What is a bit and what does it mean to say that "it's all just bits"? (Koan 1) Give examples of the things today that are stored in bits?

        A bit is a singular digit of binary, a 1 or a 0. Everything on the internet is just made of bits. Pictures, sounds, videos, even this page is made of lots of little bits. Some of these things require more bits than others, such as a high quality photo compared to a simple text document. Other examples of things stored in bits are programs and software.

Describe, in your own words, Moore's Law.

        Moore’s Law states that the number of transistors in an IC double annually. This basically means that basic computer parts can be exponentially more powerful and compact every year.

Someone offers you a summer job and offers you two pay rates: (1) $10 per hour for 40 hours per week for 30 days or (2) One cent on day 1, two cents and day two, four cents on day three and on (doubling each day) for 30 days. If you were trying to make as much money as possible in 30 days, which pay rate would you choose? What does this illustrate?

        I would much rather have the penny-a-day-doubled pay rate since this exponential rate far surpasses the other in value at over 10 million dollars! This illustrates how fast technology is changing, and how we don’t always notice it in the beginning. A penny, two cents, even 32 cents is not much money in today’s age and some wouldn’t even bother to pick that up off the sidewalk. For about a week the money seems worthless. Then all of a sudden there is a boom of exponential growth up to over 10 million dollars! Likewise technology doesn’t seem much different perhaps at first, but it is growing faster and faster every day.

Give an example of how the digital explosion is "neither good nor bad" but has both positive and negative implications.

        The digital explosion isn’t good nor bad since it is just bits. Having more bits doesn’t mean anything except more storage, etc. But yet it does have very positive and very negative implications. On the positive side, the digital explosion means we can do more with technology and literally go further, perhaps to Mars one day! However it also means people can do more harm, such as on social media and identity theft.

"Advances in computing have generated and increased creativity in other fields." Comment on this statement. Do you agree? Can you give an example to support (or contradict) it?

        I agree that these computing advances have increased creativity in other fields as the example of how far we are going in technology shows the potential of growth in other areas of society. The technological advances are even literally affecting some fields such as health care and the medical field. The growth in technology has brought MRIs and other technology that has allowed better medicines and treatments for people (and animals).