Saikat

There cannot be no impression. In absence of anything we tend to take up information given to us by the media. I have an impression of George Bush junior created by media.

Sometimes we say something and mean completely different. To understand what that person is trying to mean needs a knowledge about the person and background. Shakespeare uses this technique of “PUN” in most of his dramas to critique certain topics, occasions. I agree with Goffman’s argument that we map both the verbal and non verbal expressions given off by an individual to judge his impression. This sometimes can be a measure to check false hood. But I don’t think that mapping of these two expressions are that black and white. Sometimes the person might be talking something and with his expressions meaning completely different and still be giving ques to you, as to which one of the expression you should choose. Sometimes he may leave it to the viewer to use his imagination and come to a conclusion. There is a difference in degree of expression, and this gamut of grayscale defines which expression should be accepted. Whether he is ridiculing an occasion, or if he is in sync with the argument. This information is not only dependent on what the subject gives off but also on how the viewer perceives it. I have tried to joke in online chats and forums. In situations like this the joke falls flat because the beauty of the joke is in understanding what is not said. People don’t get this concept online that easily, and more often you will have to explain your joke, which completely kills its charm.

If mapping of verbal and non verbal expressions were the correct measure of judging false hood, then I would say that our politicians have absolutely mastered this art and are using it to their benefit. They have mastered both defensive and protective impressions that the author talks about. I strongly believe that these factors are not enough to judge an impression.

Should this concept of Pun be considered in forming impression? How can the complexity of decoding a pun affect impressions? It is said that to build an impression it takes a whole life but to ruin it, it takes seconds. Why does the bad impression outweigh all the good impression? Is there a scale? Why does impression formation not follow any scientific or economic law?

I am thousands of miles away from my home and even though I call up everyday there is a need to better connect to my family and friends as if I was living with them. It allows you to be omnipresent to some extent. You feel connected and a part of them. The time that you waste is a conscious decision on your end. It is a great source to find information.

This reminds me of my summer of 2008 when I was preparing to come to USA for higher studies. First thing when you type in class of 2008 MSU in google, will return results from social networking sites. I joined MSU 2008 group on a social networking site called Orkut which is very popular in India. Though a similar group existed on Facebook, the number of users there were insignificant as compared to the one in Orkut. So obviously my choice was Orkut. It was an immense source of information, which gave me all the details from Visa information to how many socks I need to carry. It allowed me to connect to other Indians with whom I am going to spend time in campus.

However Manjoo says that it has reached to a point where it can be compared to having a cell phone. This raises interesting questions. Cell phone allows me to synchronously communicate with somebody. If I don’t pick up the cell phone, it is considered as offensive. Facebook on the other hand allows for asynchronous communication, without being intrusive. Though I completely agree to the benefits of having an account, I will surely not want it to be intruding into my personal space.

We in India have a term in Hindi called “Jugaad” which means to make ends meet with whatever is available. The most time and cost effective way of doing things. Yes of course if I can achieve the purpose of learning about Greek Civilization by reading something, then why should I go and build a video game to explore ancient Greek Cities? And somebody who is not interested in reading might equally be not interested in video games. But is it the case? Not always, someone might be interested in video games and not in reading. This is where I agree with Salomon, that we need to consider other factors. Clark’s arguments especially hold good in Indian conditions where typically a class will have 50-60 students and thus it becomes difficult to provide each of them with a video game. Thus textbooks are the most cost effective way out. But think of a situation where you are using a text editor to type something, and every time you misspell a word there is a red underline that indicates you of the mistake committed. Is it not a persuasive way of learning? You don’t have to rely on the teacher to correct the spellings for you, and sometimes the teacher might not be looking into the spellings due to excessive work load. Don’t you think the media plays a role here?

We all pay a lot of stress on practical examinations of Science students. Imagine a Biology student who has learned to operate on a human body through texts only and no practical exams. We clearly stress the importance of contextual learning in this case. Similarly media takes up a very important role when it comes to Role Playing or Virtual Stimulation of a situation. Secondly the media advances are also influencing the content that is delivered. I would thus agree with Cobb and Kozma when they stress the need to consider the role of these tools on the cognitive process. We cannot be indifferent to other modes of learning in this world of media advancement. One might argue that good wine sells by itself, but then why are there booming advertising agencies, if there was no need for them?