Cognitive Surplus: Creativity and Generosity in a Connected Age
by Clay Shirky
by Clay Shirky
- What surprised you the most?
- I surprised how many connections Shirky was able to draw in his theory. Many of his opinion stand out but they're mostly backed by history and research (i.e. the Gin revolution during the industrial age). Shirky is able to talk about McDonald's milkshakes, World of Warcraft, and gin while making a valid point of entrepreneurship.
- What about the entrepreneur did you most admire?
- I admire that Shirky is able to take himself out of the high horse and examine things for what they really are. In his book, he mentions how many people would believe that those who play WoW for extremely difficult game levels actually participate in a group effort/project. He mentions a really funny Gilligan's Island example in the earlier parts of the book as well.
- What about the entrepreneur did you least admire?
- What I least admire is how Shirky can write sometimes about the fallacies of our society. It means a lot to point those out for arguments, but, in my opinion, there a few paragraphs in the book that could've simply been omitted to keep the focus of the topic.
- Did the entrepreneur encounter adversity and failure? If so, what did they do about it?
The entrepreneur did not share any personal anecdotes about encountering adversity of his ideas.
2) What competencies did you notice that the entrepreneur exhibited?
The author exhibited competencies in world history, US history, media, and social studies. He seems very knowledgeable of the TV and the Internet, and I've noticed that he may also have an extensive background in business economics.
The author exhibited competencies in world history, US history, media, and social studies. He seems very knowledgeable of the TV and the Internet, and I've noticed that he may also have an extensive background in business economics.
3) Identify at least one part of the reading that was confusing to you.
What confused me was his mentioning of the Invisible College. Before reading this book, this wasn't the first time that I heard about this concept, but it was different from how I remembered it to be. Shirky describes the college as a group of influential societal leaders from the 17th century who set the agendas for new philosophies.
What confused me was his mentioning of the Invisible College. Before reading this book, this wasn't the first time that I heard about this concept, but it was different from how I remembered it to be. Shirky describes the college as a group of influential societal leaders from the 17th century who set the agendas for new philosophies.
4) If you were able to ask two questions to the entrepreneur, what would you ask? Why?
What made you realize connections between the examples in the book that prove the cognitive surplus does exist, and what motivated you to write an entire chapter on college professors and brain surgeons? Do you mostly agree that most of a human's development can attributed to genes and our environment or do you believe that humans are socio-cultural creatures? He seems to point to the latter ideology several times in the book.
What made you realize connections between the examples in the book that prove the cognitive surplus does exist, and what motivated you to write an entire chapter on college professors and brain surgeons? Do you mostly agree that most of a human's development can attributed to genes and our environment or do you believe that humans are socio-cultural creatures? He seems to point to the latter ideology several times in the book.
5) For fun: what do you think the entrepreneur's opinion was of hard work? Do you share that opinion?
I think the entrepreneur's definition of hard work is solving problems that require a lot of thinking, effort, and the opinion's of others. Shirky is able to critically analyze himself, but he also points to the many instances in which humans have a history of subscribing to cultural traditions for no particular reason. I share that opinion because thinking at the university level helped me realize how ignorant I still am to a lot of things.
I think the entrepreneur's definition of hard work is solving problems that require a lot of thinking, effort, and the opinion's of others. Shirky is able to critically analyze himself, but he also points to the many instances in which humans have a history of subscribing to cultural traditions for no particular reason. I share that opinion because thinking at the university level helped me realize how ignorant I still am to a lot of things.
No comments:
Post a Comment