Commentary Frederick Brook's projects time management  

    Frederick Brooks was the father of IBM, It seems like every computer nerd knows IBM dominance in computer science history, but it does make sense that he would be behind the genius of programming projects. That he was as much of a business leader as well as a computer wizard. The idea that he saw that as important as communication is, it is quite time consuming and that he would be calculating learning curves, re-explaining, and getting multiple people up to speed.

    Frederick's article reminded me of Hemingway's style, it was clear and well written. Brisket will take 16 hours to cook no matter how many grills you are using. And you can't cut the time in half by doubling the temperature. This "too many cooks in the kitchen can ruin the dish" is the same concept the founding fathers found themselves in creating the American government system.

 

     As a perfectionist to me means getting it right, no matter how long it takes. Forcing myself to make it perfect in a timely manner, means taking your time with mistakes and reviewing your work. I was taught at school I MUST have it done right on time, the first time. At my job, they demanded it done right faster. Of course things were distracting me and there was always something that was in the way, but I either got it done on time wrong or perfect and late. The structure of system engineering was about reviewing and perfecting, being an adult about obstacle, constructive with schedule issues, and having the right priorities. As my father always told me "there is no such thing as good writing, but only good rewriting." 

     

    So writing out your routine (in order), the solution revealed itself. There are just to many unnecessary task. By cutting task out, grouping other responsibilities, and doing the small things last, resulted in more time to for finding ways to save more time.

 

 Kings, Soldiers, Judges 

Virtue Ethics 

    A conscious habit of thinking about how to be a better human being contributes to a person’s character, especially over time, is by self analysis. First you have to admit there is a problem in your character. A pause and reflecting on your action, which I like to do at the end of the day over a cold drink, brings out your regret and your victories. Knowing what your high and low points will help you understand why you think that and where you can improve becomes more clear. 

    The specific aspects of my character I would need to work on/improve in order to become a better person is prioritizing the important things in life. If I keep in mind that I am held accountable for ALL of my actions, aventurelly now or later, then I would be serious about my priorities. I find that I am constantly rediscovering all the little task in my life that if I put certain things before others, then I would actually accomplish all of the obligations and more. Setting an important goal for me is useless, unless I restructure my time, money, and thought energy around it. This is more than serving in a busy food industry, it is securing my son’s future, pleasing my wife, and other important responsibilities in life.

     I think most people do not make enough of a regular effort to work on their character and amend their shortcomings. It is our conscience that makes our actions just acceptable. People generally don’t want to be viewed as monsters, so will endure the minimum pleasure without crossing some line set by some public. The end result is people are neither truly pleased or truly good characters. We are morally obligated to make the effort to become better people. In the unjust chous the world inflicts on us, a good character is what we demand on who we depend on. We want someone else to be our hero and so we must in turn be a hero. A good character is what we are truly after. In achieving this, we have true happiness that gives back when we reflect on the fruits of good character every time. It is pride in ourselves, that we have a little of what makes our hero’s our heroes. 

    I consider a model of moral excellence that is Joan de Arc, I see in her an example of how to live, and whose qualities of character I would like to cultivate. She is a woman who rose in a purely wild, dog-eat-dog, and godless world. With un-henched tenacity charged armies directly into the heart of the enemy, yet had the gentle qualities that made France fertile for peace. Supposedly, without education, was a strategist, diplomat, and debater with x-ray vision. I Women who lead with a god, and still gave every victory to her undeserved king. I would want my son’s to see examples of such human (and especially moral) excellence in the Maid of Orleans. The idea that a woman imitated Christ in a specific way that perfectly benefited everyone but herself shows that there are many untraditional ways to be a christian. 

Consequentialist ethic 

    The hardest part of living by the utilitarian principle of the ‘greatest good’ would be the fact that I could change my pleasure. I think pleasure is kind of subjective, especially if I'm working for a specific kind of early retirement in Florida with passive income, and then, all of a sudden, I decide that I won’t retire and just move to another country working in an art gallery. I would also have a very hard time calculating those subjective things in my everyday decision. The most rewarding part would be the fact that I would restrict my responsibilities to my pleasure, it is actually my only responsibility. If I “must” do something and that fact stresses me out, maybe I don't really have to do it. There is an ambiguous pleasure meter weighing on all the suffering I'm paying out. 

    The different kinds of pleasure/happiness are probably the tiers of happiness, like aristotle’s pleasure, honor, and reflection. Reflection is the highest pleasure and more valuable and higher quality than the others. I don’t just say this as a pragmatic aristotelian, I know that me and my wife have pleasant afternoons talking about our adventures or reflections on a book we are reading together. We can reminisce anytime and everytime it brings a little rediscovery and joy. This has a paradoxical effect, because when we remember our times talking, often the case that that moment becomes one of those times of pleasant memories that provide more revelations. 

    Utilitarians think that pleasure and the absence of pain are the highest goods that we can seek in life, and that we should always be seeking to produce these goods for others (and for ourselves). They claim that every other good thing in life is valued simply because it produces pleasure or reduces pain. I disagree with that sentiment, for pain and pleasure are not truely measureble. I find pleasure in pain not for anticipation of pleasure, but for pain sake. I can find pleasure in anything for my end in to a good goal. That is not the same as pleasure as the goal itself, but simply a delightful calladual. To say I am happy to suffer for a good cause doesn't mean I am doing it for the pleasure. That would really make my st. Joan a selfish person.

     A utilitarian might say that to measure a ‘good life,’ you should ask:‘how much overall happiness did this life bring into the world?’ I disagree that this is the correct measure of a good life, I think happyness is subjective. Snow is great for a farmers, but the homeless death sentence. If you were forced to measure it in points, I guarantee people will calculate the in their behalf. Most people will see that they can be happier lowering their aspirations, standards, and ambitions. The world would be robbed of the greats, for the greats will settle slightly mediocre goals. 

Deontological ethics 

Very often, when making decisions, I consider whether I would willingly permit everyone else to act in the same way that I am choosing to act. I learned this best in Star Trek Next Generations, that in all the different times, dimensions, planets, universes, and more, the crew work together to find a peaceful diplomatic solution, their attempts are respected because it all depended on delivery and communication. So, especially in business, I work on being calm in stressful, emotional, and serious moments. I understand that angry, presumptive, and impulsive people create problems. They are the Micheal Scotts of history, and drive me nuts. So I try not to turn into the thing I hate most. 

    Two other examples I can think of, beyond those given in the text above, in which someone is treated as a ‘mere means to an end is when people slavery, and sexual harassment. Slavery seems to obvious, that a human’s only purpuses to give their everything to the ends of another. Sexual harassment, such like quid pro quo, results in the destruction of the work enviroment and is mudding the meritacracy. 

    Very often, when making decisions, I consider whether I would willingly permit everyone else to act in the same way that I am choosing to act. I learned this best in Star Trek Next Generations, that in all the different times, dimensions, planets, universes, and more, the crew work together to find a peaceful diplomatic solution, their attempts are respected because it all depended on delivery and communication. So, especially in business, I work on being calm in stressful, emotional, and serious moments. I understand that angry, presumptive, and impulsive people create problems. They are the Micheal Scotts of history, and drive me nuts. So I try not to turn into the thing I hate most. 

    Two other examples I can think of, beyond those given in the text above, in which someone is treated as a ‘mere means to an end is when people slavery, and sexual harassment. Slavery seems to obvious, that a human’s only purpuses to give their everything to the ends of another. Sexual harassment, such like quid pro quo, results in the destruction of the work enviroment and is mudding the meritacracy. 

    I agree that human lives are of the highest possible value and beyond any fixed ‘price’. In my opinion, a society reflects this view on morality and justice as well as it does to its weakest members. Knowing that society has almost always been completely wrong on something, but the today’s society is beginning to prey on children and elderly more than recently. These are not the weakest members in our society, but are disturbingly victim to human trafficking, sexual consumerism, and neglect. The mental ill used to have mental institutions, which once abused their positions, but now the ill minded are neglected to the streets. The Functional adult who can support a family, often finds little else time, money, or resources to help the unwanted in our society. This is important, because the famous (and one I despised), theoretical test of which one would you sacrifice, person x or person y, people often find the less valued one. 

Conclusion 

    Of the 3 distinct types of ethical frameworks/theories reviewed in this section; virtue, utilitarian, and deontological, the aspects of the good life/ethics do I think each one captures best is in leadership, feng shui, and judging in their respectives. Virtue ethics make heroes, people I could get behind. Utilitarians are people about balance and fitting complicated choices in a life, maybe strategizing. Deontological people could be hard and objective judges, people deciding on other people.

Ethical Engineering Habits

Exercising our Moral Imaginations
    I often daydream moral possibilities. I often imagine how I could pay back the people in my life with somehow unrealistic and over-the-top clean good work. I imagine how I can get through the most difficult situation in my life with a superman invincibility.  I could cry thinking about over gifting some random school. Or finding a tiny corner of the world and imagining all the sacrifice I could do to make it full in life. I think of a million ways to get through clutch moments that are impossible to come out victorious. I imagine this all with the strange notion that my behavior is flawless the entire time.  
Self- Reflection/Examination. 

    I need to examine myself more. I Rarely do this, thinking about what I have done honestly. When I do it successfully, I feel weeks wiser. The truth is that I don't want to think about my regrets, or moments that might feed my ego. I’m afraid my regrets will discourage my aspirations, and i’m always guarding my ego from itself. The quiet moments, usually accompanied with a drink, is when I consider who I am and find that I am actually a lot like my father, and how I see this distance from all the good he is. I find pleasure in basking in the progress I made. All in all, I think it is fruitful, and I know I don't do it enough.

 Adopting Habits and their Consequences
    The specific ways, small and large, I think adopting some or all of these habits could change a person’s personal and professional life for the better. The endeavor is exhausting to your willpower, no matter how moral you are. The small daily reminder will push you further, and push you all the more, and you will lose sight of the less important things in life. My father told me that you rent success, and that the rent is due everyday. Only in the long term you begin to see a return in your investment. The reality is that a good name is a profitable one. The race for a strong heart, even when that stumbles, makes you a strong person, as opposed to the weak one that gives in. Simply picking up trash off the floor, when you see it, is like the work of replacing a bad deed with a good one, when it reveals its ugly head. That leads to replacing bad habits with good habits, and soon your future is a good future as oppose to a bad future.

The Software Engineer’s Part in Ethics
    The end goal of an ethical life as a software engineer is to deliver transparent, functional, and simple. The transparent interims of the programmers intentions that, that their be no malicious intent. The functions is that the programmer engineer a car airbag system that doesn’t leaves passengers with a broken neck. Simplicity may be complexity, but it is simply clear to see it’s beautiful logic. The design, either mathematically, or/and visually appealing to user. Software engineers have caused a lot of stress and stain that could of been avoided by user friendly tools.

    The professional goals or other valuable ends a software engineer achieves by living well in the ethical sense is the decisive thinking, planning for problems, and making the best of any situation. Batman does not take Joker’s dilemma’s, he makes his own solution, because he is in control. The decisive commitment ethical people do is what agility is about. The time comes and being decisive will help engineer’s keep their word, as opposed to flaking out irresponsibly. Planning for problems calls for confronting them and changing what ever necessary to restore structure. Bugs in life will always ruin the outcome, the flaws in a program will have consequences. Making the best of any situation morally is like dealing with the surprises in software development.  Having limited resources will resort to creative thinking. In programming, there are surprises such as computer failure, ransomware, your mistakes, other’s negligence, or the self absorbed bosses, but you are thinking your way out of ever situation. Ethical people know that when catastrophe strikes, they simply just don’t do their best, but by not faltering in character, they accomplish their responsibilities and then some. 

    The personal values could it help such a person achieve creative solutions to the leanest of times. The Software engineer is a job that most people can accomplish from anywhere around the world. The idea that even AI threatens your job security demands an interesting take on the word agile. The ethical software engineer will always produce transparent, simple, and functional software in a  decisive, problems ready, resourceful way. This means it must be authored without malware, monotony, or dysfunctional. No cheating, plagiarizing, clunky design, deserting deadlines, or procrastinating. The ethical engineer will rise in the world's stage.

 Passionate for Joan of Arc

    There was a 19 year old French heroine in 1430 who lead French armies to victory against the English in the service of God and her King, Charles VII. She was captured, interrogated, and martyred by the Churchmen whose God she was obeying. The subject has been treated before from many different perspectives, as remarked by Tony Pipolo, “She was treated, not always sympathetically, through the Centuries by no lesser figures than Shakespeare, Schiller, Voltaire, Verdi, and Twain; and in the Twentieth century by Shaw, Brecht, Anouilh, Bernanos, Peguy, and Honegger.” In 1920, the Catholic Church canonized her a saint. In 1927, Carl Theodore Dreyer, a Danish poet, directed a silent film simply called “The Passion Joan of Arc”. The Passion of Joan of Arc, directed by Carl Theodore Dreyer, is a movie full of contrasting themes with huge internal struggles where truth struggles to be heard and triumphs despite the films unreal feeling and its harsh ending. These characteristics are best explained in retrospect to the plot, characters, techniques, and theme. 

    
    However, the Second World War with all its destruction swept both the memory of the movie and most copies of it into oblivion. It seemed to be that the last copy of the Directors final cut was destroyed accidentally by being burned up in a nitrate fire. Fortunately, it was not the end of the film. As James Giles put it, a complete reel of the picture was “miraculously” discovered in a janitor’s closet in a mental institution in 1981. This reel was announced years later to be the only original version of what has now been acknowledged by the British Film Institute as one of the greatest films ever made.
 

    The plot is an adelphiaso plot, which a heroine is made a victim by fate or victimized by her nemeses. The story is like a Greek drama in that it is a third-person view of one particular person who struggled with authorities, yet it lacks a diverse collection of key characters. A Young women is nearly tortured by devious and determined men of the cloth. They were determined to have her admit that her whole campaign under the guidance of God was a lie or she would face a horrible death. They were terrifying and tricky. She makes the case for her innocence with a grace filled state of mind and with great power. The film is 81 minutes long. The story itself represents a serious classical challenge but Dreyer seemed to not have been intimidated. Potter Nichole accurately describes this in the Passion of Joan of Arc, Voice of Light “Discarding much of the material supplied by writer Joseph Delteil, Dreyer created his Screenplay from transcripts of Joan’s 1431 trail. The film takes Joan’s last seven months from her imprisonment to her immolation at the hands of the Inquisition—and compresses the events into 24 hours.” This caused several historical inaccuracies, but the piece is primarily an artistic message. We have a “debate” between inquisitors and a single saint. Tragedies are potent. However unpopular, the fact that a tragedy was used in this piece doesn’t do justice to this story, not because it is sad, but because it leaves one so unsatisfied that I cannot tell for sure if the movie was nihilistic.  

 
    The characters are depicted fairy tale like. The main villains are in charge of the court, they are obviously repulsive as they persecute the pure victim Joan of Arc. The leader of the inquisition had several large warts on his face. It is common tradition in fairy tales to depict physical imperfection as a sign of inner evil. The English clergyman had his hair done in a way that looked like devil horns. A third French bishop served as a Judas, one who once worked for King Charles VII, had the most weathered face which was used in contrast later. The oldest clergymen who were opposed to the trial had a strangely mute look. The younger clergy were villains with complicated motives because they advocated her recanting her story for the sake of her own survival. The troops are large Englishmen in uniforms who wore the helmets that the English used in World War I. The soldiers were somehow reminiscent of the Roman soldiers who crucified Christ. Joan of Arc was not just a young heroine. She was a Christ figure who suffered horrible agony, was slandered, humiliated, endured bravely and finally, gave up her life in obedience to God, like the Christ crucified. Though through it all you can see her able to return to her secret, internal ability to immerse herself in faith, love, and hope.
 

    The technique and the writing in the film were alien to me. Watching a silent film was captivating from a readers’ point of view. Modern viewers will find themselves studying the slightest facial adjustment and using social skills to interpret what happens. It is stimulating to follow along with silent acting where the dialogue has no volume, tone, accent, or emphasis. When re-watching it, the experience was similar to deep meditation, for I was basking in silence, yet still incredibly captivated. Disgust for the villain grows deeper in several places but especially when these clergymen cut her artery to remove “bad blood” and then the clergy are talking and then back to the fountain of blood and the blade; the alternating between these two scene makes you associate the discomfort of bleeding and blood with the clergy men inflicting this on Joan. Though Dreyer didn’t call them clergy men, but rather “judges” (3:29), and another description was “a cohort of blind theologian and corrupt lawyers” (3:53).
 

    The theme of her being the Christ figure and how the virtues of true innocence and loyalty to her conscience run strongly through the film. In contrast, the main villain repeatedly has fits of theatrical rage. Always present is the sense that here are many attacking one. We have a women ridiculed for wearing men’s clothing by undeserving men of the cloth. A Young nobody who becomes a true hero. Joan of Arc, her stature and nobility already monumental, is attacked by old men, lesser known but powerful, an evil group. The illiterate and innocent girl endured questions from these crafty and learned cowards. One who is united to God and a witness for Him is prohibited from the sacrifice of the mass. It is held out as a bargaining chip by a group defined by their self-interest. Joan of Arc was loyal to the churches teaching and fervently asked for the mass, the true church is never her enemy. The film was, in many ways, black and white. The audience needed not to waste their time picking sides. Instead, showing how the frailty of Joan of arc was impenetrable to the most educated elitist and their slyest tricks. She was in a state of grace and acted with mental clarity from the strength that came from her simple but clean conscience. One way of proving this is by examining the torture scene where she exclaims that anything she says would be forced from her and then fainting. This is the same warrior who fearlessly stormed through stronghold after stronghold with daring feats of courage. However, in the beginning of the film, the shackled 19 year old girl gives terrifying threats to the armed English officers.
 

    Carl Theodore Dreyer had a huge impact on the audience in personal ways. The cruelest reptile can feel compassion for the saint as the viewer stares into a close up of pure little girls’ face who feels authentic pain from being prohibited something that she must do for their own sake. The movie almost seems as if it is purely built around this feeling for deep compassion. A holy Helen-of-Troy who is actually worth fighting for is innocently attacked in body, mind, and soul. Though having her be the victim extenuates her Christ figure architype and draws attention to her among the scholars, much like a white figure in a dark medium, the story has no redemption. Modern plots often have redemption without suffering, such as the recent animation classic WAL E. Though Joan, at the end of the film, burns and crumbles like a flower burns, and the people rise up in rebellion, they are quickly slaughtered for doing so and in reality these Parisians don’t rebel against the English for another 25 years. Even those who wrote the story of Joan of Ark with little sympathy write it as a Christ story of redemption. In this film, no characters improved despite her self-sacrifice that put so many people on their feet again with hope and reason. Joan is so ineffable a Saint that many authors have failed in the impossible attempt to describe her. This movie has a character that is difficult to imagine on the battle field regardless of what history tells us.
 

    Though with many inaccuracies, all previous authors paled in comparison to what Dreyer has captured in Joan of Arcs small but intensely powerful way. Joan is truly humble and delicate in such a way that crafty old men, her greatest foes even while she was working for the King, could not defeat her. This women is larger than life in her tiny way, and yet no Director has successfully depicted her on the big screen. Though viewers will be deeply moved at the beginning, they will leave dissatisfied at the martyrdom. Joan of Arc, if you believe the church, is enthroned in glory in Heaven as a great saint. On the screen, the Maid of Orleans will never have justice served. Just beware of the end.

Work Cited
Pipolo, Tony. "Joan of Arc The Cinema's Immortal Maid." North Lake College Library.    Cineaste, Web.
Nichole, potter. “Passion of Joan of Arc/Voice of Light.” North Lake College Library, Motion    Picture and Video Production. Web.
Giles, Jane. The Passion of Joan of Arc, the (Film). Thesis. Northlake, 2012. North Lake College    Library. Web. 15 Sept. 2016.
Iconaus. “Carl Theodor Dreyer: The Passion of Joan of Arc (1928).” YouTube, YouTube, 26    June 2013, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d3q6fvhqly0.
Pfeiffer, lee. “La Passion De Jeanne d'Arc.” Encyclopedia Britannica Online, Encyclopedia    Britannica, 30 Mar. 2016, https://www.britannica.com/topic/la-passion-de-jeanne-darc.
Malcolm, Yvonne Lanhers. “Saint Joan of Arc.” Encyclopedia Britannica Online, Encyclopedia    Britannica, 1 Feb. 2016, https://www.britannica.com/biography/saint-joan-of-arc.
Christie, Ian. “The 50 Greatest Films of All Time | Sight &Amp; Sound.” British Film Institute,    British    Film Institute, Sept. 2012, http://www.bfi.org.uk/news/50-greatest-films-all-time.
Polti, Georg. “Adelphiasoplot.” Falling Prey to Cruelty or Misfortune: Georg Polti Plots or    Storylines, http://www.askwhy.co.uk/adelphiasoplot/062.php.

 Contributions 

    The sorts of things excellent software engineers contribute to the good life are new perspectives. As office tools, edutainment, and visual arts bring people to a new life. Office tools, like internet engineering and microsoft office, are good for making modern life connected, convenient, and organized. Allowing people to achieve their own goals effectively. Software tools have empowered organizations and individuals with opportunity, communication, and freedom. True Edutainment, including this class, often task people to think creatively, experiment, or in new perspectives. Games have been teaching, enlightening, and growing people for only half a century, but imagine all the learning the games demand for success. If the Game is beautiful I would call that visual art. Visual arts like photoshop, movies, and VR, create for people infinite worlds that are truly limitless. The software can be beautiful and moving that creates marvel, goodness, and that mysterious meaning in us all. 

    The kinds of character traits, qualities, behaviors and habits I think mark the kinds of people who tend to contribute most in these ways are the not serious ones, not experts, or well paid, but those who share. In all the different fields that need software engineers, in all the infinite things you can do with code, all come at a sharing price. Freeware has always been with the computer science community and Bill Gates himself defended it in the beginning. Thus the government programs don’t run as effective as some free market programs, but no program is like a free one. The coders-on-the-sides are the true pioneers of software engineering, for leisure creates real novelty. The linux engineers, small game designers, the guy who automated a routine in his life; will turn around and share with the public. The mind who is self motivated to either practically, and/or playfully, engineer code and willing to share it to the world, is the mind that will change the world. 

     The various stakeholders in this scenario, the company, those who are going to be monitored, and both mine and the opposing government. The various stakeholders they have each at stake in my programming is their reputation, privacy, safety, and their conscience. The company that is being contracted out must uphold more than customer service, but also take into account what kind of reputation they have. The contractor that sells out to oligarchs ambitions becomes a paid war dog. Not just bad PR, but a tool for the cruel everywhere is bad for their morale and for their conscience. The citizens, the biggest stakeholders, lose their privacy, safety, and freedom. Those citizens do not get a private dibate, or even question, as my software will determine what is allowed. I become the author of the watchdog that will decide who goes without due process to a slave camp. These citizens are now at the mercy of my software, and it their government. The oppressive government has already lost what other stakeholder are at stake for losing, my software has robbed them of the organic cycle of decedent societies. The very diction in my software will escalate the current tensions, and that climax is built by that much larger. If I comply, the military leaders of this nation will be in for the exact crimes they are inflicting. My government is being undermined by the company. Atrocity of one nation, is supported by the apathetic citizens of many good nations and will weigh on all of our conscience. My nation's authority in their criticism is made weak.

     The ethical obligation in this situation is not just to comply, but to notify the stakeholders. Excellent software engineer would do in this situation is because of the consequences affect the stakeholders. It is good customer service to keep good communication with the customer during the development process. That is also ethical because the customer is paying for it and will be using the software for their own ends. This ethical logic is important because there are other stakeholders who will be directly affected by my software, and therefore, also deserve the knowledge. Being a whistle blower to the media maybe the easiest way to do so, but I would much rather talk to each stakeholder so the story doesn't run away in public opinion. I know that my company will be self-interested in the idea of backing out of this sale, I should speak up about those specific consequences. I would devote some time to this before I would go leaking to specifics organizations, for the same logic. The same logic for what I have at stake for this. I know my government is invested in this project because of what they have to lose, so I would let them know about it. Those who will be monitored even more so, need the warning from somebody other than the government what is coming down the pipeline. a citizen could be chatting online and end-up in a labor camp the same day my software gets out. Surprisingly, the client is the last one who would care to hear these consequences. If they did, they would have taken advice from the rest of planet earth about their oppressive nature, why would they lesson to me? If none of these actions lead to change, then I must not participate. This could most certainly mean the end of my job, and maybe my career as an employee in that specific field. These consequences are small in comparison to further down the road. 

    Of the three contributions software engineer make to vital public good was new perspectives. Specifically; office tools, edutainment, and visual arts bring people to a new life. Much like the good, the true, and the beautiful. Although the case study exercise help me see what is at stake. The vital public goods that software engineers help to secure are freedom in privacy. Office tools, edutainment, and visual arts, don’t simply give perspective, I see now that the software is more about freedom. The software engineer has the ability to empower specific people, in the case study, it was empowering the military regime over the people. The engineer needs to ensure that the public freedom is not infringed upon. Software is useful, but not always transparent and restricts the well-being of the innocent. This reminds me of how Instagram now is flagging down specific content with a good motive. Instagram is restricting someone for other’s empowerment or simply protecting them. Safety and protection is a job for every engineer, in software it looks like in the form of privacy. Securing privacy is securing trust; and trust is vital for the public good. No trust, no civil society. Losing freedom and privacy is a consequence of apathetic engineering and quite avoidable.

 Michael C. Santayana

Programing People

    The cold war made science fiction ideological with the current paranoia of the red scare. Also the disappointment in human society and specifically government. This reflects the red scare, military government, and the materialism that came with the space race and economic growth of the 1950.
The 1950s was a decade that was lived under the shadow of the first successful nuclear bomb test conducted by the Soviet Union in 1949. The decade is often remembered as an era of good feelings, but careful analysis will show that this decade was instead very preoccupied with the new status for the United States. There was a feeling of vulnerability to two powerful historical trends; the rise of global communism and the spread of new and sometimes terrifying technologies. One of the ways to detect these anxieties is by examining the very popular science fiction movies of the 1950’s.

    Previously the United States had seemed untouchable, never having been invaded since the war of 1812. But with the advent of the Atom bomb, first used by the United States in Hiroshima and in Nagasaki, the wide expanse of ocean that protected America seemed to disappear. Suddenly having The Atlantic on one side and the Pacific on the other did not seem that significant. After all, Japanese airplanes bombed Pearl Harbor, which was basically American soil. The enemies were depicted as aliens infiltrates, with technology of great power, reflecting on the anxiety of postwar paranoia. “Looming over the many struggle of the postwar years was the image of the great and terrible mushroom clouds that had risen over Alamogordo in July 1945 and over the ruined Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki” The purpose of this paper is to examine how that anxiety was realized in science fiction movies which were at their pinnacle of popularity in that decade.
 
    Science fiction movies during the 1950s were so common and so successful that the decade became name known as the golden age of science fiction. Over 500 science-fiction movies were produced between 1948 in 1964. Most of those movies, by todays standards are considered very bad quality. In fact, science fiction movies of the 1950s like “Plan 9 from Outer Space” and “Robot Monster” are now renowned the worst movies ever made, which perfectly covered the movies that would have been censured. “U.S. policies and expressions of fear about national security during the Cold War, the producers of science fiction films were generally left alone by government regulations and the private groups that tried to shape public opinion.” Regardless of the quality, they were also popular and profitable.

    Some people have argued that Politics is downstream from culture. This is perhaps an oversimplification of the complicated relationship between our culture and the direction that our leaders take us. Maybe a more general and more accurate description is to say that the culture can be seen in the art and that often the art reinforces the strongest ideas in the culture. There is a circular effect as our culture and art form the historical events that dominate the era and then that same art and culture shapes behavior that influences future historical events. Which came first in history almost seems like a chicken or egg question.
     

    This paper will analyze three movies from the perspective of the strongest historical trends that were affecting the United States at the time; The two most powerful forces were rapid advances in technology and the threat of communism. The movies to be analyzed are “Them!, “The Day the Earth Stood Still’ 1951 and “Invasion of the Body Snatchers, 1956”.
The threat of communism had become a colossal factor in world history at that time. The Soviet union had gone from being an ally and partner in the war against Hitler and the Nazi’s to becoming a rival for US power and US ideology. In Europe and across the developing world, communists were offering a different way of life that required rejecting everything Americans believed in. Communism just did not use only military might but it often use deception infiltration and persuasion to win over its followers. The greatest Cold War fears were not only have a Soviet union that could attack us but if I can't either side rheology that could in fact not only are young people but even members of the leadership in areas like academia, government, media and Business.
 
    On top of the table fears of infiltration and silent secret conquest there was an out right fear of the power of the Adam bomb. The funeral was far beyond just the mere explosive power of nuclear weapons Barito extended to the mutation caused by radiation so what was the twin threats of runaway technological progress and threatening communist ideology that created fear in the minds of most Americans during the 1950s.

    There may have been an element of guilt in the fact that the United States had just used nuclear bombs to obliterate two cities of a country that we were at war with. Americans woke up to the fact that the wide Atlantic and Pacific oceans were no longer a safety factor behind which the US could live comfortably and safely. Suddenly The narrative of many if not most of the science-fiction movies made during that decade describe one of two dangers; monstrous mutations caused by atomic radiation that destroyed cities or towns, or an alien species either invading us and destroying the planet or infiltrating innocent people controlling their bodies and taking our society and its institutions prisoner.  
 
    The shock the average American must have felt in this dramatic shifting of historical events must have been overwhelming. In four short years the Soviet union went from being a close ally in a war against Hitler to becoming a threat not only in Europe in the developing world but in the North American continent itself. Science fiction becomes ideology in the 1950s. As science Fiction grew ideological, thanks to authors like George Orwell, there grew though experiments of alternate future with the cold war, & even satires of the people specially the paranoia, that the people experience at the time. Science-fiction writers were not censured by the government they could write their ideas and express their anxieties for analogies an allegory and that is what gave the 1950s its flavor. In the past Movies has been all about escapism and forgetting the problems of the times. A lot of the greatest escapist movies were made during the horrors of World War II. The 1950s it was almost a role reversal. Science fiction was seeming to be escapist was actually addressing the darkest fears of the American public that alien invaders would conquer not just our territories but our minds.
 
    During this time science-fiction produce some of the worst movies and American cinematic history. It was a genre known primarily for just making money and they produced over 500 filmed us most of which were commercially successful. Most of the movies that were produced could be characterized by examining plan nine from outer space and robot monsters. The absolute horror that most Americans viewed the world political scene with. The 1950s were the beginning of the Cold War a time when America realize that it's one's political ally the Soviet Union was actually now becoming a threat to American security and freedom.

    The humans would become aliens in the invasion of the Bodysnatchers. That would look exactly like humans it would be indistinguishable from ordinary people. The key differences that they would lack faith desire and ambition. This loss of individual identity represented everything that Americans sought as a danger when you became part of a large socialist beehive culture. The perception was that in these large socialist centrally planned cultures, people would become cogs in in a machine, spokes on the wheel. Every everyone would be serving the state without their individual faith and subordinating the run feelings to the common good. It was clear at least it is in retrospect that the science-fiction novels of the era where a commentary on the global political scene in on the fears and anxieties of Americans.
One of the movies that best reflects the anxiety about technology in general and nuclear power and specific is the 1954 black-and-white science-fiction monster movie called “Them!” Them is basically part of a very large genre known as nuclear monster movies. Basically giant ants are discovered in the New Mexico desert and it turns out that they were created by radiation and the entire country is in danger.
 
    The battle with the ants reaches a peek in the stores of Los Angeles. The FBI investigates the Giants and the Army fight someone is they are discovered. In the movie, one of the key characters, Dr. Medford, says "when men enter the atomic age, he open the door to a new world. What we may find eventually in that world, nobody can predict!" It is not lost on people watching the movie that it was the US that unleashed the dangers of the nuclear era and not only was the real danger of the Soviet using nuclear weapons on us but our own experiments may create monsters. In this movie the monsters were giants the terrorized cities and killed innocent people. This team was repeated in dozens of movies that seem to follow the same plot; monsters arrive or I discovered a hero emerges that fight Stamm, there are major conferences between military and political leaders who are puzzled about how to save the planet and finally after many horrible atrocities the monster is defeated. The storyline brings to the surface the terrible fear is people had about Technology and the ruthlessness of our enemies who might use it against us. But in the end all is well because the danger is defeated.

    One of the earliest movies that came out in the 50s was "The Day The Earth Stood Still" released in 1951 only two years after the Soviet testing of a nuclear bomb, The story is remarkably relevant to the time. In the story and alien this it's the earth and basically gives the government of the United States the message that people from other planets are concerned about their own safety now that the human race has developed rockets and atomic power. Basically the movie tells the story that if you think you're worried about atomic power just wait till you see how worried other planets are about not only our technology but about how immature we are in using it and having it. Beckett the historical context of the time leads many people to question whether their governments and military leaders have the wisdom to use atomic power in a safe and smart way. There's even in the movie the basic theme Gralians will come to warn us that they see us as a danger. The movie had religious overtones in that the alien was known as Mr. Carpender and he was killed and at the end of the movie he rose from the dead. People involved in the making of the movie later admitted that none of that was accidental. That he came to earth of the message from and kind just like another Carpenter’s Death and that he was put to death by the military and he rose from the dead. There is an overwhelming sense that a great authority needs to come to save us from ourselves. This was another expression of people’s reactions to the idea that in the next war it may not be ships crossing the sea coming to invade us. But the war might start and end with a bomb that would wipe out the city you lived in. Clearly a higher authority has to come down and stop this madness. That was very much a part of the historical reaction to the new conditions of warfare and technology in the world. People were as unsettled by the idea that the Soviet union controlled nuclear weapons as the aliens were unsettled by the idea that the people of the earth controlled nuclear weapons and had Rockets to launch them.

    Another movie the grappled with the fear of the Soviets and the future of technology was the 1956 movie "Invasion of the Bodysnatchers". In this movie extraterrestrials go to the town of Santa Mira in California . The aliens basically take over the town by making perfect copies of the people who live in that town. They duplicate the people but the new people do not have any faith or ambition or individuality. This movie was literally about alien infiltration taking over our bodies and our culture and our society. It was an invasion city by city not too different from the domino effect that the American establishment running institutions like the CIA were using to describe communist expansion across the globe and the kind of infiltration of our own country and culture that they feared was taking place.
They are simply cogs in the wheel without the individuality that is the trademark traditional American culture. There is no escaping the understanding that this is what the communist government wants from the new Soviet man. Everyone subordinating their needs and their talents to the greater good as run by The state seems to be one version of a communist utopia. The aliens were infiltrating society invisibly just like the communist would and they were using the superior technology to duplicate humans. Technology was run away and out of control and it was now in the hands of our godless enemies.
 
    These three movies were among the hundreds and hundreds produced by Hollywood in that time. All of those science fiction movies dealt with themes of enemies invading, using technology against us and breaking or taking over our society. The Unfinished Nation textbook had the best examples for this which is a personal favorite. “Sometime popular fears addressed nuclear explicitly--- for example, the celebrated television show off the 1950s and early 1960s, The Twilight Zone, which featured dramatic portrayals of the aftermath of nuclear war; or postwar comic books, which depicted powerful superheroes saving the world from destruction.” However, Twilight Zone has amazing diverse episodes that a solid historical political paper could use only the Twilight episodes alone.

    History is fascinating and historians often do a great job of recording events and dates and battles. Ever since the dawn of television and movie industry we have had a record of what was popular for people to see and enjoy. The themes that are covered in these movies are written not only to influence the public way to make money. To be profitable and make money movies have to be relevant to the public and they have to resonate with ideas and concerns that are uppermost in the public mind. “The advent, risk and faer of global destruction is one that carries with it an enormous amount of weight and certainly carries with it plaenty of stories an possibilities for both science fiction writers, historians, political science junkies and philosophers.” When you look at the science fiction movies of the 50s there is no question what people were predominantly thinking. The thoughts were that we were in danger from technology that we created and was now out of control because it had fallen into the hands of our enemies.

Work cited
Sue, Carl. "McCarthy Launches Red Scare." National Geographic Society. N.p., 23 Jan. 2014. Web. 05 Apr. 2017. <http://www.nationalgeographic.org/thisday/feb9/mccarthy-launches-red-scare/>.
Harris, James Wallace. "The Defining Science Fiction Books of the 1950s." Auxiliary Memory.    N.p., 09 July 2016. Web. 28 Mar. 2017. <https://auxiliarymemory.com/2013/04/04/the-defining-science-fiction-books-of-1950s/>.
"Farmer in the Sky by Robert A. Heinlein Book covers - Farmer in the Sky (1951) - Andscifi."Life, The Universe and Scifi. N.p., 4 Mar. 2011. Web. 05 Apr. 2017. <http://www.andscifi.com/farmer-in-the-sky-1951/2011/3/4/farmer-in-the-sky-by-robert-a-heinlein-book-covers.html>.
"Quatable Quotes by Timmy." Goodreads. N.p., n.d. Web. 1 Apr. 2017. <http://www.goodreads.com/quotes/557279-politics-is-downstream-from-culture-and-not-the-other-way>.
Thomson Gale wrote in the Science Fiction Film and Cold War Anxiety
The Unfinished Nation textbook
Andrew liptak in The Cold War in Science Fiction.
http://www.tor.com/2011/06/28/how-robert-a-heinlein-wrote-about-making-dinner-some-thoughts-on-farmer-in-the-sky/

 

    My Commentary Fred Brook’s "No Silver Bullet"

    Silver Bullet The term essential difficulties as it is used by Brooks is complexity, conformity, changeability, and invisible. The complexity is complicated. Increasing the number of moving parts exponential increases the relationships. Software complexity arrives as early as the modeling. Conformity is complicating things Arbitrary. Legal precautions, ideological traditions, and ego-centric bosses create unnecessary work. Changeability is more frequent in software, because it is changing commands in computer memory, far less worldly than changing buildings in a city. Invisibile is the essence of software because it is an abstract that can’t be either “big picture” or detailed. It can’t be either shown in a diagram or watched as a linear story. 

    The term accidental difficulties as it is used by Brooks, is the process of software engineering. Most techniques and tools are for solving the accidents of software engineering. That accidents should account for 90% of the overall effort. Knowing all what the essence of software engineering, it would seem that the production of software is very accident prone. Comforting to see this because I spend 90% of my effort working out avoidable bugs. 

    What Brooks means by a no “silver bullet” is that the software engineers have to be realistic, but at the same time, accept that there is no simple practical solution. His argument is in the essence of software engineering. The vague discipline of software engineering is used to solve half of the immortal problems. That software engineers have to adjust with the nature of it. 

    One opinion that I think is insightful to me is that “each new tool or technique solves some problems while introducing others.” I already knew that new technologies wouldn’t save us time. I didn’t make that connection in programming. Made me wonder about AI making software. 

    One opinion that I don't agree with is conformity, that it is not super oppressive in small business or contracting. In personal projects, especially personal video games, my friend and I make the silliest surprises. I imagine breaking conformity is useful.