2FA, or two-factor authentication, is both an amazing way to have that sweet, sweet additional layer of security and a nuisance that draws me out of my mindless routine of plugging in a password and username. As a whole, the process causes us to look elsewhere for confirmation and verification that yes, we are not a robot or a scam artist or someone who just happened to guess a random login correctly. I’d imagine that this process is typically automated since surely there’s not another person on the other side of the login screen waiting to send me a random keyboard smash (“dfghjk”) to verify my credentials. So, in a way, we’re speaking directly to the system by asking for access into a digital database and confirming our unique identity through providing a digital key. Even though this description barely scratches the surface, I’d say that all of this encryption and cybersecurity technology is super cool stuff to learn more about. After all, it’s only going to become even more prevalent in how we access digital spaces and store our personal information in both the present and near future.
Tag: Immersive
Immersive #17: Texts from Random Strangers
Recently, I was messaged by a random number asking to catch up in a totally normal “we live in a pandemic and I haven’t contacted you in a while” setting. While I wasn’t the correct recipient and was later addressed as “sir”, it made me wonder about the messages we shoot into the dark and how we assume it’ll reach the right person. There’s so much context that is implied in these messages, yet when we aren’t in the know it can come off as quite odd. It makes you think a lot about the lives of people you’ve never met before and what is going on in their own heads right then and there. Are they nonchalant about making a simple mistake? Or are they on the other end of the spectrum and freaking out about disclosing potentially personal information to a stranger who could hold it hostage? Nevertheless, I don’t mind being sent a harmless message or two, it gives me something interesting to talk about for the next week!
Note: Welcome to Immersive v3! We’ll be making a lot more comics this semester and thinking about context within communications, so stay tuned!
Immersive #17: Mind Map
Creator’s Note: We use mind maps to draw out hierarchical relations, clarifying relations developed within the networks of the mind. These help us draw connections between related and unrelated topics to better visualize how everything comes together in the larger picture. In our own lives, we create hierarchies in who and what we connect the most with, which ultimately affects how we shape our identities. As a result, through this week’s graphic, we explore this web of relationships and analyze the sources where we base our identity upon. Hope you all enjoy.
Immersive #16: Greeting Card
Creator’s Note: For notable events in our lives, we often send or receive greeting cards, wishing the recipient well in their respective endeavors. It’s a way of projecting our hopes for a brighter future, whether or not we fully believe in at the time. As a result, these statements can sometimes turn into platitudes, rendering the message of a greeting card worth as much as the material it was constructed from. However, it all depends on the intentions behind the message and if we perceive it to be sincere. Therefore, through the medium of a greeting card, I turn to examine the language that we default to and how we, either as outsiders or insiders, evaluate the thoughtfulness of the message in relation to how close we perceive the sender to be. Enjoy!
Immersive #15: Terminal
Creator’s Note: Coding is often used as a way for us to communicate with computers, to create a list of instructions for the computer to follow under certain conditions. And while we aren’t robots spray-painted chromium with a network of wires supporting our entire being, the push towards integrating artificial intelligence into all aspects of our lives indicates a desire towards harmony between the between human beings and machine. In all of our actions, there lies a system of logic that causes us to intake and act upon stimuli given prior knowledge, and through this week’s article, we explore this system through outlining the decision making process for interacting with a stranger. I hope you enjoy this foray into coding!
Immersive #14: Powerpoint
Creator’s Note: This week I wanted to explore how slides are typically used to present information and tell a holistic narrative in a clean and decisive manner to an external audience. However, in this case, the information is presented to the presenter, Ava Lou Chen herself, reminding us that it’s important to make sure that we address how we are feeling in the present and take the time to truly understand where these emotions originate from to avoid feeling overburdened to the point where it prevents us from taking action. After all, when all the information points one way, it’s hard not to miss the clear signals that disorganized thoughts obscure.
I hope you all enjoyed this week’s presentation, and until next time, I shall see you all in next week’s article.