Tow #25 - "The Confessions of a Silk Road Kingpin"

The age of information is undoubtedly one of the most valuable things our generation has, but it comes with a price. In a world where anonymity runs rampant and tracking is nearly impossible without sophisticated technology, the negative impacts of the Internet remain just as obvious as the good ones. In "The Confessions of a Silk Road Kingpin" Patrick Howell O'Neill from the Daily Dot explores the underground drug ring of the internet- the infamous Silk Road.

The story is told as a narrative from the perspective of Steven Lloyd Sadler, a once prescription pill dealer turned heroin kingpin. Initially an IT guy working for system maintenance and administration, an opportunity which granted Sadler access to hundreds of thousands of "social security numbers, drivers' license numbers, mothers' maiden names, and other information that, when combined, could be used to set up prepaid credit cards in the names of other people". Nothing about what Sadler did was inherently evil, he didn't steal, hurt or destroy anything, but his actions have a heavy price of life in prison according to the criminal justice system.

O'Neill alludes to Breaking Bad, a popular TV show glamorizing the life of a New Mexican meth drug lord, Sadler was in a very similar situation. All Sadler's actions were done from the comfort of his own home operating on his computer on a secret online website called the Silk Road. The Silk Road could not be accessed by normal means or standard URLs. The Silk Road was located in a protected part of the Internet called the Deep Web. The name doesn't really do the place justice since the only requirement to access the site was downloading a special browser called “Tor.”

 Whether or not the ethics behind Sadler's actions were safe and sound, what he did is still a crime in the eyes of the law and protection is never 100%.

IRB #3 - How To Live

How To Live by Sarah Bakewell is a great philosophical read that doesn't only answer the difficult questions of life, it asks them. The answers come from the 15th contrary author Montaigne, who reached fame for his coining of the idea of an "essay". The simple thesis of the book is, to ask how one should live is very different from asking how to live. Immediately being drawn to the book by it's inviting cover design, I find myself even more drawn to the words inside. This book, although I am not finished reading, seems to be one of the most riveting book I have ever read, and I cannot wait to read more.

Tow #24 - Cosmos Rhetorical Analysis

Cosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey is a 2014 American science documentary television series. The show is a follow-up to the 1980 television series Cosmos: A Personal Voyage, which was presented by Carl Sagan on the Public Broadcasting Service and is considered a milestone for scientific documentaries. This series was developed to bring back the foundation of science to network television at the height of other scientific-based television series and films. The show is presented by astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson, who was inspired by Sagan as a young college student to become a scientist. In his show Tyson uses spectacular special effects, and clear narration to attract his audience, whom mostly are probably uninterested in science.

            Watching the show Cosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey is a fascinating sight and helps the mainly uninterested audience become fascinated by the visuals of the scientific topics that Tyson teaches. During the show Tyson travels through space and time in his fictional spacecraft showing his audience what a supernova really looks like, or how earth looked like millions of years ago. The television program shows bright lights of the explosions of stars in space that are visually appealing. What ever Tyson is narrating, it comes to life with the excellent animation seen in his program.

            Tyson also narrates with a clear voice, and diction that everyone can understand, helping draw an audience that does not care very much for science. He never uses scientific jargon, unless it is a scientific name and in that case he explains clearly what exactly the thing with the scientific name is. Tyson will explain easily to common man what a Black Hole is, and can easily demonstrate how the cavemen read the stars to know when seasons came. His clear narration fortifies his television show immensely because it can draw an audience that is not very interested in science.

            Through his clear narration and appealing visual effects, Tyson can attract the audience that does not like science, in order to receive greater ratings. This is necessary in order to fund his television program to keep the show on the air, with the purpose of teaching the general public about science.