Blog #2

Gee:


"...I, on the other hand, utter the code word and experience a delicious moment of wonderfully embodied and situated meaning (much as I did when I first realized that fractal equations lead to marvelous patterns when you feed them into a computer or actually graph them on a a piece of paper, rather than just learn to repeat them and verbally list their numerical properties)." (Ch.4 pg82-83)



Psomas:



Gee is referring to the video game Deus Ex, where he encountered an enemy but is able to have her self-destruct because he has found a code in the computer. He goes on to compare this situation to the satisfaction of putting meaning into, for example, fractal equations. At first the code numbers mean nothing, but once you put it into use, I see what it was good for. By "embodied" he means in the body as well as in the mind (on how he is storing information). I agree with this notation, as it reminds me of teaching and learning. We, as teachers, students, and humans, have come to realize that putting meaning into our work, rather that memorization and repetition has more of an affect and satisfaction. Kind of like what Williams said when she talked about being able to "name" something in "The Joshua Tree Epiphany".


When it comes to teaching, if we are able to put meaning behind our teachings, and truly understand what is being taught, then hopefully we can regenerate that meaning to our students and have them view the learning as "embodied."



Gee:


"To make sense of them [words] you must fit them into the emerging plot and virtual world you are discovering and helping to build. And, you must do this actively, since you have choices about where to go and what to do. Every potentially meaningful sign in a game like Deus Ex-whether word, deed,artifact, or action- is a particularly sort of invitation to embodied action (action actually carried out in the game world or simulated in your mind). And the nature of that invitation changes as you experience new situations and engage in new actions in the virtual world of the game. "(Ch.4 pg 83)



Psomas:

I believe this analogy to be very true when it comes to words. Gee compares words with video games and the tools needed to experience the "virtualness." This right away makes me think about, not only teaching literature, but reading I have done myself. The words, deeds, artifacts, and actions used in video games is the same way we use key events, point out plots, draw conclusions, and analyze characters in a story. As the video game proceeds, or we continue to read, we are "accepting the invitation of embodied action." When Gee talks about the nature of the invitation changing as you experience new situations, you can instantly think back to when you have read and then reread a book. Did you think differently about it? Did you notice something different? Is it because the book changed or you changed? As our experience in life changes, we do indeed change and our views are altered from our previous views. Students will too feel that. Maybe they already feel that when they replay a video game, and as they get older they most likely feel that with literature they have read in the past. As Murray states in ND, we have to be patient and wait and wait and wait. It is a process rather than a product. That goes the same for embodied action, as teachers wee have to let time take it's course and let the students experience their inner reward for themselves.