Peer Responses: Dunja (Matched, Map)

This post was very well written and clear about both the writer’s opinion and facts from the book, the map was also very clear and allowed me to understand the settings. I was able to assume a number of things about the book by looking at the map. The first thing I noticed, by the layout and names of the districts, was that “Centra” was something like a capitol, control center, or a place for the government/oppressors to reside, as it is very neatly and strategically placed in the middle of the territory for protection.

The second thing that I was able to assume is that because this society is very confident that there is no one from the outside that is willing to attack or challenge them, as they have not taken all the land and is providing potential enemies with a place to land and set bases. This was also obvious because some districts have been left in places where it is very vulnerable or isolated. The text is very clear and to the point, allowing me to look further into this story. In conclusion, this is a very well written post, and has poked my interest in this book.

Peer Responses: Emma (Little Brother, Pictures)

I think that this post was very neatly written and expresses the writer’s opinion very clearly. The connection between the photos and the book is very clearly explained and organized. However, there are some points that I would like to add on to or correct. The first point is a slight misunderstanding about the bridge demolition; the Bay Bridge is a huge bridge that stretches from San Francisco all the way to West Oakland, which is approximately 7180 Meters. This bridge is more than twice as long as the famous Golden Gate Bridge, which is around 2737, and is not to be confused for a small bridge across a river. The demolition charges were described as what felt like an earthquake, even though only a small part of the bridge was demolished.

Something that I found very interesting about this post was the photo of the prisoners in jump suits. I’m not sure if it was intended or not, but this particular picture was taken from an interrogation camp, a Guantanamo detention camp. This sparked my interest because these camps are exactly what was mentioned in the book; established in 2002 by the Bush Administration, they were specially made to hold terrorists. What’s more is that this camp was suspended by President Barrack Obama, because a female member of the Bush Administration admitted to illegal torture and abuse that took place in the camp. In conclusion, even though some information was slightly off, it was very well written and has helped me discover more interesting things.

Peer Responses: Shenbei (Little Brother, Glossary)

I think that Shenbei’s glossary was very detailed and describes terms from the book very carefully. Since this book, Little Brother, is mostly about technology, and since I already learned a certain amount about programming, it has always interested me how a person who doesn't have an inside view of programming would interpret this kind of terminology. Shenbei has defined these words clearly and is able to convey the definition fairly efficiently. One of the things that I appreciated the most about this glossary is that all of the key words were in red font, which distinguished them and made reading the glossary much easier.

There are, however, two points that I would like to correct and add on to. First of all, because of copyright laws, the BART isn't an actual organization. Instead, the actual company in San Francisco is called “Bay Area Rapid Transport”, and is a series of subways and buses a lot like the TTC in Toronto. Secondly, “Salmagundi” does not mean something made out of spare parts, but is the name of a salad that includes a variety of other ingredients, for this reason, it is used to describe something that is made from scrap and sometimes used by mechanics to describe a poorly made technology that isn't ‘polished’. But other than these points, I think that Shenbei did an excellent job on the glossary and effectively helps readers understand the meanings of the terms.

Glossary

Cryptography (Crypto) - Cryptography is a mathematical process of encrypting (scrambling) information, for example, the text "Hello World" can be encrypted into "1($f#%g*T" until decrypted into the original information, this is done by changing the 'value' (Hex, Binary, Oct,..etc...) of the characters, and by adding false values. Encrypted text does not have to have the same number of characters as the original text. Example from the novel: "The math behind crypto is good and solid, and you and me get access to the same crypto that banks and the National Security Agency use."

Decryption (Decrypt) - Decryption is the process of un-encrypting a piece of information, returning the scrambled information into its original, readable state. For example. Turning the "1($f%g*T" from above back into "Hello World". Example from novel: "I want you to unlock this phone and then decrypt the files in its memory" (Carrie Johnstone to Marcus)

Key - A key is something that is used to encrypt information in an unique way. For example, if you encrypted information with the key "Hello World 1", the result would be different than if the key was "Hello World 2", and the same would apply when decrypting information. Because of this, it is very difficult to decrypt an encrypted piece of information without the key. In the novel, this is used so other people cannot decrypt the secret messages Marcus sends without his key. Example from novel: Turing could figure out how to crack any Nazi message, no matter what key it used

Cipher - A cipher is the 'rule' used to encrypt information, for example, a character's hex value can be changed so it is two times the original value,  or it can be changed in other ways, so it's unpredictable. Machines that try different ciphers and different keys in very high speeds have been invented to solve this, but with a really complicated Cipher, machines will always get stuck at a certain point. Example from novel: "Any time you had a cipher, you were vulnerable to someone smarter than you coming up with a way of breaking it."


Bayesian Analysis - Bayesian statistics and analysis covers a very large area of mathematics, but the use of Bayesian analysis mentioned in this book is the type used in spam filters and related technological uses, this is where every word in 'spam' files are counted to make a word histogram, and the same for non-spam files. This way, other files that contain the words that appeared the most in spam files would be considered spam, and the same for non-spam files. Bayesian analysis can be used on pretty much anything, including pictures, which can be sorted by the patterns of the pixels. Example from book: "It's part of something called Bayesian analysis and it's been around for centuries now. Without it, we couldn't do spam­filtering.

Quote 4

 "When in trouble or on doubt, run in circles, scream and shout" - Marcus' personal favorite


This line is a parody of the other advise "when in trouble" quotes, and is one that Marcus frequently thinks about when he's actually in trouble. This quote is here for two purposes, one, is of course, for comedy, so the book is more interesting and funny. Imitating the scenes in comedies and comics where whenever there's trouble, all people can do is run around screaming and wait for the 'hero'

The second reason is to show readers that the reaction of most of the citizens was, indeed, to scream and run when the explosions went off, until the loudspeaker told them what to do. This is one of the main reasons that Dystopian societies exist; in some Dystopian societies, the oppressed people are unable to resist, but in Dystopias like the one described in this book, a large amount of the population is unwilling to resist or just doesn't know or care they are even in a Dystopian society.

Quote 2,3

" Governments are instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the the governed, that whenever any form of government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the the right of the people to alter or abolish it, and to institute a new government " - Marcus to Benson

"You can't declare war on me in my own school, " -  Fredrick Benson to Marcus


Quote 2:
These quotes are from Benson's conversation/argument with Marcus. The first quote, from the Declaration of Independence  states that if a Government starts to become harmful to those it governs, (the DHS for example), the people have the right to destroy or change it so it suits their needs. It is also stated in this book that the government is made in order to insure the safety and happiness of the people, and that life is a 'pursuit of happiness'.

This quote is probably the most important quote in the whole book, as it simply summarizes Marcus' intent all along, and has provided him with moral many times. It was made so Dystopian societies could be avoided, but doesn't always help. This 'law' would only help if the government that is deemed 'destructive' is willing to submit to the people and change, but if the government is self righteous  like the DHS, then it would be extremely hard to alter or abolish the government.



Quote 3:
This quote was used by Benson as a comeback to the quote above, saying that Marcus couldn't win a war against Benson in his school. Benson is also an example of a Dystopian government, that doesn't listen to the people and oppresses all that oppose it, for example, trying to get Marcus expelled for being able to bypass the school's security systems, and firing Marcus' teacher for sharing Marcus' point of view.

This also illustrates the problem with the extraction for the Declaration of Independence  because it the government resists against the people trying to alter or abolish it, it can easily suppress and oppress the people and form a genuine Dystopian society. After this happens, the government will have to keep on suppressing the people and getting rid of the ones that oppose of in order to survive.

Quote 1

" I don't get it, your making it sound like the bill of rights is optional. It's Constitution. We're supposed to follow it absolutely" - Marcus to Ms. Anderson


This phrase simply illustrates what the whole war in Little Brother is about, the bill of rights. While Marcus and Friends think that the bill of rights should be completely followed to unsure that everyone is 'happy', others like Ms. Anderson and Charles think that the government has the right to take it away without actual proof of guilt, this usually triggers Marcus to rage. People like the leaders of the DHS pretty much completely ignore the bill of rights and took Marcus and friends into prison without so much as considering it.

The Dystopian factor in Little Brother and also Homeland is about the bill of rights, as Marcus tries all kinds of tactics to get his rights back. There are also people like Marcus' parents, who are just 'sitting on the fence', not having an actual opinion on the matter. Marcus' parents' point of view, however, quickly changed to appose the DHS as soon as they found out what the DHS had done to Marcus.