Assignment 2 - Conversations

Part 2 of 4: Conversations with Robots: Voices, Smart Agents & the Case for Structured Content

  1. What is the difference between structured content and semantic HTML?

    Structured content allows for the relationships between content chunks to be explicitly defined and described. This makes both the content and the relationships between them legible to algorithms. The algorithm can interpret the content and adapt the information to give any number of concise answers to specific questions. Semantic HTML is markup that communicates information about meaningful relationships between document elements, as opposed to simply describing how they should look on screen. HTML structured this way is both presentational and semantic. Viewers know what the information look like and algorithms can recognize them as elements.

  2. How do they work together?

    By utilizing both processes, algorithms can now aggregate content from multiple sources by using linked data. This process creates a more nuanced description of the relationship between page elements while providing structure and conceptual information that algorithms need to bring together the data from different sources.

  3. Why is it important to have structured content and semantic HTML in your web pages?

    It's important to have structured content and semantic HTML because it makes the HTML more comprehensible by better defining the different sections and layout of web pages; thus being more informative and adaptable, allowing browsers and search engines to better interpret content.

Part 3 of 4: A List of Similar Websites (Semester Project)

Part 4 of 4: Banishing Your Inner Critic & Procrastination

  1. Denise Jacobs argues that we all have a troll-like inner critic. Of the methods she identifies to banish this troll, which would be most successful for you? Why?

    For me, a combination of showing myself some love and going for good rather than perfect, would be successful methods to banish my inner troll. I've always had high expectations for myself so that I could make my parents proud because of this I have the habit of being really hard on myself when I'm not meeting my expectations of what my performance should be in certain aspects of my life. This has caused me to be burned out more frequently and hitting walls in my thoughts, so these days I try to take a kinder approach on addressing tasks that need to be done, and reminding myself that sometimes the minimum is still my best.

  2. In David McRaney's article, what is "hyperbolic discounting"? List one method McRaney identifies to counteract hyperbolic discounting. Which would work best for you?

    Thinking about thinking! I'm very aware of deadlines, so I generally like to give myself a period of time to get used to the idea of "hey you have xyz task coming up," that way once I get used to the idea, then I won't feel so overwhelmed when I sit down to do said task. I know that I need more time to do assignments or tasks, so I like to give myself time by being aware of a set date that I usually label as work day. Prioritizing importance is also something I emphasize so that I give myself ample time to complete tasks.