The Value of Participation in Self-Government

Since the beginning of democracy, it has been argued whether a direct involvement or representative involvement would be more beneficial. It was believed that it would be unreasonable to have a direct democracy because not everyone is going to be able to vote for every issue and not everyone is educated enough to make the "correct" political decision, and thus came the rise of representative involvement.

While having society as a whole decide and vote on every issue may be time consuming and unreasonable, it's not true that people are incapable of making political decisions. In fact, some political philosophers have identified three things that factor into making a political decision: factual information about the effects of each option, information about what people prefer, and questions of moral principle. These philosophers argued that there is no proof that the citizens would be worse at making political decisions than elected officials. In fact, elected politicians rely on experts, meaning they do not have any special knowledge or expertise that allows them to do their job more effectively.

One problem set forth was that the average citizen was not very knowledgeable or interested in politics. However, according to ushistory.org, an important and common characteristic among voters is education. Typically, the higher the education level that an individual has, the more likely they are to vote. This could possibly be due to the fact that they may be able to better understand more complex political issues.

I believe that participating in self-government is important because it is one of the most significant rights given to us by the founding fathers. If our government is really the "government by the people" then the people need to be heard in full. Minorities especially need to participate because many are underrepresented in voter turnout when they may have the most at stake in a given situation. We were given this right to have a say in how our government is run, and yet we have taken advantage of the situation as voter turnout is on the decline.

On the other hand, there are ways other than voting in which you can participate in government. Individuals may write to their local officials, work for a candidate that is running for office, or propose ideas to the school board or their city council. Participation does not just have to be on a federal level, even participating on the state and local levels can make a difference, if not for the entire country, definitely for your city.

Sources
Political Philosophy Class Notes- Dr. Amy MacArthur
https://www.ushistory.org/gov/4d.asp

Changing the World Wide Web

In 1995, Larry Page and Sergey Brin met while in graduate school at Stanford University studying computer science. By 1996, the two began to collaborate on the invention of a new search engine, which they called Backrub, after its ability to do backlink analysis. After all the positive reviews that Backrub received, Page and Brin began developing Google. The two decided on the name Google as a play on words of googol, which is a mathematical term for the number one followed by 100 zeros. It is believed that this name is supposed to represent the company's mission to organize an infinite amount of information. Page and Brin went on to build a server network in their dorm using cheap, used, and borrowed computers to kickstart their company.

At first, it was difficult to find funding, as no one was prepared to invest in the new company. However, they continued to improve on the product and take it to the public themselves. Eventually, Andy Bechtolsheim, co-founder of Sun Microsystems, became so impressed by the search engine that he stated, "Instead of us discussing all the details, why don't I just write you a check?". Therefore, Bechtolsheim made out a $100,000 check to Google, Inc., which technically did not exist yet. Because of this, Page and Brin had to wait two weeks and turn their start-up company into a corporation in order to cash the check. This initial check led to the founders receiving an additional $900,000 more for their funding.

Google is now much more than a search engine, as they have taken over the internet. After a rapid amount of growth, the corporation had introduced multiple new products and applications that we know and use today including, Gmail, Google Docs, Google Drive, Google Maps, Chromebooks, Google Home, the Google Pixel, and Chrome, Google's own web browser. They also bought out platforms such as Youtube and Blogger.com.

The invention of Google completely changed how individuals interact with the internet and others and made it very easy to become interconnected with people from all over the world. Without Google, the internet as we know it would not be the same.

https://www.thoughtco.com/who-invented-google-1991852
https://interestingengineering.com/almost-everything-you-need-to-know-about-googles-history
https://www.indiatoday.in/technology/talking-points/story/a-day-without-google-apps-the-good-the-bad-and-the-ugly-1100453-2017-12-05

iPhone: the Epitome of Innovation

The iPhone was a first of its kind and the true debut of the innovative touchscreen technology. Apple, however, did not invent the first smartphone; there had been 22 million smartphones sold a full year before the first iPhone was even announced. Nokia, BlackBerry, Motorola, and a few other companies all had mass-produced smartphones before Apple released the iPhone, however, they were a bulky hybrid of screen and keyboard. Apple changed the game in 2007 with a new sleek design and by introducing a full screen and touchscreen technology.

The iPhone was doubted and criticized by many "top dogs" in the technology world. For instance, in early 2007, former Microsoft CEO said that there was "no chance that the iPhone is going to get any significant market share," and that Apple had "no chance" in taking over the smartphone market. Techcrunch even released an article entitled "We Predict the iPhone Will Fail". Little did they know that the iPhone would be one of the biggest competitors in the smartphone industry.

The first generation iPhone was finally released on June 29th, 2007 and was priced between $499-599 depending on if you wanted a 4GB or 8GB model. Even with the price being significantly lower compared to more temporary models, the first iPhone was not readily available to everyone as Apple had entered into a two-year exclusive contract with AT&T.

The second-generation iPhone, the iPhone 3G, was introduced a year later and included 3G functionality, the AppStore (the first model did not allow third-party apps, only the ones included), and other never-before-seen features. That same week, the original iPhone was discontinued and then Apple officially declared it obsolete in June of 2013, right before the reveal of the iPhone 5 and 5S.


https://appleinsider.com/articles/18/06/29/the-story-of-the-original-iphone-that-nobody-thought-was-possible
http://allthingsd.com/20070626/the-iphone-is-breakthrough-handheld-computer/?mod=ptech_two_decades