Week 3 (20-26 October): Experimental Houses

In the world there are many strange buildings. Many architects trying to create new solutions. I will try to describe a few experimental houses.

 1: The Bubble House - Antti Lovag

http://twistedsifter.files.wordpress.com/2011/04/palais-bulles-palace-of-bubbles-pierre-cardin-house-antti-lovag-cannes-1.jpg

This house is located in Tourettes-sur-Loup in France. Circular walls and windows of this building create a strange image of the Mediterranean sea. You can see a panoramic view from windows of  this building.

The real idea of the house was to create a building that looks like a house of our ancestors. Of course, the house is very modern. But the location of this building on rocky slopes, creates the visions of caves.

2: Sou Fujimoto Wooden Hause

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/17/Final_Wooden_House_2008.jpg/1280px-Final_Wooden_House_2008.jpg

A wooden House located in Kumamoto in Japan. It nicely presents itself on a mountain slope. This building is a cube, which has 4,2 meters long walls. It was built using logs 350X350mm. The house ideally adapts to the human body. The space is organized in multiple levels. The interior looks like a labyrinth. Every part has a separate function. For me, the rooms are too small and cramped.

http://s3.amazonaws.com/data.tumblr.com/1Ee9trZI7n5alajhFmvorVGzo1_1280.jpg?AWSAccessKeyId=AKIAJP67HANH6OVWEMMQ&Expires=1413572265&Signature=ZXNdWtzVxuMaDM3Tmt%2B1Jq5%2Fr1I%3D

3. The Minnesota Foam Home

http://stmedia.startribune.com/images/673506+1FOAM021713.jpg

http://media-cache-ec0.pinimg.com/736x/35/dd/4a/35dd4aeb4e9110a7b12c67a0e609e020.jpg

This strange house was built in 1969. construction cost more than 250 000 $. I do not know what this building symbolises . Some people think that is a hobbit’s house. Other people think it is a home of a mole. However, the building in its structure is weird. Many uneven walls. Personally, I would feel lost in something like this.

4: Revolving Cylindrical Abodes

http://cdn.trendhunterstatic.com/thumbs/roll-it-experimental-house.jpeg

This house was designed by students Christian Zwick and Konstantin Jerabek from the University of Karlsruhe in German. The idea was to create a mobile home. The house is cylindrical. Space functions are changing depending on its position. The house is made of wood which creates a comfortable atmosphere inside.

Do you know any more strange houses?

What do you think about them?

Hi-tech your life

Hi-tech your life

Day by day our life goes through a sea change. Formerly it was enough to buy a t-shirt with a fancy caption as a gift for your friend. Nowadays even Google Glass or Smart Watch do not impress us. Some part of hi-tech gadgets seems to be the ideal solution for making everyday activity easier, but the other part seems to be complete a waste of money, and from time to time also health. Still there exist some projects that are capable of surprising me and now I will share them with you.

Bionic Yourself V2.0

The Bionic Yourself (B10N1C) Project reminds „The Terminator” movie. We have heard about injecting chips into the human’s body in the USA, where in the data carrier is stored all information about insurance, mortgages, health history or disregarding the law. This taboo subject assumed the benefits of full control of society, however it had stiff opposition with representatives of the church. At the project website we can find information that the device with measures 48mmx18mmx6,4mm is injected under our skin. It enables wireless controlling of devices using some gestures. The inventor said that it is going to upgrade the body to communicate with the tech-friendly culture that we line in today.

Microchips' technology

Another example is a subcutaneous chip that will be used instead of birth control pills. The device infuses a dose of hormones released in the body of a woman. In the microprocessor there are special containers for the active substance that can be released in proper dosage. Equipment application into body seems to be easy surgery and takes around 30 minutes. Looking at the bright side of engineering of such an appliance, we can look further and imagine that most of the therapeutic processes can be reduced to the usage of this technology. We do not forget the daily servings of medical drugs and we will not need multiple visits at the doctor’s office. However, as it is not difficult to guess, technology can fail, and the consequences can be tragic.

Nokia & Microsoft

        More mundane rumors preach about a new Nokia’s gadget. The so-called „Nokia Fit Concept” is the joint project of Nokia and Microsoft. This product would be worn on the finger and connected to your mobile phone via Bluetooth.

U Transfer USB Stick

         Another quite an interesting idea seems to be U Transfer USB Stick. A touch screen and a slot at one end would allow to hook up another stick.

Glass Concept: Future Of Internet Search

The Google lovers who are difficult to count, and adage “Google it” may soon stay permanently in dictionaries. The Glass Concept combines all applications like Google Translate, Google Image, Google Search and devices like Google Glass in one.

Bibliography:

http://www.newhitechgadgets.com/glass-concept-future-internet-search/

http://www.newhitechgadgets.com/fingertips-nokia-phone-concept/

http://zmianynaziemi.pl/wiadomosc/podskorny-chip-zamiast-pigulek-antykoncepcyjnych-nowa-technologia-przechodzi-ostatnie-test

http://hackaday.io/project/2736-Bionic-Yourself-V2.0

Questions:

1. Are the above mentioned gadgets really a huge step for mankind or just another excuse to extort large sums of money for a useless toy?
2. In which area of ​​your life do you see the greatest need to find gadgets that facilitate certain actions?
3. What is your approach to these devices? Would you invest in any of these projects?

Are Social Media making a fool of us?

Are Social Media making a fool of us?

People use social networks for many purposes — killing boredom, socializing, or to promote a product or business. Some people, however, have been able to get rich on social media mostly by showing their talents and achieving fortune, fame, or both. For sure, you have heard about SA Wardęga’s “Mutant Giant Spider Dog” on YouTube, which by now has almost 100 million views! And some people count the number of views in dollars. Let’s face the truth, it wasn’t the discovery of America, but for such an ‘obvious’ idea he earned around 35 000$ (source http://pawel-nowak.com/zarabianie-na-youtube-wyliczenia/). And what is more, you have a finger int he pie wasting time watching it.

Someone-Something-Somewhere

Another phenomenon of social portals is the speed of spread of information. Especially the one which is untrue. All of you probably have heard about missing Malaysia Airline’s 370 flight. There were multiple sources informing about the safe landing of this plane, nevertheless the plane has not been found so far. Both Malaysian Airlines officials and the Chinese government later said the safe landing rumors were false.

(http://www.ibtimes.com/new-facebook-malware-fake-video-claims-malaysia-airlines-missing-plane-mh370-has-been-spotted)

Similar news has spread about Hurricane Sandy. The story unfolded quickly on social media: a poignant photo of soldiers standing guard at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, a picture of a giant wave slamming into the Statue of Liberty, and TV reports that 3 feet of water flooded the New York Stock Exchange.

None of it was true.

Humblebrag: The Art of False Modesty

Are you really so passionate about professional photography or it is just a right time for a new #selfie for you Facebook account? Despite all selfies in the mirror, so called ‘food porn” is one of the most common topics and publishing it permanently is inscribed in the network code as exhibitionism. But will sharing news about finding 10 Polish groszy on the street really makes you a billionaire? Humblebrag is an ostensibly modest or self-deprecating statement which actual purpose is to draw attention to something you are proud of. It is good to share your success with those we like but ironically attempting at minimizing big news can actually work against us and irritate others. People have tendency to overpraise themselves. Especially bloggers are bragging about their life by showing new brand shoes or so recently snapped up cheap trips to the Republic of Congo.  In fact, a paper published in 2012 by two Harvard neuroscientists said that talking about ourselves gives us the same kind of pleasure we get from sex or food.

Bibliography:

http://www.nbcnews.com/storyline/missing-jet/social-media-spread-false-reports-safe-landing-n48081

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/people-spreading-misinformation-sandy-hook-massacre-face-charges-police-article-1.1221554

Questions:

1. Do you think social networking sites make it hard for people to think for themselves?
2. Do you see a difference between an impression your friends make in real life and in social portals?
3. How active are you on social media and how many people are you connected with?
4. What would your relationships with friends look like without social media?

Week 1 (6-12 October 2014)

Read the article Who does the housework? published at http://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2014/oct/06/who-does-housework-guardian-writers-reveal and comment on/discuss it. Share with us your personal experiences.

Week 1 (6-12 October 2014)

Read the article Can virtual reality make you a better person? published at http://www.bbc.com/future/story/20141001-the-goggles-that-make-you-nicer and comment on/discuss it.

Week 1 (6-12 October 2014)

Read the article How to learn like a memory champion published at http://www.bbc.com/future/story/20140307-how-to-learn-like-a-memory-champ  and comment on/discuss it. Also, present your methods of memorization/learning. Have apps enhanced learning?

List of Blog Moderators

All of you will moderate the blog for a week. Therefore, put your name on the list (choose the week when you would like to do it). Remember, this is an obligatory part of the course.  

What are you to do as a moderator? Choose some theme for your week. Put there links to interesting articles, films, presentations, etc. Comment on them and make others discuss them with you and other course participants.   

Remember to send me your presentations at least 5 days before their publication. 

You moderate your presentations from Monday until Sunday. 

 The dates of our work on the blog:

1.   06.10-12.10.14
2.   13.10-19.10.14 Karolina W.
3.   20.10-26.10.14 Agata P.
4.   27.10-02.11.14 Michał R. , Katarzyna Przybysz
5.   03.11-09.11.14 Jan Porowski , Jan Urbański
6.   10.11-16.11.14 Patrycja Marciniak , Michał Maciejewski
7.   17.11-23.11.14 Weronika Ch. , Dariusz Pawłowski
8.   24.11-30.11.14 Maciej Dołęga
9.   01.12-07.12.14 Cezary Góralski 
10. 08.12-14.12.14 Aneta M. , Adam Kaliński
11. 15.12-21.12.14 Tomasz G., Katarzyna Buczyłko
12. 12.01-18.01.15  Piotr Kozłowski, Armand Stańczak

13. 19.01-25.01.15 Marcin Konarski