IRB Intro Post #3

Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking

Susan Cain

For the third marking period, I have chosen Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World that Can’t Stop Talking by Susan Cain.  Ever since an open-ended research project in 10th grade, I have become fascinated with the brain science behind introverts and extraverts.  The difference between introverts and extraverts has long been established and comprehensively researched.  However, only recently has the discussion about introversion gained a lot more attention in the media.  I have scrolled through miles of online articles, but I still have not read the book that started it all, so I would like to experience myself how Cain’s writing inspired a worldwide revolution for the quiet ones.

 

TOW #14 – Article: “3-D Printers Give Us a New Perspective”

Wired

"3-D Printers Give Us a New Perspective"

By Clive Thompson

November 23, 2015

Regarded today as one of the most prominent technology writers, Clive Thompson often contributes magazine stories to the New York Times Magazine and Wired.  In his most recent article published in Wired, Thompson comments on the use of 3D printers to the general public, which includes non-3D-users and tech-companies.  The author uses comparison and contrast in order to define just how much these advanced printers offer in shaping our future.

To explain the unfamiliar 3D printer to non-users, Thompson refers back to the more familiar inkjet printer.  Both are similar in that they are bought with the function to mass-print 2D written documents (like newspapers and books) vs. 3D tangible shapes and objects.  However, Thompson points out the reality of how 2D printers are used: “We do not regard printers as replacements for industrial presses… We print documents so we can array them on our desks, ponder them, and show them to other people” (para. 4).  Instead of functioning as a means of production, inkjet printers serve as “cognitive aids”, and the same can be said about 3D printers.

Thompson applies his argument to the field of medicine and quotes expert testimony to objectively support his reasoning.  As a pediatric neurosurgeon at Boston Children’s Hospital, Dr. Edward Robert Smith must remove tangled tumors and blood vessels.  MRIs and CT scans are the current “printers” doctors use to visualize tumors.  However, Smith also preps for surgery using a 3D printer to print a physical copy of the child’s brain, including the tumor to be removed.  He states, “You see these spatial relations and depth of field that aren’t possible onscreen” (para. 6).  According to the hospital, the length of Smith’s surgeries have been reduced by an average of 12%, attesting to the visualization (not production) power of 3D printers.

Before Thompson sums up his article, he specifically targets printer-companies.  He offers suggestions for improvement, stating, “We’ll need printing material to be recyclable, even biodegradable. Imagine the 3D printing equivalent of a Post-It note!” (para. 8).  For both the general public and businesses, Thompson offers a new perspective of 3D printers and how printers themselves offer not just new products, but new perspectives to further our ideas.  In Thompson’s words, “3D printers aren’t just factories for products—they’re factories for thought.”