Dr. Shannon Lodoen is an academic in the field of rhetoric studying the relationship between modern society and the smartphone. Obtaining her doctorate from the University of Waterloo, she has continued to explore the dilemmas present at the intersection of society, technology (in the form factor of the smartphone), and the individual. Using her lens of rhetoric as a framework, Shannon seeks to understand why the world is the way it is by analyzing the role of persuasion in technology.

In this episode Robert & Shannon explore Shannon's ideas around the smartphone, the characteristics that make it unlike any tool or device in history, and what challenges the world is facing moving forward.

OUTLINE

0:00 - Introduction

5:01 - What is Rhetoric?

10:34 - Why Does Rhetoric Exist (Why Would We Want To Understand It)?

15:55 - Overt vs. Covert Persuasion in Design

20:34 - Design Principles & Affordance, Smart Phone Design Compared to Cell Phones

22:18 - Analog vs. Digital World: Media Convergence, Digital Reality & Loss of Constraints

26:30 - Why Writing Changes Depending On Medium: Long form or by Computer

29:25 - Context & Information Loss, Flattening of People - Emoticons To Win the Peace Prize?

40:01 - Younger Generations Losing Opportunity to Trust Themselves? Lonely but not alone

45:12 - Entertainment vs. Tools in Computing, Attention Economy, Homogenization

59:01 - Convergence and Loss of Awareness of Consequences?

1:07:03 - Problems with Design to Make Everything "Smooth"?

1:16:11 - Dragging Feet Against Change & Cultural Adaptions

1:28:08 - What Can We Do? What Does The Future Hold - Optimism vs. Pessimistic Outcomes?

MORE ABOUT SHANNON

https://twitter.com/shannon_lodoen

https://www.linkedin.com/in/shannon-lodoen-ab511310a

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