Cognitive surplus, mechanisms and examples in personal life and media.
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For this writing assignment you will need to discuss and examine various examples of cognitive surplus and the mechanisms (means, motives, and opportunities) by which it is produced in either your personal life or in the media; or both if your example fits both areas. Look at some of the examples Shirky provides in the book for inspiration. You may not write about Shirky’s examples as one of the examples you choose for this assignment. Although you are also welcome to back up the example you provided with one of the examples provided by Shirky to explain how and why it is relative to Cognitive Surplus.
One of the examples of Cognitive Surplus mentioned by Shirky was the massive increase in publications. The means that made this possible was the invention of movable type, the motivation for the production of so many books was people’s desires to read and write books at a low expense. This leads to the opportunity for individuals to spread and produce knowledge through various types of written media (books, magazines, articles, newspapers...etc).
Now come up with your own example and write it in the form linked below:
(Fill out this Assignment Form)
For an additional 5 points post your thoughts in the Reddit Thread!
All elements are due Thursday March 8th
Good luck!!
