Epilogue: What Does it all Mean?

This will be my final post/assignment for Seeing Sideways. The question of the day: what is this class all about? Having attended a semester of this thing I'd say I'm an expert on the subject now, and I can tell you expertly that in my expert opinion I have no 'effin' clue what this class is about. Expertly.

We've done a lot of silly things in this class. We've had a lot of discussions about a lot of different things. This has been like the Leisure Studies major's wet dream. I think that, at the end of the day, what you take away from this class is entirely up to you. Depending on how much you participate and how much you listen you can learn a lot about yourself and how others perceive you. This class is like a blank slate to explore yourself with and permanently etch all your self-discoveries on. As I said, you get out of this class exactly what you want. If you walk in wanting to become more creative--like me--and you put in some real effort towards what you do, guess what? You will walk out more creative. You may not notice it immediately, but it'll happen.

This class has really helped me loosen up in regards to loosely-regimented assignments. Something I always knew was a fault of mine was how dependent high-school had made me on detailed instructions in my assignments, and how I'd always just follow the instructions to the letter, doing nothing more and nothing less. I think that, thanks to this class, I've really been able to open up and do some assignments for myself instead of just for a grade.

I walked in wanting creativity and flexibility in my work, and I believe I got it. What YOU see in this class is definitely what you get, So hopefully this class will give you a chance to change your perspective and, dare I say, see things a little sideways.

Hidden Pickles

So, we talked in class about hidden things and how our situation affects our perception of different things. For my random-pickle-with-a-hidden-twist I took my 6-year-old nephew and decided to show him some ink blots and compare our results. I chose to do this because I thought it tied in well with the "hidden" theme; everyone comes away seeing different things hidden in ink blots.

For this one, I saw a bat. My nephew saw an angel

I saw two people playing patty-cake. He saw two people, but didn't say they were doing anything

I saw crossbones. He saw palm trees.

I saw two people looking at eachother. He saw an arrow.

We both saw a butterfly.

So, from the results I...Ok, I'll be honest with you: I have no idea what the results mean. But it'll probably be fun to discuss what the class thinks it means. 

Inspiration Round Robin Part 2

Beth sent me an inspiration source to work with for the Round Robin, and that source was rain. She said that rain inspired her because a warm, summer rain makes her happy but a cool, fall-winter rain makes her sad. She takes inspiration from the fact that one thing can inspire two completely different feelings given different circumstances.

Personally, I think everyone thinks of the rain a little differently. Some people enjoy it; for others, it ruins their day. But, me? Rain makes me lethargic. Whenever it rains it effects me in a way that I really don't want to do anything productive; I just want to sit by my window, watching tv/playing video games while listening to/watching   it fall. That said, thinking of what the rain makes me feel inspired me to draw this simple (yet hopefully funny) drawing of a person sleeping through a ferocious rainstorm, in which the rain just happens to be sheep.

Get it? Raining sheep? Counting sheep puts people to sleep (does that actually work? I have no idea)? Yeah.

Inspiration Round Robin

So when I think of what inspires me, I think the biggest thing would be my parents. We've not by any stretch been wealthy, but my parents have always worked hard to make sure we had everything we needed and some of what we wanted. Watching them over the years, and wanting to live up to their expectations of me, has inspired me to work hard in college. Looking back at what they've done makes me think that if I try hard enough there's no way I won't be successful when I get out of school.

Class 11-15-10

So today we did a large discussion of our "Who the hell do you think you are?!" assignments. I ended up getting a lot of good questions during mine that I need to sit and think about.

I feel this post is suffering from my inability to permanently affix peoples' names to their faces. If I actually knew who everyone was I'd have more to say.

Who the Hell Do You Think You Are?

So when we went to see the "Notes to Noself" exhibit at Heron the first thing that struck me as we walked in was the atmosphere of the dense part of the forest. It was very gloomy and all the trees were covered in skulls and such. It really made me think of a game I've been playing recently called LIMBO. LIMBO is characterized by its grayscale artwork and very dark nature. After thinking about that for a little while I think one aspect of who I am that I'd like to touch on for this assignment is the fact that I like darker stories. I like stories where bad guys are protagonists. I like zombie stories and such. This assignment has me wondering why that is.

I think part of it is escapism. For any ordinary person the subjects of these stories do and experience very liberating things that a normal person just couldn't do. I think experiencing that indirectly through movies and video games helps keep you grounded in the real world. I think it helps serve as a release for your troubles.

So, that said here's what I made. I was just feeling like making something a little dark. Maybe I'll think of some poetic, better rationale by the time class rolls around.

Class 11-1-10

So, today we have no traditional class meeting. My first reaction, very first reaction, for reasons I will not go into, was "Thank God, I can rush home now!"

However, once that faded out I sorta realized I was a little disappointed. I have to say this is one of the few classes I've found myself looking forward to on a weekly basis.

What Is It???

So for this assignment we had to examine a package that Beth brought in and basically guess at what its contents were. My guess is it was basically a creative works catalogue that helps aspiring artists spread the word about their creations and helps culturally-minded people find out about new creative geniuses.

Now, the real question for this blog post is why I think we're doing this exercise. I think that on the surface, this is about analytical thinking. Looking at something and figuring out what it is is a skill, and this is helping us develop it.

However, at its core, this is also helping us think outside the box about our answers, and I have no doubt that 2 things will happen during lecture: 1, we will find that a lot of people have different opinions about the subject; and 2, we will talk about how this shows that everyone has a different view on everything and how we formulate those views.

So yeah, seeing as the class is called "Seeing Sideways," I assume that this assignment is helping us realize that we all see everything sideways; we all look at everything from a completely different angle than everyone else, and combining those different viewpoints can help to form a much clearer, unbiased picture of any given subject.

Class 10-25-10

Today...well, to be honest I'm starting to wade into uncharted territory with this class. We really have very little direction, and that's not too comfortable considering how much direction over classes tend to give. We had some interesting discussion about our previous projects, but the thing that stuck out most to me was the new assignment. This one seems...unique for some reason. I can't put my finger on it.

Anyway, I'm still thinking about what that stuff all is.

Class 10-11-10

So today we discussed our feelings toward religion. I talked a decent bit more than I thought I would.

After all that we ended up watching "Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed," and I have to say I found the movie insightful. Biased, but insightful. I didn't know just how against the idea of Intelligent Design most scientists are; I also find it ironic how quickly we have changed our stance from trying to outlaw evolution in the classroom to flat-out alienating anyone that even mentions Intelligent Design. Overall I think I learned a lot from the film.

I'll also bring up the fact that someone mentioned that we seem to learn from each other rather than one person in this class. That really struck me. Honestly, it's true--if you're looking for reasons as to why this class forms such tight groups look no further than this single point; the fact that we tend to listen to everyone regularly in this class makes it a real group effort, and as such makes this class very unique. I'd be curious as to how other classes would go if allowed to be taught in this kind of structure.

What's Really Important

I feel like this is a cop-out, but I honestly do not want to touch this subject in a public light. Religion is something I've danced around my whole life and I don't think I have the confidence to share my thoughts on the subject. I'd really just like to keep my beliefs to myself for now. This assignment has got me thinking, though...a lot. It's got me thinking about things that I've sort-of avoided ever since I started college, so that's something.

Reactions to Class 10-4-10

So this is the second day of our Fear Factor experiments. I have to say I've had some interesting reactions to some of the things that have been done. The experiment where we had to earplug ourselves and close our eyes was interesting because something so simple got a real reaction. People got apprehensive about what was going to happen. Sensory deprivation is a really easy way to make people doubt their safety.

I personally had to hold a mouse. And I hate mice. But it wasn't that bad. I think, as I said in my actual Fear Factor entry, that the fact that the animal belonged to someone and I know that person was just fine with touching it gave me the confidence to dive in.

I also held a snake for a while. I was fine with holding the snake; for some reason, I've always been fine with holding them. But it jerked its head really fast a couple times and that made me jump. I think I just had the constant thought of the fact that this thing has fangs and can use them in the back of my head, and a fear of possible imminent pain got a reaction out of me. To clarify, I think that I wasn't really afraid of the snake biting as much as the pain that would result from the snake biting. The snake seems, in my mind, in that situation, secondary to the pain in regards to fear.

Fear Factor: The Normal Made Abnormal

Fear, I think, is more than just a feeling; it's a primal instinct that drives us to survive. When something could harm us, fear is there to make us turn the other way. When something wouldn't harm us, but we think it could, fear keeps us from getting any closer. When something normal exceeds the scope in which we normally experience it, fear keeps us from experiencing too much.

I plan to play with the aforementioned "take something normal too far" idea. My experiment is simple, and I think all I can hope for is to get my test subject uncomfortable. However, if I'm lucky, I'm hoping they'll end up getting so uncomfortable that they either want to move away or have it stop.

My experiment is, simply put, a test of the Chinese Water Torture. I'll take a bottle of water and let it drip on someone to see how uncomfortable it makes them. Then, I'll squirt it at them to see if the sudden change in routine gets a reaction.

Testing it in class, it didn't go so well. My subject didn't really react to it either part of the experiment at all. He just never became uncomfortable with what was happening. He really took it in stride.

I think the problem is mainly a time issue; if I had more time the initial resistance to the experience would die out, and I would assume the subject would definitely want it to stop. Restraining the subject, thereby removing the freedom to end it at any time, and blindfolding/earplugging them to create sensory deprivation could help, but I don't think they would be in the spirit of "something normal taken too far."

This exercise has taught me a bit about fear. One big observation is that a lot of us are not really afraid of everything being done because of the atmosphere in which we're doing all this. This is a very laid-back class, and everyone's having fun. That considered, with so many people it's hard to shake away from the group's attitude, and the group's attitude is one of enjoyment.

For me personally, I reacted to Thomas Fraley's project the most; mainly because I went and got myself directly involved. He brought a mouse to class; I have a bit of a mouse fear. How enjoyable this was. I was made to hold it. In retrospect I honestly don't know why I'm so afraid of mice. I was, after the initial shell-shock, just fine with holding the thing, but I'm still really scared of them normally. Similarly, I held the other John's snake in class, and I was just fine with that. freaked out a little when it jerked its head fast, but otherwise was fine with it. However, if I see one in nature I know I would be terrified. I think it comes down to the fact that these are people's pets, and I've seen them touch them, so I know it's ok; but in the wild I have no idea what these things would do, and I guess that's what scares me about it.

I think that my reaction to the projects that got a rise out of me has shown me just how far something you normally accept has to be taken to become abnormal. We all have specific things that will just frighten us easily, but making fear out of something that most of us accept as normal requires going to an extreme that I wasn't able to reach for this assignment.

Fear Factor prelude

So I guess I'm not supposed to say much about it in this post. let's just say it involves a reaction to water while blind.

Response to Class: 9-20-10

So today we had an interesting talk about fear. Personally, I'm afraid of lots of things, but I think the most observable fear I possess is a fear of heights.
In our discussion of last week's assignments we talked about the senses assignment (DUH!), but I wish we would have gotten into the alternate assignment a little biDISTRACTION WEASLE! DISTRACTION WEASLE! DISTRACTION WEASLE! DISTRACTION WEASLE!DISTRACTION WEASLE! DISTRACTION WEASLE! DISTRACTION WEASLE! DISTRACTION WEASLE!DISTRACTION WEASLE! DISTRACTION WEASLE! DISTRACTION WEASLE! DISTRACTION WEASLE!DISTRACTION WEASLE! DISTRACTION WEASLE! DISTRACTION WEASLE! DISTRACTION WEASLE!DISTRACTION WEASLE! DISTRACTION WEASLE! DISTRACTION WEASLE! DISTRACTION WEASLE! I'm gonna keep doing this for a while...you might as well leave now...DISTRACTION WEASLE! DISTRACTION WEASLE! DISTRACTION WEASLE! DISTRACTION WEASLE!DISTRACTION WEASLE! DISTRACTION WEASLE! DISTRACTION WEASLE! DISTRACTION WEASLE!DISTRACTION WEASLE! DISTRACTION WEASLE! DISTRACTION WEASLE! DISTRACTION WEASLE!DISTRACTION WEASLE! DISTRACTION WEASLE! DISTRACTION WEASLE! DISTRACTION WEASLE!DISTRACTION WEASLE! DISTRACTION WEASLE! DISTRACTION WEASLE! DISTRACTION WEASLE!DISTRACTION WEASLE! DISTRACTION WEASLE! DISTRACTION WEASLE! DISTRACTION WEASLE!

WHEW! That sure was distracting.

Alternate "I Sense..." Assignment

We were allowed to do an alternate for the "I Sense a Change on the Wind" assignment, in which we combined a 2 phrases written on the Why and Because boards.

I saw these two phrases and instantly thought of this moment of LOTR.

Inspiration 2: Visualization Inspiration

Well, if you read the post that rude guy made about walking backwards, you already know that I went to Garfield Park for this part of the assignment. Because he spoiled it. Seriously, how rude?

First off, let me say that I am an avid gamer. That said, while I was there I noticed a few things. First off, lots of trees (DUUUH!), which, as a gamer made me think of cover for a First-Person Shooter. Then I thought that so much dense cover would make the game really hard, unless there was a cover-piercing system like in Call of Duty. Then I started thinking of laser tag, and of how much easier it is to react to targets in dense cover in real life than it is in a video game. Actually aiming the weapon yourself instead of with analog sticks makes reacting in that kind of situation a lot more accurate.

I also noticed things like buildings that would offer varied locations/maps/whatever for a shooter, and gazebos that would act like a focal point for the action in the dense foliage.

While we were at the AVL mention was made of ARGs, and using things like goggles to project virtual items onto reality. I was thinking that with that technology and a laser tag-like rig you could make a really amazing FPS that plays out in an actual location with actual people. The difference between this and normal laser tag would be the scale: This could cover extremely large sections of the park; much large than a laser tag game.

Then I started thinking of the other ways this kind of technology and video games could come together, because even though FPS's are awesome, they aren't the only kind of video game that could use this. An RPG could have you, the player, actually be the hero of the story, and could use the goggles to project creatures, stats, etc into the environments. I think the biggest issue with this kind of game would be getting the monsters to behave like actual creatures and not omniscient things that always know where you are; adding the ability to hide from foes would add a lot of versatility to a game.

Below is a link to a site I found that displays the kind of thing I'm thinking about. This guy is making a game that seems to use an Iphone or similar touch-screen device to project objects onto real surfaces. Check it out; I think this is the future of gaming.

http://www.virtuater.com/?p=86

Inspiration 1: Walking Backwards

I tried to kill 2 birds with one stone and walk backwards while I was at Garfield Park (Spoiler Alert: I went to a park for the second part of the assignment), but that wasn't turning out so well. It was very slow and I was almost constantly wanting to look where I was going, a temptation which I, admittedly, gave in to several times.

Then I decided to try closing my eyes. While that did solve the looking back problem, I started running into trees.

So, with that experiment deemed a failure I tried again at home. at that point it really became about knowing the area's layout, something which video games have made me good at. Progress was slow, probing with the back of my foot for the location of obstacles when I knew they were coming up, but I managed to get it to work pretty well.

Class 8-30-10

Today's class was one of the most interesting trips I think I've ever been on. I didn't even know half that stuff existed in the IT building, and I'd only heared stories about the Cave. That was probably my favorite part: the Cave. When I was controlling it in the wine cellar it was like being in a freaking wine cellar! You look down and you're standing next to a table with wine and such on it, and visually it's like there's actually a table there right next to you (if that made any sense at all).

The Cave gave me an idea for a project I may want to work on eventually. I did a script for a simple dragon killing game for another class, and I think it would be awesome to see it turned into virtual reality.

Assignment 1: The Egg and the Eye

Before I say this, I will remind you that I didn't take an egg from class because I didn't know how I'd get it home. That said, I found my own egg, and I ate it.

The reason I think this is worthy of the assignment: I haven't really been fond of them since I was young, but I decided that this assignment was the perfect opportunity to try them out again. 

I had it scrambled. It was...pretty good, actually. Not as bad as I remember. Maybe I'll have to add egg to my normal diet now.

First Class: Impressions

Well, today we had our first session for Seeing Sideways. I have to say, I'm pleasantly surprised by what happened. I didn't know what to expect going in, other than a bit of a fun time, and what we got has me excited for the coming semester. I'm really hoping that I'll be able to get a little more creative by the time this is over; as I said, one of my biggest creative problems is my tendency to rehash things that I see, and I really want to correct it. I enjoyed the whole "go into the hall without leaving your chairs" thing; if anything, I took it as a sign as to the attitude this class will have, and now I'm really excited for the next session.