
Textbook Applications
Every chapter in The Mediated World contains application exercises for you, the reader, to delve deeper into the topics. Below are the applications from the textbook that require you to go online, gathered together on one convenient page. Watch and listen using the links below, and go beyond the theory.
Chapter 2

The Third Frontier (p. 27)
Q2.7: What is the biophilia hypothesis?

Multitasking (p. 35)
Q2.11: Why does Miller say “The brain is very good at deluding itself”?
Chapter 3

Study Illuminates How Babies Learn to Speak (p.49)
Q3.2: According to Kuhn’s research, how does a baby move from speech perception to speech production?
Chapter 4

Language Acquisition and Literacy (p. 63)
Q4.5: In what ways do the interactions between the author and his son illustrate how we learn through repetition, rhythm, and conventional language? In what ways is the author’s daughter operating in the pre-literate and literate mindset?
Chapter 6

Objectivity (p. 119)
Read the top political stories from The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal.
Q6.4: Can you discern a political bias? Explain your answer.
Chapter 8

The Telegraph versus Texting (p. 181)
Q8.2: Who is faster?
Chapter 9

Emile Berliner (p. 197)
Q9.1: How does the quality compare to today’s recordings?

How a Hit Song is Made (p. 217)
Q9.10: Were you surprised by what you learned? Explain your answer.

Scat (p. 212)
Q9.8: Compare what you hear with a contemporary song.

World Music (p. 226)
Q9.14: What do you think of this genre?
Chapter 11

Early Movies from Black Maria (p. 251)
Q11.2: How does the quality compare to a film you can create yourself, say, on a smartphone?

The Great Train Robbery (p. 254)
Q11.5: A century ago, that scene made moviegoers jump for cover. Why are we no longer surprised and astonished by it? And what astonishes us today?

“You Ain’t Heard Nothin’ Yet” (p. 256)
Q11.7: Try to imagine hearing words and images together on the big screen for the very first time. How do you think the experience might affect you?

Early Lumiere Films (p. 253)
Q11.3: Try to write a reaction to one of the films as if you were seeing a motion picture for the first time.

Le Voyage dans la Lune (p. 254)
Q11.4: How does this film differ from the ones you viewed by Edison and the Lumieres?

“Who’s on First?” (p. 259)
Q11.8: Do you think it has stood the test of time? Explain your answer.
Chapter 12

The 1992 Town Hall Debate (p. 294)
Q12.5: What do you think of their answers?

Linear Television (p. 298)
Q12.7: How does the style differ from today’s style of video?
Chapter 13

Production Notes (p. 313)
Q13.2: Were you surprised by what you saw? Why or why not?

“Imported from Detroit” (p. 328)
Q13.9: Did the ad change your impression of the “Motor City”? Explain your answer.
Chapter 15

Hustler v. Falwell (p. 369)
Q15.2: As a judge, how would you have ruled in this case, and why?

Smoke in the Eye (p. 380)
Q15.9: What should journalists do to convince us that they are covering businesses in a fair way?

The People vs. Larry Flynt (p. 370)
Q15.3: Do you agree with the argument made by Hustler’s lawyer? Explain your answer.
Chapter 16

Warrantless Wiretapping (p. 389)
Q16.1: Just for a moment, imagine that you have been summoned by the president of the United States and told that your story is hurting America. How would you react?

Investigative Reporting on Walter Reed (p. 395)
Q16.6: In what ways does journalism like this improve conditions? Explain your answer.

Schwarz’s Reporting about Concussions (p. 402)
Q16.12: Since Schwarz’s reporting, schools and teams have developed many new rules for dealing with head injuries. What rules have you heard about at your schools or in the sports that you follow?

Yes We Can (p. 411)
Q16.16: Should celebrities use their dominance of nearly all forms of media to express their political views? Why or why not?

Hersh on Abu Ghraib (p. 394)
Q16.4: Were you surprised by what you read?

Adversarial Persistence (p. 399)
Q16.10: What do you think of Paxman’s tactics?

Robert Siegel’s Interview with Michael Chertoff (p. 408)
Q16.14: Putting yourself in Siegel’s shoes, what would you have asked Chertoff?

Colbert at the 2006 White House Press Correspondents’ Dinner (p. 417)
Q16.18: Did Colbert go too far? Explain your answer.
Chapter 17

Pi (p. 430)
Q17.1: Compare the Wiki entry and GIF to the offerings of a printed encyclopedia, and identify the differences.

Father of the Internet (p. 441)
Q17.5: What problem was Cerf solving?