Difference between revisions of "Talk:Andy Lin"

Latest revision as of 03:11, 14 November 2011

The author does an excellent job of establishing the issues related to the creation of his avatar and fantasy avatar. For the first avatar, the note about not being able to constantly see his appearance, despite it being a constant part of his identity was thoughtful. Further, he explains that while he has his own limitations based upon his lack of familiarity with his own appearance, the software also creates limitations. Not being able to add glasses to one's own face seems like a glaring mistake by the creators of the Evolver software. People, such as the author, who wear glasses are completely prevented from adding something that not only alters their appearance to the outside world, but also the way that they experience the world around them. The lack of ability to express the difference in the way that someone perceives the world around them limits that avatar to being able to solely describe their appearance, and not even their appearance in its entirety!

The comparison to Pinocchio in the section about the author's fantasy avatar not only was a great reference to a piece of work about identity. It also established a strong connection between the author and his audience. His question about what is "normal" in America, followed by his desire to exemplify the most normal physical characteristics are in an effort to "fit in" established the foundation for the conclusion. Despite how he may feel, the author says that changing his appearance to stay unnoticed is "a wish upon a star."

Overall, this article does a great job of explaining the limitations of the software, the challenges faced while creating the author's avatars, and also gives the reader a great connection to the author's feelings about his appearance, which is part of his identity. It was clearly-written, and very understandable.

-J. McMillan

I think he did a great job of describing the problems he faced with creating his avatars. First off, he discusses an important issue that everyone would face when completing this project. Normally, you do not see your own face as much as you see other people's faces. This would obviously make it difficult to create an avatar. Another issues that he explains is how the avatars that he can chose from all seemed to look similar at one point or another. I thought that this was not the strongest point of the analysis of the avatars because I thought that there was a relatively large variety of avatars to chose from. However, I did appreciate the most important issue he addresses with the lack of creativity, for example the inability to insert a tattoo or a set of glasses on an avatar. These are defining features of someones appearance, let alone their personality. It is a way of expressing one's self.

The Pinocchio reference was spot on. The reason is not just because he can relate to wanting to fit in, but furthermore the author explains in great detail the similarities and differences Pinocchio and himself have pertaining to the topic of just wanting to be normal. They are similar because they both stick out of the crowd, however they differ because Pinocchio actually gets his wish to come true. I think everyone can relate to the social problems we encounter with wanting to fit in.

I believe that, beside from some insignificant errors in sentence structure and punctuation, this reflection was not under-thought but rather detailed to the point where anyone outside the class could agree with, or at least understand, his position. Good job.

-O. Bonner