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Quittner/Silver Reading Questions

Due Thursday, September 25

Quittner (pp. 352-361)

1) Quittner quotes Kevin Kelly of Wired magazine: "Privacy has become asymmetrical" (356). What do you think this means?

2) As a follow-up to question one, do you think that the symmetry Kelly suggests could resolve matters? Or do we really need a different kind of symmetry? You'll need to identify just what Kelly means before you can really answer this one.

3) What might we do to limit our exposure to "invasions" of our privacy, according to Quittner? Are there problems with these options? Try to identify a variety of options available in Quittner's essay, and to locate problems with those options.

Silver (pp. 362-367)

1) Why does Jennifer go to the Cayman Islands to clone herself?

2) Are there privacy concerns involved in the story of Jennifer and Rachel? What are they?

Questions for Synthesis

1) What kinds of themes connect Quittner and Silver?

2) If these essays both raise concerns about technology and ethics, what do you think those concerns are? Find specific passages in Q and S that illustrate those concerns.

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