Chang How Soh
For this experience, I spent my 1 hour watching YouTube videos following the “recommended videos” algorithm that tracks your data and gives you videos to watch. I first clicked on a video of my favorite FPS video game heroes and generals. Some of the information I collected consisted of a guide on how to get good with the Panzerkampfwagen VI Tiger I. The guide depicted an eastern front battle against soviet mid to late war tanks, such as T-34/76s and 85s, IS-2 mod. 1944s, and SU-100’s. The main informational takeaways consisted of utilizing the angling mechanics to bounce enemy shots and using range to snipe enemy tanks before they can react. Based my viewing, the next video recommended to me was a showcase of all the guns in rainbow 6 siege. I was able to receive information such as the individual gun’s rate of fire, reload animations (which are judged highly by the player community), aim-down-sight animations, and the sounds of the guns when fired. Besides the war-related topics, there was a fair amount of fishing videos from the BBC documentary River Monsters. One of them depicted the main star, Jeremy Wade, reeling in a Giant Mekong Catfish in a lake in Thailand. The other information I received included some facts about the fish. The Mekong Giant catfish can grow up to 600 lbs., has a carp-like appearance unlike other catfish species, and is an opportunistic feeder, given that it was caught on a piece of maize according to Wade. Along the same video topic, I was recommended a video about Jeremy wade catching a ferocious Taimen in white water rapids in the remote Mongolian wilderness. I learned how Taimen have a pair of serrated, backward facing teeth that can snare prey, and that they possess a very territorial nature. It was those kinds of teeth that slashed the hand of a fishermen that tried to land one of these fishes on a handline. The Taimen are also significant in the animistic religion of Mongolia, where killing or harming them is considered unlucky. From here, I was taken by the algorithm to a video starring British celebrity chef and Internet meme star Ainsley Harriott. The video depicted him teaching the audience how to cook a butterflied leg of lamb on the barbecue in a traditional South African method. I received information that included the way of sticking a small stick through a piece of garlic and rosemary as a means of studding the lamb thoroughly to flavor it. Then an extravagant amount of sherry is dressed onto the lamb alongside some salt and pepper. Afterwards, the process is repeated on the otherwise of the lamb leg, with Harriott specifying to rub the lamb to allow the different flavors to infuse together and make the lamb taste worth dying for. I learned how the lamb should be cooked on medium to hot coals for 35-40 minutes, and the result is bit of rare, medium, and well-done. By reflecting upon my journey through the YouTube algorithm, it is easy to see how we are immersed everyday in the age of information and big data, where companies target our interests by collecting our information and in return give us information that they believe is relevant to our interests.
After the YouTube binge, it was time to escape from the Internet and immerse myself in nature. I decided to jump on the nostalgia train and head to Eleanor C. Lawrence Park in Chantilly, Virginia. I have not had the time to do this often, but I try to when I get the chance. The park was barren and devoid of green and colorful flora, reflective of the wintry season. There was lots of traffic sounds: cars zooming by, distant construction machinery working on ab bridge to better integrate road travel, and airplanes flying at low altitude proximity; an airport must be nearby. I arrived at the iconic pond area of the park around 10:30 am, the weather was a 50 degrees chill with overcasting clouds. On the dock that extends into the pond there was a sign that showed pictures of the types of fish and wildlife that could be found in/around the pond. Another sign educated the public about the symbiotic relationship of Buttonbush and hummingbirds, one pollinates the other and gets nutrition as a result. Some of the trees had mesh-wiring surrounding their bases to deter beavers from chewing them down; beavers are a rare, but burdening organism to the Fairfax county park service. The lake had lots of brown water plants in and around it; a good reflection of the January chill. To try to escape from the noises of suburbia, I ventured into the forest trail. Lots of signs of human modification were around me: human graffiti carved into the bark of old birch trees, the occasional dog walker and jogger, and yellow tape designating an ongoing stream restoration project. The stream banks beside the trail showed lots of erosion evidence, likely the result of man altering events to nature. Some of the natural information I was able to observe was limited to the distinct calls of an owl and a juvenile bird of some kind (made harder by the loud noises of cars, airplanes, and bridge construction), bramble-thorn plants scattered along the trail sides, and furry brown ivy strangling some trees. The underbrush was also quite lacking, which I hypothesized was either the result of the weather, or the overpopulated deer that previously plagued the Fairfax county park service. As I kept walking, I came across a sign that explained how that site of the trail was once underwater back in the 20th century (1900-1999) and was the site of the Machen family’s ice box. The pond was used by the Machen family, the original inhabitants of E.C Lawrence park, to harvest ice for refrigeration or making cold food items. As I kept walking, I eventually reached the visitor center. A place full of animals such as copperheads, snapping turtles, gray tree frogs, yellow bullhead catfish, and eastern black rat snakes, among others, all kept in a zoo-like state. There was also lots of stuffed and preserved animals on display, such as foxes and raccoons, as well as preserved skins, hides, bones, and other animal parts for the purpose of education. The history of the park was on display in museum-style information boards framed on the walls. From the visitor center, I learned of how invasive species, such as koi, red-eared turtles, and garlic mustard weed, have all been seen throughout the park. This only serves as a further sign of humans altering the natural environment for whatever reasons. In summary, the visitor center of the park was about the most “nature” based setting where natural information could be received, as the forest trails showed too many signs of human encroachment, evident by the stream erosion, human graffiti in tree trunks, and the sounds of cars, airplanes, and construction being all round me.
Both modern and natural experiences showed me the progress of human evolution. We humans started off in nature and ultimately ended up in a modern, urbanized setting filled to the brim with electronic mediums such as TVs, VCRs, computers, loud sounds of cars and construction, etc. This type of setting has become so mainstream that society does not seem to be bothered by it anymore, to the point where nature itself is seen by some as an escape from the busy, faced-paced world of development. Previously, the Internet provided an endless frontier of escape from the mainstreams provided by the real world and nature.