Wk3 Reading (...to Death)
Postman, N. "Informing Ourselves to Death." 1990.
It seems that any conversation I have about my computer science training or potential subsequent career, always ends up in a discussion about the larger question of computer presence in people's daily lives. I bark about the advantages, people thank the device for email and then and then complain that there is little else it's good for. The time waster vs. time saver comment comes to mind. I especially appreciate the 'ancient metaphors' this essay has employed. I hope that makes sense.
I love the fact that Postman begins with his mention of deceit on the part of the expert. This moral question has been kicking around for several years, but I've only discussed it with close friends and in the odd philosophy class (where it didn't go over well.)
The word postmodern keeps screaming in my head. Anyone else? Total subjectivity... or at least to the point of temporary consistency.
I recall the moment in computer science 101 when we discussed the term information. Perhaps it came in communication 101 as well. The professor asked the class what the word meant, we all gave definitions regarding the recording of something meaningful. Then without a blink the pedagogue told us that information and data was in fact just anything that happened to be input or output. Any bytes that were stored, sent or streamed were information.
I am so thankful that this type of sentiment is coming through the pipelines. Some times it's the computer novices just throwing their hands up and cursing the whole thing, but this is a really informed position with a lot of perspective offered. A good take on the conundrum.
It seems that any conversation I have about my computer science training or potential subsequent career, always ends up in a discussion about the larger question of computer presence in people's daily lives. I bark about the advantages, people thank the device for email and then and then complain that there is little else it's good for. The time waster vs. time saver comment comes to mind. I especially appreciate the 'ancient metaphors' this essay has employed. I hope that makes sense.
I love the fact that Postman begins with his mention of deceit on the part of the expert. This moral question has been kicking around for several years, but I've only discussed it with close friends and in the odd philosophy class (where it didn't go over well.)
The word postmodern keeps screaming in my head. Anyone else? Total subjectivity... or at least to the point of temporary consistency.
I recall the moment in computer science 101 when we discussed the term information. Perhaps it came in communication 101 as well. The professor asked the class what the word meant, we all gave definitions regarding the recording of something meaningful. Then without a blink the pedagogue told us that information and data was in fact just anything that happened to be input or output. Any bytes that were stored, sent or streamed were information.
I am so thankful that this type of sentiment is coming through the pipelines. Some times it's the computer novices just throwing their hands up and cursing the whole thing, but this is a really informed position with a lot of perspective offered. A good take on the conundrum.
posted by joshua at 11:30 PM
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