So I've been away for a little bit, there have been a few things I've been working on for the blog, but mostly I've been hammering away on stuff for another class - a class that forces me to use Windows. But I won't get off on that rant.
Mostly, I want to use this blog for its intended purpose for once and kick around some ideas for research paper topics. The restrictions that have been placed upon us aren't overly burdensome, the only troubling one for me is: Must be related to your major. Technically, I don't have a major yet. The only thing that is computer-ish that immediately comes to mind is the recent security breach in China, but frankly I'd rather puke blood for ten years than try to tell people to get rid of Internet Explorer. I've talked myself hoarse on the subject. Yeah, I know, and there was much rejoicing. Just don't come crying to me when you get infected - I'm not reinstalling your OS. Again.
So let's talk ideas.
- Portrayals of technical persons (scientists, engineers, programmers, etc) in twentieth century media - perhaps compared to real technical wonks or compared to portrayals today.
- Hoaxes, with an emphasis on the really odd ones. One thing that's always bothered me is where the pull can tabs hoax (or similar hoaxes) got started. See the Snopes article for the pull can hoax. I'm fascinated as to how these hoaxes start, but I'm not sure there is a paper there. The collective wisdom of Snopes can't find the origin of the pull can one.
Another one that I recall vividly was told at my former workplace. It was an email forward (grrr! use your forward button for good, not evil) that spread around the office saying that a guy up in Tallahassee, FL in a white SUV was strapping syringes of aids infected blood to gas pump handles. Of course, it was false. So I did a little research and sent the woman who sent me it a link to the front page of the Florida State Police site (which declared it a hoax), and Snopes which listed a whole litany of similar hoaxes - almost to the letter like the email she forwarded. I also pointed out that our very hot Florida summers aren't good for a virus, or even blood for that matter. Also, consider the mechanics of taping a syringe - even a very small one like those used for insulin shots by diabetics - to a gas pump handle.
Of course, she was convinced that the State Police, Snopes, Biology and simple mechanics were all trying to cover it up. I think this kind of cognitive dissonance is fascinating. I suspect that could be a whole paper in and of itself.
Better still is how hoaxes like these disseminate like a virus through our mental environment, and sometimes even persist (see above, Craig Shergold, etc.) I think with well structured research (not just cites, experiments, interviews and testing) this could make for a really great paper on how information is accepted as true or false and distributes in a complex system like the internet. There are plenty of good print and electronic sources for this as well. I'll need to think about methodology for this one.
- A study on "phishing." The act of using a message (such as an email) to get the target user to disclose sensitive information, usually a password. My thesis would be that it's pretty easy to succeed, and I would include original research in the form of simulated phishing attempts against a users in a range of sophistication.
- An analysis of online scams versus classic (IE the Big Store, the Spanish Prisoner, etc) con games.
- It looks like I could do a paper on the Spanish Prisoner (and modern variations of it) alone.
- Privacy - how willing are different age groups to share information online? What kinds of information are they willing to share and under what circumstances?
- Media Piracy & Copyright Law - How informed are people on copyright? Is piracy really as common as it is portrayed by the media? Is it really that damaging to media companies? What alternatives might media companies pursue to lessen the impact of piracy?
I think that's going to be it for tonight. More is on the burner for tomorrow.
