In The Age of Earthquakes by Basar, Coupland, and Obrist, I first noticed that the book was designed to look like a screen with an email the reader had just received. This became apparent to me due to the images and designs on most of the pages. I found it unique how the pages were designed. Some of the pages reminded me of memes because it would be an image with a short sentence in big bold lettering. I found it fascinating that the book mimicked today's social media; like creating new words and giving them a new meaning, using lots of pictures, and less words to convey an idea. It also showed some tools that people use when online like the skip ad after 5 seconds, emojis, and a search bar.
I found the idea that technology is developing faster than ever before and that our Earth can't keep up to be pretty shocking. I’ve never thought it was the use of phones and similar technology that caused climate change.
The invented words were confusing at first and I didn't understand why they were included. After reading the assignment it became clearer on why the authors included the made up words. I noticed that the authors created new words in order to comment on social media trends.
This book has helped me to realize that I’ve never thought about society changing, but now I wonder what will change in the near future. We have dating sites like Match.com and Eharmony, is it possible that they might change their coding system to find someone who’s genetically the same as you? Will we all become reliant on dating sites to find our ideal match or “true love”?
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Can’t sleep?
I like how this focuses on an issue that a lot of students struggle with now, as many IB kids and kids in general have difficulty sleeping.
ReplyDeleteI thought it was really interesting how you noticed and commented on the word choice that the book used. I also thought the book was helpful in terms of making me think about the changing society. I liked your pastiche and I think it was accurate in terms of the tone and imagery with in the novel.
ReplyDeleteAs a society, we typically think of the positive possibilities of technology. We often mention how technology is developing to resolve problems, but we seldom discuss how it can cause problems, too. That's why a novella like this is so refreshing, because it focuses on the negatives of the development of technology. I liked your comment about the future of dating sites because it's a possible future that seems to match the cynicism of The Age of Earthquakes; it almost feels like something out of a Black Mirror episode. Did the novella change your perspective on the future, as it's being influenced by the development of technology?
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