Where Good Ideas Come From

Genome Identification and Privacy

For this assignment, you will listen to CBC's Spark host, Nora Young, interview Dr. Peter Chow-White, an Associate Professor in the School of Communication at Simon Fraser University where  he is the Director of the Genomics and Networks Analysis (GeNA) Lab and Associate Director of the Centre for Policy Research on Science and Technology.

As you listen to the interview, take notes of important points. After you have finished, you will work with a partner to write a formal letter to your Member of Parliament in which you explain your concern about privacy issues regarding DNA testing and the possibility of discriminatory genetic profiling. Explain how genome information is different from electronic health records and the issues related to trust and privacy and the urgent need for Canada to enact legislature similar to the US Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act (GINA) that is aimed at preventing discrimination for employment or insurance based on your genetic profile.

Refer to page 76 of Access to format your letter using Word and be sure that your name and your partner(s) name(s) are included at the end of the letter.

Click here to listen to the interview  
                               [Back-up link here   Start at 33:10 Finish at 42:16]
Find the name and address of your Member of Parliament here . For the purpose of this assignment, use the Constituency Address so that you can practice writing a street address in English.

For this assignment you may use any address (or make one up) for the writer's address, but it must be properly formatted in English. Obviously, if you decide to send your letter to your MP then you must use your own address.

One other link you might find interesting that is discussed in the interview is 23andMe, a commercial venture for DNA testing.

Note: Bill S-201, The Genetic Non-Discrimination Act was introduced in Parliament and was passed by the Senate on April 14, 2016. After this, it was read a second time and referred to the Standing Committee, and as of Dec. 2016 it is in the Report stage. You can read the full text of the bill here, or learn more about the bill's progress here.

Martin Luther King: I Have a Dream

As you listen to this speech follow the transcript that is handed out and write in the missing parts. Pay attention to the figurative language used in the speech, including the use of metaphors and compelling parallel structure. Work with your teammates to answer the questions on your handout.

Beware of Online Filter Bubbles

Before you watch the video, read through the instructions for the report you are going to write so that you can take notes on points you wish to include. You will work with a partner to write your report.

Video: Eli Pariser--Beware of Online Filter Bubbles

algorithm: a logical sequence of steps for solving a problem that can be translated into a computer program

Imagine that the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) has created a task force to examine the effect that “the personalized web,” (the use of algorithms to personalize the information that each individual receives) has on education and democracy.  The CRTC would like input from college students for information regarding your experience.

Use the information that you learned from watching the video and reflect on your personal experience with social-networking and web-based research.  Working with a partner, you will write a report as a Memorandum. Refer to pages 72 and 73 of Access as a reference. Set up your report like this:

To: (You may invent a name), Director, CRTC Task Force

From: (Your Names)
Subject: Effects of the Personalized Web on Democracy  (you may modify this to make it appropriate for your report)
Date: Today’s Date

Your report should include the following:

Summary Statement: Briefly summarize what the personalized web (filter bubble) is and current concerns of how this could have an impact on education and/or democracy.
Background Information: Describe your personal use of the internet for social-networking, conducting research, gaming, etc.  including the types of tools or sites that you consult most frequently
Findings and Evaluation: Describe changes you have noticed in recent months or years in terms of the information you receive or how features of the sites you use have changed (including ads, pop-ups, links, and so on) and whether these changes affect your access to information.
Recommendation: Conclude your report by stating recommendations you have to assure access to information and different points of view.

Be sure that your name and your partners name are on your report. Single space your report, but use a double space between paragraphs. The full report should be one page and approximately 250 words. Proofread your report carefully for spelling, grammar and wordiness before you print it.

Where Good Ideas Come From --Steven Johnson

Steven Johnson speaks about the importance of collaboration for generating great ideas. He begins, not with a personal story, but with a story about the role of the English coffee houses five hundred years ago. See how this story leads to his main point and how he cleverly alludes to the introductory story in his concluding example.



Type your answers in Word and then print them. You may want to copy and paste the questions, but you don't have to. Only the answers to #14 and #15 need to be in complete sentences.

1.       How does  the English coffeeshop relate to the Enlightenment?

2.       What were people drinking in public places around 1650 and why?

3.       How did drinking coffee have an impact on the Enlightenment?

4.       Name a place Johnson has been investigating to find out where good ideas come from.

5.       What is the basic assumption of the concepts of a flash of insight, a stroke of insight, an epiphany, a Eureka moment, etc?

6.       What does Johnson say is really happening in your brain and how is it similar to the outside world?

7.       What is the traditional problem of expensive neonatal incubators in developing countries?

8.       How did the company Design that Matters solve this problem?

9.   In what sort of environment did ideas probably come together historically?

10.   What is the liquid network?

      11.   What is the slow hunch?

12.   What is wrong with Darwin's explanation of how the idea of natural selection came to him?

13.   What is the connection between launching the 1957 Sputnik satellite and today's technology?

14.   How do Johnson's concluding remarks enhance his opening story to give his lecture unity?
15.  Write a short paragraph in which you give a personal example of the speaker's last line: "Chance favours the connected mind."

If you finish early, improve your vocabulary and donate rice through the United Nations' World Food Program. It's fun, challenging and addictive! Click here

A Vision of Crime in the Future

Link to Marc Goodman's TED talk on Future Crime.

Tales of Ice-Bound Wonders

Paul Nicklen:
Tales of Ice-Bound Wonders