg)
jlebouvier, kelliott, aybala50
Observations for Bloodchild
1) Human men are the incubators for the eggs
2) Eggs can either act as a 'drug' when eaten or can be implanted to impregnate men
3) T'Gatoi chooses the host/man for her eggs
![kelliott's picture kelliott's picture](https://serendipstudio.org/exchange/files/pictures/picture-864.jpg)
Self-replication, power of creation...
After watching the film Teknolust, I thought back to my first web paper that addressed the idea of humanizing technology. In this paper I discussed the cyborg and the future of gender in robotics; I looked at various types of robot technology and the attribution of gender/ human characteristics to these technologies. I claimed that, "the more we actively interact with technology, the more desire there seems to be to humanize it--to make it not only an extension of ourselves, but to recreate what it means to be 'human' altogether." Thinking about this paper and these technologies in relation to Teknolust, I began wondering what it is about humans that makes us want to create things that look like us.
![merlin's picture merlin's picture](https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/a6d5b49cbe6de88689a20ef2130cc796.jpg?d=https%3A%2F%2Fserendipstudio.org%2Fexchange%2Ffiles%2Fimages%2FSerendipStudioAvatar.png&s=85&r=G)
cool idea
one of the more striking passages of Mary Shelly's Frankenstein seemed to me particularly meaningful in the context of everything we've been talking about this semester. But I then went a step beyond the story and found it relevant after reading the World Wide Mind excerpts and subsequent discussion.
![Amophrast's picture Amophrast's picture](https://serendipstudio.org/exchange/files/pictures/picture-856.jpg)
Mary Shelley - OBEY!
Found this around, and thought it was interesting:
Source: http://letterstodeadpeople.tumblr.com/post/4500922866
Thoughts?
![vgaffney's picture vgaffney's picture](https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/bfc843972a4d87fb522edaa00ba14a61.jpg?d=https%3A%2F%2Fserendipstudio.org%2Fexchange%2Ffiles%2Fimages%2FSerendipStudioAvatar.png&s=85&r=G)
"Reading" minds
Following our conversation with Chorost, I was very intrigued by the enhanced interaction and interconnection that seemed to be the goal of such a technological innovation (giving human brains constant access to the internet). Overall, I very much enjoyed listening to the aspects of the conversation revolving around the notion of communication. Admittedly, when I first read the sections of the book I was a bit wary of such close interconnection between minds. However, after hearing the advantages of modern technological innovations—email, instant messaging, facebook etc—I became more acclimated to the idea. Many people, mostly the older generation, are still adverse to these new practices of communication.
![Riki's picture Riki's picture](https://serendipstudio.org/exchange/files/pictures/picture-295.png)
world wide therapy
It was interesting to watch our dialogue with Chorost because we didn’t read the whole book so it seemed like we were taking away a message he didn’t intend. We seemed to be focused on the idea of putting the internet in our brains and how potentially damaging that constant access might be. Though I haven’t read the whole book, I suspect he was proposing the idea of connecting minds to each other, not to the internet. So humanity would grow closer because people would literally be sharing their thoughts and emotions as they experience them. The saying “to walk a mile in your shoes” would become obsolete. With this in mind, I was wondering if a connection of minds would be effective for talk therapy.
![MSA322's picture MSA322's picture](https://serendipstudio.org/exchange/files/pictures/picture-868.jpg)
Teknolust, the internet, emergence and crazy thoughts..
Teknolust had a lot of themes that are worth discussing. However, a couple of them stuck in my mind. One was the repeated comment about the dependency of women on men. Where is it true that the SRA's needed men's sperm to "re-charge", men also needed women to have intercourse with. I think this only shows the importance of both genders to the survival of humankind, one can't survive without the other, and this was shown through the virtual SRA's. The movie showed the binary of reality and virtuality.
![smile's picture smile's picture](https://serendipstudio.org/exchange/files/pictures/picture-877.jpg)
The human side in Teknolust
What really attracts me in The film is the human part which was so strong in spite of all the advanced technology which seems to be dominating. I mainly observed that through the relationship of Rossetta with her cyborgs on the one hand and on the second between the 3 cyborgs themselves...In one scene, we saw how a whole conversation between the four clones was about how should the SRA`s call Rossetta, should they call her Mum or old sister? and here we see that these are just names of Human relationships...In another scenes we saw how the 3 SRA`s were showing a kind of fear for each other, and also taking care of each other...
![Amophrast's picture Amophrast's picture](https://serendipstudio.org/exchange/files/pictures/picture-856.jpg)
Technology - What's harmful and what's beneficial?
One problem I've been having lately: If "technology" diminishes the quality of face-to-face communication, why haven't other (older) technologies done the same? How DOES technology diminish the quality of communication?
Factors:
- Types of technology used for communication
![leamirella's picture leamirella's picture](https://serendipstudio.org/exchange/files/pictures/picture-855.jpg)
The Colours, Gates and Different Worlds of Teknolust.
One of the many things that this course has taught me is how to identify binaries in everything and to challenge them. (Thank you, Donna Haraway) The main binary I saw in Teknolust was the binary between the real and the virtual worlds. From a filmic perspective, this binary was accentuated by the use of colour (Real-life had "real" colours and virtual-life had bright colours that made my eyes hurt) and through the gate that served as a connection between the real and the virtual worlds. Sure you could argue that there was somewhat of a breakdown of this binary through the SRAs' adventures into the real world but even so, they were still distinct from it.
![leamirella's picture leamirella's picture](https://serendipstudio.org/exchange/files/pictures/picture-855.jpg)
QUESTION FOR MICHAEL CHOROST
I thoroughly enjoyed the parts of the book that we read but I still have one burning question. I asked about the public and private spheres and how technology is making the private worlds of users more public. Chorost answered my question in class reasonably - I do agree with him that our lives were pretty public before. Smaller towns and communities didn't have much privacy at all and this notion of 'privacy' is something that is new and modern. However, what about data that is 'more' private? (I feel like we have to redefine what we mean by private here.... My version of it is that 'private' can be social - e.g. where you went for dinner and with whom the other night or 'more' private - things like your SSS number etc.)