TOW #25: "Heartbleed Explanation" by Randall Munroe (Visual Text)

Reading Goal: Find a visual text that's in a different genre from what I've done before.

Writing Goal: Work on conclusion to do less restating and more thought-provoking.

(Source: http://xkcd.com/1354/)

     On April 7th, 2014, it became public knowledge that a security bug called "Heartbleed" was loose on the internet, making many people's important passwords at risk to be stolen. At this time, most internet users had heard of it, but many (including me) didn't really understand how it worked. On April 11th, Randall Munroe, the author of the popular webcomic xkcd, released a comic explaining how the bug worked. His audience for his webcomic is mainly avid internet users, often in the range of high schoolers to middle-aged people. This particular comic, however, could be directed to anyone who wished to understand how Heartbleed was stealing their passwords. Through his use of bold text and highlighting, Munroe effectively points out to viewers how Heartbleed works.

     In the first panel, Munroe draws the character Meg stating a request to the computer, and by uses bold text, shows that request in the computer's dialog. The reader can also see the other requests to the server in non-bolded text. In the next frame, the response to the request is highlighted, and the computer is shown sending the response. These first two panels establish a system for how Munroe will show the request-and-response pattern, and the bold text and highlighting make what he is trying to show very clear. The next two frames repeat this pattern to teach it to readers. The final two panels, then, point out to readers how Heartbleed works. Munroe uses the bold text to again show the request, but then shows readers through the highlighted text that not only the response part of the bolded request is what is given in response – many of the other, non-bolded requests (for example, "User Karen wants to change account password") are part of the computer's response, too. By using tools like bold and highlighted text, Munroe effectively taught his audience about the request-and-response system used by Heartbleed to find vulnerable information like passwords.

     When the Heartbleed bug became common knowledge, popular webcomic artist Randall Munroe was able to use his fame to teach people about how the bug worked in a simple, interesting manner. He used mainly bold and highlighted text to explain to readers the system used by the bug. The only shortcoming in this cartoon, though, is that it does not tell readers what they can do about the bug. It would have interrupted the flow of the cartoon, but a small footnote or something equally unassuming would have been a helpful and important addition.

Musicophilia Introduction (IRB)

     Musicophilia is written by Oliver Sacks, a physician and the Professor of Clinical Neurology and Psychiatry at Columbia University. Throughout his career, he has written many books on different functions and oddities of the human brain. Musicophilia focuses how the brain interacts with music and addresses specific conditions (both good and bad) relating to music, from absolute pitch to amusia. Many of his chapters draw from stories his patients have experienced, so Musicophilia is sure to have interesting and real stories.
     I'm very interested in studying neuroscience throughout college, and music has always been a huge part of my life, so a book that combined the two sounded incredibly interesting to me. Hopefully, Musicophilia will give me a better idea of if I actually want to pursue neuroscience, and, if so, open my eyes to possible specific aspects of neuroscience that I could study in college.

TOW #24: I'm A Stranger Here Myself by Bill Bryson (IRB)

Reading Goal: Try to identify new rhetorical devices (different from last time) that Bryson uses.

Writing Goal: Try to incorporate my voice into my writing.

     Throughout I'm A Stranger Here Myself, Bill Bryson has continually been effectively entertaining while actually being informative about the differences between American and British life. However, in the second half of the book, Bryson has been back in America for about two years now, and his articles are less about the differences between the two countries and more about annoying and frustrating acts of his life. Of course, Bryson is still striving to be entertaining, and he continues to achieve that through his use of parody and hyperbole.

     In the chapter entitled "Your New Computer," Bryson addresses the hassle of setting up a new computer. However, instead of simply stating his annoyance (which would be rather boring and seem far too much like he was just complaining), Bryson writes the chapter as a parody of a computer set-up manual. One section reads: "Unpack the box and examine its contents. (Warning: Do not open box if contents are missing or faulty, as this will invalidate your warranty. Return all missing contents in their original packaging [...] and a replacement will be sent within twelve working months.)" (227). Through this statement (part of the "Getting Ready" section of his "computer manual"), Bryson parodies a step that one would normally read in a computer manual. Through this, he highlights how ridiculous and frustrating warranties can be – yet he does so in a funny way. By parodying a computer manual, Bryson achieves his purpose of entertaining his audience.

     To make his parody effective, Bryson often utilizes hyperbole. He exaggerates elements of computer manuals, especially the steps that involve installing software and plugging in cords, to show the unnecessary complexity of the process. He writes, "Also included with your PC is a bonus pack of preinstalled software – Lawn Mowing Planner, Mr. Arty-Farty, Blank Screen Saver, and Antarctica Route Finder" (226). While everyone reading certainly knows that the average computer doesn't instruct users how to embark upon an Antarctic adventure, the audience can certainly tell from the ridiculous programs that Bryson describes that computers often come with unneeded and annoying programs that just waste space. And above all else, when exaggerated, Bryson's complaints (for, ultimately, that's what his articles are) are certainly funny.

     The second half of Bryson's I'm A Stranger Here Myself focuses more on entertaining the audience rather than doing both that and comparing America and English. To do so, Bryson often uses parody and hyperbole. Because of his effective use of these rhetorical devices, every chapter in I'm A Stranger Here Myself is highly humorous and a joy to read.

Complicated Computers:
Computers today are (in my opinion) wonderfully easy to set up, though Bryson's parody suggests that in his day, computers were far more complicated and resulted in all sorts of disorder, as shown in the picture above.

(Source: http://www.tuug.utu.fi/~jaakko/kuvat/huonesuuri.jpg)