Reality, Truth, and Freedom

Reality is my perception of what is real, tangible or intangible. These things are the way that I believe and construct a background and stance of the world.
Websters online: 1 : the quality or state of being real
2 a (1) : a real event, entity, or state of affairs (2) : the totality of real things and events b : something that is neither derivative nor dependent but exists necessarily
3 : television programming that features videos of actual occurrences (as a police chase, stunt, or natural disaster) —often used attributively
— in reality : in actual fact

Wikipedia: Reality, in everyday usage, means "the state of things as they actually exist."[1] Literally, the term denotes what is real; in its widest sense, this includes everything that is, whether or not it is observable or comprehensible. Reality in this sense includes being and sometimes is considered to include nothingness, as well. By contrast, the term existence is often restricted solely to being (compare with nature).

“The best thing about dreams is that fleeting moment, when you are between asleep and awake, when you don't know the difference between reality and fantasy, when for just that one moment you feel with your entire soul that the dream is reality, and it really happened.”
“There are some people who live in a dream world, and there are some who face reality; and then there are those who turn one into the other.” ~Douglas H Everett
http://thinkexist.com/quotations/reality/
I believe I can change reality. By my definition, other definitions and quotes, Reality is only a state of something being real and who determines what is real? If real is what I believe, then I can change what I believe. I can change what I think is real, and therefore, I can change my reality.
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Truth is not a lie. It is typically fact or true. Truth is not even omission it is 100%.
Webster’s: 1 a archaic : FIDELITY, CONSTANCY b : sincerity in action, character, and utterance
2 a (1) : the state of being the case : FACT (2) : the body of real things, events, and facts : ACTUALITY (3) often capitalized : a transcendent fundamental or spiritual reality b : a judgment, proposition, or idea that is true or accepted as true c : the body of true statements and propositions
3 a : the property (as of a statement) of being in accord with fact or reality b chiefly British : TRUE 2 c : fidelity to an original or to a standard
4 capitalized Christian Science : GOD
— in truth : in accordance with fact : ACTUALLY

In life's wilderness,
Choked by the weeds of error -
Bloom of beauty: truth.

Truth ...
“Is the opposite of lies.”
“What is truth but what we believe to be truth?”
“I don't believe that there's one truth. There are so many different people, and there are so many different ways you can look at things. I don't see how there could be just one truth.”
These quotes, giving vague descriptions of truth, point towards relativism - a doctrine instructing that truth and morality are relative and not absolute. Relativism asserts that what is accepted as truth is relative to a person's situation or standpoint, and denies that any standpoint is uniquely privileged over all others.

If truth is relative, then absolute right and absolute wrong become doubtful and obscure. And if truth is relative, then only subjective and indefinite answers exist for the purpose and meaning of life. So is there any absolute or real truth in this complex and uncertain world? http://www.whatistruth.org.uk/

I can’t be sure something is true. I have to believe that something is true. This concept is the basis of any faith. One must believe something is true in order for it to BE. For instance, in Christianity, it is believe that Christ died on the cross and rose again. Those who believe this are Christians. No one really knows if this is true, but it is believed to be true and therefore, we have faith that it is. I believe truth takes believing.
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Freedom is what my husband is fighting for, not just for the US, but for other countries. It is the ability to go about my business without the intrusion of others, especially the government.
wordnetweb.princeton.edu/perl/webwn- the condition of being free; the power to act or speak or think without externally imposed restraints exemption: immunity from an obligation or duty

Websters- 1 : the quality or state of being free: as a : the absence of necessity, coercion, or constraint in choice or action b : liberation from slavery or restraint or from the power of another : INDEPENDENCE c : the quality or state of being exempt or released usually from something onerous d : EASE, FACILITY e : the quality of being frank, open, or outspoken f : improper familiarity g : boldness of conception or execution h : unrestricted use
2 a : a political right b : FRANCHISE, PRIVILEGE
synonyms FREEDOM, LIBERTY, LICENSE mean the power or condition of acting without compulsion. FREEDOM has a broad range of application from total absence of restraint to merely a sense of not being unduly hampered or frustrated . LIBERTY suggests release from former restraint or compulsion . LICENSE implies freedom specially granted or conceded and may connote an abuse of freedom .

I believe that some people really are free. For the most part, the United States is free, unless its values are compromised or threatened. Therefore, we aren’t 100% free when we get on an airplane. We aren’t 100% free to wear a fire arm in all buildings. We aren’t 100% free because we can’t smoke in all restaurants or buildings. However, in the grand scheme of things, we have a Constitution that allows us to be free and have freedom. I believe we are free enough in the United States. However, if something were to happen like in the story with an attack on a city and the DHS reacts in this manner, we would NOT be free enough. Those acts do not seem to make me believe that we truly are innocent until proven guilty.

http://www.venik4.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/04/flag-raising-iwo-jima.jpg
http://msp79.photobucket.com/albums/j123/vil1313/firemen-flag-09122001.jpg

Chapter 20

In this chapter, Marcus ends up back at Treasure Island. Severe Haircut lady was still there and put Marcus through the beginning stages of water boarding before being rescued by the journalist. I had always heard about water boarding but the description in the chapter as it must have felt for Marcus to go through it was horrific. I nearly cried. I could not imagine what it must feel like to be strapped and up-side-down with the feeling that I was dying. So, water boarding is pretty much when someone uses water in an effort to make you talk, only you’re tied down and upside down with streams and then rivers and then waterfalls worth of water going over the chin, the lips and eventually up the nostrils. It then goes to the back of the throat and begins to choke the individual. If the person coughs or gasps, it just brings the water right into the lungs.

The chapter concludes with the workers at Treasure Island being arrested, Marcus is still alive and there might be a light at the end of the tunnel as the California Highway Patrol were the ones who helped save the day.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Waterboarding

Chapter 17

I loved this chapter. Coming out and telling people about W1n5t0n and m1k3y and owning everything that “they’ve” done. I love that Marcus has a partner in crime in Ange. In this chapter, a girl named Masha is introduced to help Marcus get out of his situation. There is a vocab word introduced in Domain Name Service and it is the way your computer converts another computer’s name. I found more information about this below:
DNS (Domain Name System or Service) is a distributed Internet directory service. DNS is used mostly to translate between domain names (www.domainname.com) and IP addresses (123.123.123.123), and to control Internet email delivery. Most Internet services rely on DNS to work, and if DNS fails, web sites cannot be located and email delivery stalls.
DNS has two independent aspects:
1. It specifies the name syntax and rules for delegating authority over names. The basic syntax is:
local.group.site
2. It specifies the implementation of a distributed computing system that efficiently maps names to addresses.
In the DNS naming scheme, a decentralized and hierarchical mechanism is used by delegating authority for parts of the namespace and distributing responsibility for mapping names and addresses. The naming scheme of DNS is used to assign network device names globally and it is implemented by geographically distributed set of severs to names to addresses.
http://www.javvin.com/protocolDNS.html

Chapter 15

I thought that the way M1k3y held the press conference was really neat. It was such a great idea to use an online game that allows for conversation and interaction. The concept of jamming includes switching up people’s FasTrak and BartPass numbers along with ATM numbers and any other passwords in order to get the cops to see erratic or unexplainable movements around the city. In chapter 9, Marcus’ dad got caught up in this and the cop insisted that he had been over the San Mateo bridge 3 times that day when he really hadn’t been. The jamming messed up everything in the city and it took people hours to get home from work. Some people were pulled over and questioned by the cops many times in their short commute. Marcus pretty much proves a point to the DHS that this type of surveillance does not bring terrorists to the surface and he begins to beat them at their own game.

Marcus takes a leave from jamming in this chapter. He says to fellow Xnetters that it’s because he is smart enough to know that he’s better free than in prison. He also begins to think about how if one jammer gets caught, everyone else can get caught because of the chain of friends. He wants to have a good idea that is going to work the next time he starts to jam and doesn’t want to get caught because he wants to prove the DHS isn’t fighting terrorism because he and the Xnetters aren’t getting caught.

Chapter 10

This chapter made me think. I haven’t ever had to understand crypto (except in the previous chapters of this book) and so the concept of a party where you exchange keys and then send private messages to people in your circle is intriguing. The concept of “transitive” trust is neat. It is described as “trust that moves across the web of our relationships.” So, because you trust your best friend, you trust the information that he/she passes to you. You also trust it more than say, some stranger on the internet who has posted a number or something.

A key signing party is where everyone gets together and signs everyone else’s keys. Marcus and Jolu set boundaries that those invited could bring a maximum of one person and it must be someone they have known for at least five years.

In this chapter, Jolu backs out. He is scared of things that could happen, says he respects Marcus. Marcus meets Ange in this chapter…which I think was very needed. The book was getting dull for me and I felt like it needed something extra. The technology was getting hard to relate to because it was over my head, though the author does a great job of explaining it even if you don’t understand. Anyway, I think the introduction of Ange at this point was a great turn of events.

Chapter 9

In this chapter, Marcus' dad goes crazy and Marcus must figure out just who he can trust. Trust seems to be a powerful word and you can trust people, but in a time when one questions everything, people you trust can be questioned, too. This part of the book started to make me think because it began to talk about technology that I had not ever thought about. It made me respect the type of people who’s brains work like this on a regular basis. Me, I have to think about this stuff and draw it on paper (which defeats the purpose of being all about computers) and I just can’t believe Marcus and his friends. They are so tech-savvy and smart! I thought it was absolutely GENIOUS that he and Jolu decided to throw a key-exchange web-of-trust party for a key-signing.

I thought it was neat that Marcus brings in the knowledge he has from his mom’s experiences to explain how things are different in Britain. He says the average Londoner is photographed five hundred times a day, just walking the streets. If you are remotely suspicious, anyone and everyone will snitch on you. So, for them, the surveillance is natural and second nature.

I think this chapter really makes me think about safety and being free and what my rights are and just how far behind the Constitution is with regards to the digital movement. I could not imagine something like this happening, but it seemed so real and possible in the book. And by that, I mean everything. The attack. The kids knowledge to take on the DHS. The hidden island. The massive amount of DHS workers. The piss-poor security. The "violation" of rights. The second-guessing of FREE. The jamming of a city. All of it.

Chapter 8

I thought this chapter was so fascinating. Pretty much, the arphid cloner is an automatic terrorism detector, or so the DHS thinks that monitoring the patterns of the people using the technologies captured via the cloner means they’ll catch terrorists. This cloning device pretty much begins the war on the DHS as Marcus posts a HOWTO for building an arphid cloner and how to use it effectively. He warns of the paradox of the false positive and that terrorists are really rare (like the disease mentioned in the previous blog). He also says that for a city like San Francisco, to catch 10 bad guys, you have to haul in and investigate 200,000 innocent people. He sums it up in this statement, “What this all meant was that the DHS had set itself up to fail badly. They were trying to spot incredibly rare events-a person is a terrorist-with inaccurate systems.”

Marcus is now on a mission and begins to have followers on the Xnet. In this chapter, Operation False Positive begins. These cloners mostly captured and switched numbers on ATM cards, Fastrak, and Fast Pass. People throughout the whole city had produced the arphid cloners and jammed up the city. Marcus closes the chapter saying that his dad got home 3 hours late that night because he had been pulled over, searched, and question twice! So, this is coming back to bite his dad in the behind.