U of D Contest

Last year my submission earned honorable mention, which got me a very enjoyable luncheon and a gift certificate, also with a chance to learn a little from a few unique minds.  No barrier to making another submission this year, other than a deadline.

They want to know this season if I am More Than a Number.  Sometimes yes, sometimes no.  I think the better question would be whether the times when we should be unique and the times when we should be aggregated done appropriately.  The doctor would not be very effective if individuality were dismissed, but also not very effective if advice did not depend on mass experience treating others with overlapping features to the illnesses presented.  What I order from Amazon nearly always comes to me as specified.  That could not happen in the absence of a system that knows nothing about me.

And sometimes results of this distinction are not benevolent, as we are finding out with mass communications and social media.  Mass broadcasts generate individual responses.

And how do I feel about it.  U of D gives specific questions to answer in the submission.

• ​Reflect on a personal experience in which you felt you were treated like a number. How did the experience affect your life or the lives of others in your family and community?
• How have you reacted to the experience?
• What actions have you taken?
  
• What do you think is the eventual impact on society? Personal relationships? The political process?

These all need to be answered too.  I think I can do this by Thanksgiving.