Using your degree in
unconventional ways.
Building
Unusual Paths

> About Me Unstable Ground Building Anyway Your Choice
We believe in a safe, sustainable,
ethical approach to protein, fit for a
21st century food system.

> About Me Unstable Ground Building Anyway Your Choice
Human + Machine Decision
Making

> About Me Unstable Ground Building Anyway Your Choice
How data + info + game design
work together to inform action in
complex spaces. Link.

> About Me Unstable Ground Building Anyway Your Choice
Enough about me.
Let’s talk about you…

Desired
Degree
Requirement
Actual
Degree
Requirement
I’m not sure I fit the mold. This was made for me.

> About Me Unstable Ground Building Anyway Your Choice
Finding your way into
cross-disciplinary studies.

> About Me Unstable Ground Building Anyway Your Choice
What you can be is socially
determined and the options
keep changing. There’s a
secret menu if you want it but
there’s a few things you
should know first.
Sociology
Data Science
The CU Course Catalog
Internet
Porn

> About Me Unstable Ground Building Anyway Your Choice

About Me > Unstable Ground Building Anyway Your Choice
Sociology and sub-culture
Sociology: Socialization and social norms are powerful. What is deviant
and counter-cultural changes over time.

About Me > Unstable Ground Building Anyway Your Choice
Sociology and sub-culture
Sociology: Socialization and social norms are powerful. What is deviant
and counter-cultural changes over time.
Marian Wright Edelman: “You can’t be what you can’t see.”

About Me > Unstable Ground Building Anyway Your Choice
What can you be?

About Me > Unstable Ground Building Anyway Your Choice
The answer to this has evolved over time.
Society
University
Degree Program

About Me > Unstable Ground Building Anyway Your Choice
The answer to this has evolved over time.
Society
University
Degree Program

About Me > Unstable Ground Building Anyway Your Choice
The answer to this has evolved over time.
Society
University
Degree Program

About Me > Unstable Ground Building Anyway Your Choice
The answer to this has evolved over time.

About Me > Unstable Ground Building Anyway Your Choice
The answer to this has evolved over time.
Consider how the definition of engineering,
journalism, data science, and
interdisciplinary studies has changed over
time.
What gets its own section in the schedule?
What is considered part of something else?
Where does it end up?
Let’s look…
Link.

About Me Unstable Ground > Building Anyway Your Choice
What you can be is socially
determined and the options
keep changing. There’s a
secret menu if you want it
but there’s a few things you
should know first.
Sociology
Data Science
The CU Course Catalog
Internet
Porn

About Me Unstable Ground > Building Anyway Your Choice
Digital Anthropology
Tim Berners-Lee
… Makes the Internet

About Me Unstable Ground > Building Anyway Your Choice
Digital Anthropology
There’s the builder’s intention
and then there’s how it gets
used…
● SecondLife
● Messages Boards and
LBGT community during
AIDS
● Fandoms
● … Porn Mike Rugnetta
XOXO 2013
“So maybe this is a bit Internet utopian but I’m gonna allow
myself this pie in the sky dream that as the Internet …
continues to grow so too will challenges to the idea of normal.
The Internet is not a system beholden, at least not in the way
most broadcast is, [to] the dominant attitudes about culture
and, by extension, self-identification.”

About Me Unstable Ground > Building Anyway Your Choice
So back to you and your career

About Me Unstable Ground > Building Anyway Your Choice
An example of something weird
Want to build computational tools that give anyone mathematical superpowers.
Information Design
Data Science
Complex Adaptive Systems
Game Design

About Me Unstable Ground > Building Anyway Your Choice
Geworfenheit
Desired
Degree
Requirement
Actual
Degree
Requirement
20
10
20
20

About Me Unstable Ground > Building Anyway Your Choice
Reaching for the weird

About Me Unstable Ground > Building Anyway Your Choice
Reaching for the weird

About Me Unstable Ground > Building Anyway Your Choice
Reaching for the weird

About Me Unstable Ground > Building Anyway Your Choice
The sanctioned non-normative

About Me Unstable Ground > Building Anyway Your Choice
Sometimes there’s an invitation to something weird.
Data Visualization
(offered now)
Complex Adaptive Systems
(sometimes offered)
Digital Anthropology
(offered-ish)

About Me Unstable Ground Building Anyway > Your Choice
What you can be is socially
determined and the options
keep changing. There’s a
secret menu if you want it but
there’s a few things you
should know first.
Sociology
Data Science
The CU Course Catalog
Internet
Porn

About Me Unstable Ground Building Anyway > Your Choice
How did it go?

About Me Unstable Ground Building Anyway > Your Choice
Data Visualization Engineer Jobs Software Engineer Jobs
936 10,560
And the next thing is probably something for which we don’t
have a name.

About Me Unstable Ground Building Anyway > Your Choice
Final thoughts
We (or our socially mediated systems)
aren’t always in a place where we can
go down a desire path
… you don’t have to do it to be happy
… but sometimes there is room and
people to help
… and I want you to know that it’s an
option
… that doesn’t stop after graduation.

Finishing up…
Some jobs at
https://theeverycompany.com/join
Some toys at https://gleap.org.

Thanks!

“Book Tim Berners-Lee as a Keynote Speaker.” Thinking Heads, Thinking Heads, 18 July 2019,
https://thinkingheads.com/en/speakers/tim-berners-lee/.
“Clayton Lewis.” Computer Science, 20 Aug. 2021, https://www.colorado.edu/cs/clayton-lewis.
Colunga, Eliana. “Language Project Staff.” CU Language Project, University of Colorado,
https://duckduckgo.com/?q=eliana%2Bcolunga%2Bcu%2Bboulder&t=ffab&iar=images&iax=images&ia=images&iai=http
%3A%2F%2Fpsych.colorado.edu%2F~colungalab%2FCULanguage%2Fcontent_people_files%2Fcolunga.jpg.
Disney. “Young Carl Fredrickson Animated GIF (UP).” Pinterest, Pinterest, 2 Apr. 2015, https://www.pinterest.es/pin/417357090444338843/.
“Education: The Rising Cost of Not Going to College.” Pew Research Center's Social & Demographic Trends Project, Pew Research Center,
11 Feb. 2014, https://www.pewresearch.org/social-trends/2014/02/11/the-rising-cost-of-not-going-to-college/.
“Fran Drescher How Dare You Gif.” Popular Gifs, https://wifflegif.com/gifs/592301-fran-drescher-how-dare-you-gif.
Giphy. “Cat Dog Gif - Find & Share on Giphy.” GIPHY, GIPHY, 1 Aug. 2019, https://giphy.com/gifs/internet-cat-hMOUzHtFPtsru.
Giphy. “Sad Arrested Development Gif - Find & Share on Giphy.” GIPHY, GIPHY, 17 Oct. 2019,
https://giphy.com/gifs/arrested-development-michael-cera-george-bluth-3oEjI80DSa1grNPTDq.
Giphy. “Sound of Music Gif - Find & Share on Giphy.” GIPHY, GIPHY, 6 Sept. 2019, https://giphy.com/gifs/sound-of-music-30Poyd7yWZTPi.
Glass, Ira. “How We Talked Back Then.” This American Life, WBEZ, 12 May 2006,
https://www.thisamericanlife.org/312/how-we-talked-back-then.
Kake. “Desire Path, Woolwich.” Flickr, Yahoo!, 23 Sept. 2015, https://www.flickr.com/photos/67669458@N00/21693042712.
Sources

Sources
“Ken Anderson.” CU Engineering Magazine, 24 Oct. 2019, https://www.colorado.edu/cuengineering/ken-anderson.
Lloyd, Robert. “VidCon Moderator and YouTube Star Mike Rugnetta on the Internet of Ideas.” Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 16 Oct.
2015, https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/tv/la-ca-st-mike-rugnetta-idea-channel-youtube-20151018-column.html.
“Marian Wright Edelman.” Children's Defense Fund, Children's Defense Fund, https://www.childrensdefense.org/staff/marian-wright-edelman/.
oatsy40. “Stained Glass Window .” Openverse, Wordpress.org, 1 July 2014,
https://wordpress.org/openverse/image/75e8a195-47c9-4ff6-a211-e3524fadbdbe.
“A Quote by Marian Wright Edelman.” Goodreads, Goodreads, https://www.goodreads.com/quotes/536048-you-can-t-be-what-you-can-t-see.
Rugnetta, Mike. “Mike Rugnetta · Videos · XOXO.” XOXO, XOXO, 22 Oct. 2013, https://xoxofest.com/2013/videos/mike-rugnetta.
“Schedule & Catalog Archive.” Office of the Registrar, University of Colorado Boulder, https://www.colorado.edu/registrar/about/archive.
“Undergraduate Education Council.” Faculty & Staff, 18 July 2019,
https://www.colorado.edu/engineering-facultystaff/undergraduate-education-council.
“Why CU Boulder?” Summer Session, 7 Feb. 2020, https://www.colorado.edu/summer/why-summer/why-cu-boulder.