Week 3: Synthesis of readings
Neil Postman etc
The broad overview I took away from all the readings was this:
Present day technology/Internet has come about due to the supervening social necessity of our times. Just as the telegraph and the telephone moved out of the ideation and prototype phase from the labs to the world at large due to the demands/needs (read supervening necessity) of early 19th and 20th century society.
This is the way human race has progressed from ideation to prototypes to performance and invented the wheel, the spinning jenny, steam engines, ships and planes, automatic weapons and the hydrogen bomb. Such invention are a collective process and take many years to come to fruition and are always being refined and improved upon by better ideas by a newer generation.
So the new media we are studying today is a phase in our ever-evolving existence. It is best studies in its historical context that Brian Winston offers in his book.
Such inventions/progress always has ‘unintended consequences.’ Neil Postman’s evocative examples are a case in point: From the Benedictine monks’ invention of the mechanical clock in the 13th century which led to the growth of capitalism to Gutenberg’s press that destroyed the monopoly of the church.
Similarly, the World Wide Web developed due to the needs of the military, is being used today for a many different functions (emails/games/news) and these can also be viewed as ‘unintended consequences.’
In essence I agree with some of Postman’s views, especially how the computer is wrongly being touted as the ‘technological messiah’ of our times. It is, as he says, a toy or a tool that helps us do many things efficiently. But it does not address the social ills/problems of our society. Therefore he calls all this technological development a “monumental waste of human energy and talent.”
Here is where I disagree with Postman. I think the only way we can create meaning in our lives and our society is by being cognizant and taking steps to rectify the negatives. It is up to us as a race, as people to do something about it. It is not the fault of computers/technology. For example, a modern day farmer has more time to spend with his family and improving his community life today due to the technological implements like hi-tech irrigation/harvesting technology. Now, whether he chooses to spend that extra time with family or community issues or fritter it away in drunken brawls at the local tavern is up to him. One can’t blame the computer for that! So our worst enemy is ourselves, not technology.
Also I don’t agree with Postman that life in the Middle Ages was better because people had a spiritual and social structure. He forgets to mention that it was also a time of feudal lords and papal authority and the common man was a mere serf and lived life in fear.
Id’ rather have the democracy of technology as pointed in “Around the World Wide Web in 80 ways.” It tries to track the diffusion curve and points out that more and more common people are using the Internet. Of course their motives define what kind of online activity they participate in.
Supplemental reading:
After reading Neil Postman, I immediately drew parallels with something I had read a while ago on a similar theme. The author, Knute Berger, talks about how to make sense of the media deluge and to listen to the media within us. He says, “while you may draw your data from the outside world, it is your internal processes that give it personal value.” The article was posted on the website of the non-profit, Context Institute, based in Langley, WA. One of its aim is creating a humane sustainable culture.
Surviving & Thriving In The Information Age: Ten suggestions for finding meaning in the chaos of the Information Age. By Knute Berger
http://www.context.org/ICLIB/IC23/Berger2.htm
The broad overview I took away from all the readings was this:
Present day technology/Internet has come about due to the supervening social necessity of our times. Just as the telegraph and the telephone moved out of the ideation and prototype phase from the labs to the world at large due to the demands/needs (read supervening necessity) of early 19th and 20th century society.
This is the way human race has progressed from ideation to prototypes to performance and invented the wheel, the spinning jenny, steam engines, ships and planes, automatic weapons and the hydrogen bomb. Such invention are a collective process and take many years to come to fruition and are always being refined and improved upon by better ideas by a newer generation.
So the new media we are studying today is a phase in our ever-evolving existence. It is best studies in its historical context that Brian Winston offers in his book.
Such inventions/progress always has ‘unintended consequences.’ Neil Postman’s evocative examples are a case in point: From the Benedictine monks’ invention of the mechanical clock in the 13th century which led to the growth of capitalism to Gutenberg’s press that destroyed the monopoly of the church.
Similarly, the World Wide Web developed due to the needs of the military, is being used today for a many different functions (emails/games/news) and these can also be viewed as ‘unintended consequences.’
In essence I agree with some of Postman’s views, especially how the computer is wrongly being touted as the ‘technological messiah’ of our times. It is, as he says, a toy or a tool that helps us do many things efficiently. But it does not address the social ills/problems of our society. Therefore he calls all this technological development a “monumental waste of human energy and talent.”
Here is where I disagree with Postman. I think the only way we can create meaning in our lives and our society is by being cognizant and taking steps to rectify the negatives. It is up to us as a race, as people to do something about it. It is not the fault of computers/technology. For example, a modern day farmer has more time to spend with his family and improving his community life today due to the technological implements like hi-tech irrigation/harvesting technology. Now, whether he chooses to spend that extra time with family or community issues or fritter it away in drunken brawls at the local tavern is up to him. One can’t blame the computer for that! So our worst enemy is ourselves, not technology.
Also I don’t agree with Postman that life in the Middle Ages was better because people had a spiritual and social structure. He forgets to mention that it was also a time of feudal lords and papal authority and the common man was a mere serf and lived life in fear.
Id’ rather have the democracy of technology as pointed in “Around the World Wide Web in 80 ways.” It tries to track the diffusion curve and points out that more and more common people are using the Internet. Of course their motives define what kind of online activity they participate in.
Supplemental reading:
After reading Neil Postman, I immediately drew parallels with something I had read a while ago on a similar theme. The author, Knute Berger, talks about how to make sense of the media deluge and to listen to the media within us. He says, “while you may draw your data from the outside world, it is your internal processes that give it personal value.” The article was posted on the website of the non-profit, Context Institute, based in Langley, WA. One of its aim is creating a humane sustainable culture.
Surviving & Thriving In The Information Age: Ten suggestions for finding meaning in the chaos of the Information Age. By Knute Berger
http://www.context.org/ICLIB/IC23/Berger2.htm
posted by sakina | Monday, October 31, 2005
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