Answer TWO of
the following:
Q1: Toward the
end of the story, the narrator remarks: “I stare out...at the rows of people in
cat masks all tapping away on their separate devices, like a soft rain. All
genders, all ages, all sizes, wearing track suites or business-casual
white-collar outfits. The masks bob up and down, almost in unison. Unblinking
and wide-eyed, governing machines” (217). Why does she call them “machines” in
this sentence, and how might this passage relate to our own world? Remember
that science fiction is always about metaphors—ways of relating a
strange, science fiction world to our own day-to-day experience.
Q2: Video games
are typically seen in our society as entertainment (at best) or as time-wasting
and morally corruptive (at worst). And yet through the game, Shary is able to
tackle problems “that economists have struggled with in the real world. Issues
of scarcity and resource allocation, questions of how to make markets more
frictionless” (214). How might a video game or VR simulation help people
approach old problems from new perspectives? How could a game like Minecraft
or World of Warcraft, for example, actually help change the world?
Q3: George
Henderson, who organizes the Divine Right of Cats convention, says of Shary,
“She’s...she’s amazing. Could a sick person create one of the top one hundred
kingdoms in the entire world?...Grace, your wife is...just amazing” (212).
Besides winning the game, what makes Shary’s performance so “amazing” in this
story? How might this be a commentary on how we measure ability/talent in our
society in general? Why would most people—including the narrator—not initially
see this ability in Shary?
Q4: Judy, whose
husband is another prodigy in the game, tells the narrator, “I have this theory
that it’s all one compound organism....The leptospirosis X, the people, the
digital cats. Or at least it’s one system” (217). What does she mean by saying
it’s all “one system”? How does this tie into the narrator’s own suspicions
about the game, and what it seems to be learning from its participants? If this
was a true story, would this be exciting information...or somewhat alarming?
Cameron Corbin
ReplyDeleteQ1: The narrator calls the players of the game machines because of the face that the players have simply ceased having a life that is unrelated to the game; the game has taken the time that was formerly devoted to living the literal lives as human beings. This is very interesting because we can almost see a direct parallel between players of the game, and people in our society who have a disease like dementia and alzhiemers. As someone who has personally seen one of my family members fall victim to dementia, the way in which I would describe their present state is that they are trapped in a game; a game within their minds.
Q2: This story presents very literal ways in which the use of video game and VR technology could be used in a positive fashion. Over the past few years, we have seen a shift in the mainstream video game market from FPS games like Halo and Call of Duty, towards open world games like Skyrim and World of Warcraft. This is very interesting because open world games are for the most part metaphorical similutions of warped forms of our personal lives. And the best part about simulations is that you have a plethora of opportunities to find the right answer without actually risking human harm or life. Imagine the positive benefits game similutions like this could bring to the fields of economics, foreign policy, and even medicine.
Q3. George and many others believe Shary is amazing at this game because of how far she has made it and succeeded through the different levels. But in our standards, we see Shary as unsuccessful because she cannot perform simple functions. We don't initially see how amazing she is at first because to us, it is just a game. But in this cat game, they are solving real world problems.
ReplyDeleteQ1. Personally, I think these "machines" are a metaphor for cell phones. In today's times we are all to often glued to our phones. We are more concerned with the social media world than our own. Just like in this story where everyone is obsessed with the feline world.
Rachel Griffis
ReplyDeleteQ1.) Judy calls them machines because the game has slowly turned them into emotionless "machines". Grace says that Shary doesn't talk for weeks at a time and doesn't dress herself. This relates to our society because like the cat game, our phones/technology is doing this to us. Slowly turning us into robots, just doing the essentials to live but staying so attached to our devices. There are people who can't go anywhere without their phones, they get so addicted to them, their phones become apart of themselves.
Q2.) Games like Minecraft or World of Warcraft could help change the world because they could help solve problems that we haven't been able to for years. Sometimes it just takes someone with a different mindset and perspective to find a solution to something some people have thought to be impossible. With VR games or just games in general, people are more willing to take chances because it is just a game and it doesn't come with the risks that real life does.
Q1. Judy calls the players machines because of how zoned into the game they are. The look on their faces are like the way we look at our electronic devices, mainly our cell phones. Some people can't go five seconds without looking at their phones and this is the same thing, where as these people are addicted to the game and their new world.
ReplyDeleteQ2. The open world games like Minecraft or World of Warcraft could possibly help change the world in a way that helps humans make smarter decisions. In those games, there are no consequences. If you die, you get a new life. By playing these games and understanding what happens if you take risks might save you from taking those risks in the real world.
Q1: She calls them machines because the way everyone is acting when playing this game makes them short of robotic-like. They don’t look up, talk, or try to speak outside the game. We get so into games it’s hard to understand what reality is and what’s the game anymore. The games we play today are our escape for the real world. Everyone has a place the escape to whether it be playing video games, playing sports, reading a book, or whatever you choose. Your escape is the place you can go to that no one judges you and you can be yourself without consequences.
ReplyDeleteQ4: The narrator’s suspicions with the game are that it’s starting to develop into artificial intelligence and becoming self-aware. The game is asking more intents questions to the players versus when the game first started. DRC is becoming more like the humans that play it, by figuring out economic problems that even the economists in the real world have a problem solving. If this was a true story it would alarming. In our society today we are too dependent on technology such as: computers, cellphones. If something was to happen where computers started to understand everything that is on them and cellphones became self-aware, it could possibly be the end for human race just like in all the science fiction movies and books.
Bailey Copeland