ПКРО 24

Unit 5. The Impact of IT

Writing

38. Have you watched this film? If you haven't, read the plot. Discuss with the partner if the
idea of the film might be real.

39. Read two texts and identify two ideas in each text.

Virtual minds

A popular argument for the simulation hypothesis states that members of an advanced civilization with
enormous computing power might decide to run simulations of their ancestors. They would probably have
the ability to run many, many such simulations, to the point where the vast majority of minds would actually
be artificial ones within such simulations, rather than the original ancestral minds. So simple statistics suggest
it is much more likely that we are among the simulated minds. And there are other reasons to think we might
be virtual. For instance, the more we learn about the universe, the more it appears to be based on mathematical
laws. Perhaps that is not a given, but a function of the nature of the universe we are living in. “If I were a
character in a computer game, I would also discover eventually that the rules seemed completely rigid and
mathematical,” said Max Tegmark, a cosmologist at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). “That
just reflects the computer code in which it was written.”

Room for skepticism

The statistical argument that most minds in the future will turn out to be artificial rather than biological is also
not a given, said Lisa Randall, a theoretical physicist at Harvard University. “It’s just not based on well-defined
probabilities. The argument says you’d have lots of things that want to simulate us. I actually have a problem
with that. We mostly are interested in ourselves. I don’t know why this higher species would want to simulate
us.” Randall admitted she did not quite understand why other scientists were even entertaining the notion that
the universe is a simulation. Such existential-sounding hypotheses often tend to be essentially untestable, but
some researchers think they could find experimental evidence that we are living in a computer game. One idea
is that the programmers might cut corners to make the simulation easier to run.

40. Work in pairs. Evaluate the ideas presented in the texts. Use some of the expressions in the box.

Evaluating ideas
 ● A glaring omission from the first text is…
● One area which the writer seems to have overlooked is…
● One major weakness in the writer’s argument is that…
● One thing the writer fails to mention is…
● The text neglects to mention that fact that…
● The writer seems to have gone overboard in their praise/criticism of…
● Were I to pick holes in the writer’s arguments, I would start by pointing out that…
● When it comes to the topic of…, the text seems to be lacking somewhat
● While I am generally in agreement with the majority of the first writer’s points, the
obvious hole in their argument is…
● While the writer makes some valid arguments in favour of…, she ignores the fact
that…

41. Work in groups of three. Discuss your opinion about the possibility of the existence of simulated
reality.

42. Write an essay summarising and evaluating the key points from both texts (at least 2 from each).
Use your own words throughout as far as possible and include your own ideas in your answers (240-
280 words). + ACTIVE VOCABULARY (AT LEAST 7 UNITS)

43. Read your partners essays and use the checklist to evaluate it.

o You mentioned four ideas from the texts

o You present all the ideas in your own words

o You evaluate the ideas and present your opinion about these ideas

o You use advanced grammar and vocabulary

o You are accurate in the usage of cohesive devices

PS: the format is up to your choice. You can go with a for-and-against essay, an opinion/discussion essay, or a
CPE format. The examples are below.

● CPE Assessing Writing Performance

● an opinion/discussion essay (see the plan+structure+samples+vocab below)
✨ ALTERNATIVE TASK ✨

Word limit, format, etc = as above. It’s the material that makes things different.

Choose two of the following Black Mirror episodes, use the ones that share their subject, so it would
make sense to compare and contrast their ideas. Do not forget to share your own opinion.

Disclaimer: please mind that this version of the task is COMPLETELY OPTIONAL. ALL “Black Mirror” episodes are rated
16+/mostly 18+ (profanity, nudity & sex, substance, violence, suicide, death, mental illnesses can be portrayed and/or
mentioned). The series is quite (or too) ominous, chilling, at times explicit, graphic and disturbing. Please consider
choosing the other version of the task (reality simulation one, see above) if you are even slightly uncomfortable with
anything mentioned.

TITLE PLOT TOPICS (approx., you

can also pick your own
similarities)

Nosedive A woman desperate to Social media,

boost her social media reputation, publicity
score hits the jackpot
when she’s invited to a This technology is
swanky wedding, but already real for some
the trip doesn’t go as countries
planned.
Hated in the Nation The death of a Social media, Internet
journalist at the centre footprint, online
of a social media presence, a game of
firestorm leads a consequences, media,
veteran detective and cancel culture
her tech-savvy
apprentice to a chilling Partly (the social
discovery. media aspect) could
happen now - cancel
culture

White Christmas Three interconnected Relationships, a game

tales of technology run of consequences
amok during the
Christmas season are
told by two men at a
remote outpost in a
frozen wilderness.

Shut Up and Dance After a virus infects his Internet footprint,

laptop, a teen faces a online presence, a
daunting choice: carry game of consequences
out orders delivered by
text message, or risk Could happen now
having intimate secrets
exposed.

Fifteen Million Merits After failing to impress Showbiz, publicity

the judges on a singing
competition show, a
woman must either
perform degrading acts
or return to a slave-like
existence.
The Entire History of In the near future, Relationships
You everyone has access
to a memory implant
that records everything
humans do, see, hear.

Be Right Back After learning about a Relationships

new service that lets
people stay in touch
with the deceased, a
lonely, grieving Martha
reconnects with her
late lover.

Arkangel Worried about her Devices for safety,

daughter’s safety, teens and tech
single mom Marie
signs up for a cutting- Partly possible already,
edge device that in terms of tracking
monitors the girl’s devices and
whereabouts -- and programmes
much more.

Men Against Fire After his first battle with Devices for safety,
an elusive enemy, a military
soldier begins
experiencing unfamiliar
sensations and strange
technical glitches.
Rachel, Jack and A lonely teen becomes Showbiz, teens and
Ashley Too obsessed with a robot tech, publicity (and
doll based on her pop false image)
star idol, Ashley O --
just as the real
Ashley’s life begins to
unravel.

Smithereens A London rideshare Social media,

driver ignites an relationships
international crisis
when he kidnaps a Could happen now
worker from a social
media company.
 Presentation skills (Visual aids)
44. Work in groups of three. Discuss how to make PowerPoint slides effective. Think about the
following features.

colour contrast visual impact legibility aesthetics data load scale font size

45a. Watch the video about creating effective PowerPoint slides. Which slide is better according to T.J.
Walker. Which would you prefer? Why?

45b. Sometimes it is more effective to use real objects or “props” in presentations. Watch the video about
using “props” and answer the questions:

1. What is the reason of using “props” in the presentations?

2. How did Steve Jobs demonstrate how thin new MacBook Air is (video)?
3. What prop did Bill Gates use?

46a. Remember the presentations you have made. Discuss the ideas how you could have used props
in our presentations.
45b. Bring some slides which you made. Discuss the way they can be improved.

47. Read the information about “The 666 Rule” and “10-20-30 Rules”. Do you agree with these
rules? Do you follow them?

The 666 Rule

The 666 rule This is a good rule suggested by “Presenter’s university” for simplicity of design and clarity
of the content in PowerPoint.ie Use No more than
• 6 words per bullet
• 6 bullets per slide
• 6 Text slides in a row
If you adhere to the above principles, the readability and visual impact of your slides will improve greatly.
The fonts should not be too big or too small. If you observe the 666 rule then power point will
automatically adjust the font size to about 30 to 36 points which is ideal for body text and between 36 to
48 points for title. Another idea suggested by a veteran to determine the optimal font size is “find out the
age of the oldest person in your audience and divide it by two. That’s your optimal font size”. The reason
 people use a small font is twofold: first, that they don’t know their material well enough; second, they
think that more text is more convincing.

The 10/20/30 Rule of PowerPoint

I suffer from something called Ménière’s disease—don’t worry, you cannot get it from reading my blog. The
symptoms of Ménière’s include hearing loss, tinnitus (a constant ringing sound), and vertigo. There are many
medical theories about its cause: too much salt, caffeine, or alcohol in one’s diet, too much stress, and allergies.
Thus, I’ve worked to limit control all these factors.

However, I have another theory. As a venture capitalist, I have to listen to hundreds of entrepreneurs pitch their
companies. Most of these pitches are crap: sixty slides about a “patent pending,” “first mover advantage,” “all
we have to do is get 1% of the people in China to buy our product” startup. These pitches are so lousy that I’m
losing my hearing, there’s a constant ringing in my ear, and every once in while the world starts spinning.

To prevent an epidemic of Ménière’s in the venture capital community, I am evangelizing the 10/20/30 Rule of
PowerPoint. It’s quite simple: a PowerPoint presentation should have ten slides, last no more than twenty
minutes, and contain no font smaller than thirty points. While I’m in the venture capital business, this rule is
applicable for any presentation to reach agreement: for example, raising capital, making a sale, forming a
partnership, etc.

● Ten slides. Ten is the optimal number of slides in a PowerPoint presentation because a normal human
being cannot comprehend more than ten concepts in a meeting—and venture capitalists are very normal.
(The only difference between you and venture capitalist is that he is getting paid to gamble with
someone else’s money). If you must use more than ten slides to explain your business, you probably
don’t have a business.

● Twenty minutes. You should give your ten slides in twenty minutes. Sure, you have an hour time slot,
but you’re using a Windows laptop, so it will take forty minutes to make it work with the projector.
Even if setup goes perfectly, people will arrive late and have to leave early. In a perfect world, you give
your pitch in twenty minutes, and you have forty minutes left for discussion.

● Thirty-point font. The majority of the presentations that I see have text in a ten point font. As much
text as possible is jammed into the slide, and then the presenter reads it. However, as soon as the
audience figures out that you’re reading the text, it reads ahead of you because it can read faster than
you can speak. The result is that you and the audience are out of synch.

The reason people use a small font is twofold: first, that they don’t know their material well enough;
second, they think that more text is more convincing. Total bozosity. Force yourself to use no font
smaller than thirty points. I guarantee it will make your presentations better because it requires you to
find the most salient points and to know how to explain them well. If “thirty points,” is too dogmatic,
the I offer you an algorithm: find out the age of the oldest person in your audience and divide it by two.
That’s your optimal font size.

48. Work in pairs. Look at the slide below. Is it effective? Improve it by reducing the number of
words and making the bullet points grammatically correct.
49a. Prepare PowerPoint slides on the topic you are interested in (baseline - IT impact). Give a
talk based on the slides.

● first computer (Alan Turing)

● old-timey / bizarre inventions (see the pics below)
● Industrial Revolution (the inventions that changed the world as it is)
● gamechanger products (The Macintosh - 1984, NEXT Cube, iMac - 1998, iPod - 2001, iPhone -
2007)
● gamechanger products/companies that almost died (Kodak / Polaroid / etc)
● the curious case of videogames
● products/inventions that we take for granted (The Metro / Yandex Transport / YouTube / etc)

49b. Listen to the presentations of your colleagues and evaluate visual aids using the features
below.

● Overall impact
● Creativity
● Legibility
● Simplicity
● Clarity of information
●