Agree or Disagree?

Agree or Disagree?

            There are many discussions in Neil Postman’s book “Amusing Ourselves to Death”. Many in which I agree with and I also disagree with. Neil Postman’s book has good moral lessons inside of it, yet some of them I question if they could be just words of jealousy towards the technology of today.

            One of the ideas that Postman explains in his book is that typograph in America is decreasing rapidly with the use of technology such as television, computer, cell phone, I-pod. Which all these devices can go on social networking websites and other new distractions like Facebook, MySpace, YouTube, etc. I will admit to over excessively using these new devices and yes these are distractions that take up useless time, but I cannot help not to use them. Although just because I use these devices does not mean I do not agree with Postman. I agree with his statement. I think that people should use their time more wisely than spending all of it on Facebook. If there were to be a pole at any High School on “Who goes on Facebook regularly?” the percentage would probably be around 80%-90%.

            In Postman’s book he talks about how if society depends on their technology too much that all we will be reliant on is our technology all the time. We will not even know what to do if that situation comes and we would probably go crazy. I disagree with this idea that portrays from Postman’s book. I think people in our nation would at least have the decency to put down the device and solve your problems. In Postman's article he talks about how people become dependent on their technology and become very lazy in the way they communicate which can carry over into real life. I disagree with what Postman says in his article because sometimes when I am talking to a person on a social networking website, the person I am communicating with through chat is very talkative, yet when you meet that someone in person they can be very quiet and awkward.

            There are many parts of Postman’s book where reading and writing show up. He likes to call these two arts typograph. He talks about how if society is using their technology so much and completely ignoring books and writing what will our future be for our nation. Without writing we will lack logical organization. Postman says in his article that “In a culture without writing, human memory is of the greatest importance, as are the proverbs, sayings and songs which contain the accumulated oral wisdom of centuries.” Much importance comes from writing and if writing is stopped what would happen to society. I agree with Postman’s argument. Without writing some of the greatest musical melodies would not have been written, which is a big reason why I would have to agree with Postman. Although nothing really cannot replace writing since it is such a vital aspect in everyone’s lives.

            When Postman says the Age of Exposition in now turning to the Age of Show Business, he means that people are stuck watching useless news on their television instead of reading productive news. I agree that the news channels on television are putting useless information on their shows to try and get more viewers to convert to their news channels than the other. The other day I was watching the news on Fox 2 and the reporters were talking about the people in Egypt and the crisis it is there, then it cut to an American Idol clip and pretty much promoted the show so people would watch the network show. I am pretty sure that American Idol is definitely not news.

            In Postman’s book he talks about education and how schools should use more books and less technology in their curriculum. This is where I disagree with Postman, because I think that schools should help their students prepare for the new world of technology by letting them learn on a computer to surf the internet for resources and using new gadgets for learning purposes. Even though we should all read more books, students should not neglect new technology and substitute them for just books. Both would be fine, but no one has to pick one or the other. In a article about Postman he talks about the problems created by technology these days.

            In the last few chapters of Postman’s book it goes back to the Age of Show Business and talks about commercials and ads. It is how the media uses technology to try to get people to buy their products. Without pictures or pretty videos that people watch, a person would not get persuaded into buying a product as easy as if there was a picture. Postman quotes in the book “The television commercial is not at all about the character of products to be consumed. It is about the character of the consumers of products.” I agree with Postman on this one. What I think Postman is trying to say is that all the companies care about is getting you the buyer to purchase their products.

Famous Last Words

In the last paragraph of "Amusing Ourselves To Death" Neil Postman refers to Aldous Huxley. Huxley was trying to talk about the same references as Postman. In Huxley’s book “Brave New World” he says that the public is stuck in between “education and disaster”. When Huxley says “they were laughing instead of thinking, but that they did not know what they were laughing about” was to show that society will laugh at anything even if it is not funny just for entertainment. Postman is showing in his last paragraph that he cannot stop our society from becoming like this. Huxley tried and so did Postman, he can only hope for the best.

No Talk Day

-_- Being able not to talk at all and the only comunication was pictures on a white board and actions was one of the most hardest tasks I ever had to do. In classes I would raise my hand then think of how I was going to answer and sometimes I had to skip on trying to answer. A person would ask me a question and I would open up my mouth then stop myself and think oh yeah I can not talk at all. I felt like a robot and once I got out of the school I was yelling and screaming trying to catch up on all the number words I usually say in a school day.

Talking To Machines

The speech that Dr. Postman gave at Calvin College relates to chapter one in the book "Amusing Ourselves To Death" by talking about metaphors by the past people. He says this because people are worrying about the 21st century and gives good advice from some quotes of metaphors from people. In "Amusing Ourselves To Death" the Neil Postman says "our media is in our metaphors and our metaphors create the content of our culture".

In Dr. Postman's speech he also talks about how we a merly talking to machines more than human beings these days. This relates to what is said in the book "Amusing Ourselves To Death" about how humans are busy with social networks as Facebook, Twitter, Myspace, etc...He says according to another mans book "Being Digital" that we will soon be talking to a toaster or a doorknob and it will be just as comfortable as talking to an answering machine. This helps Postmans theory as that humans use the technolgy to much or used over an extent.

...Civility...

1.) Linda Chavez's intent with the first six words in her coloum is to show that civility is important when it comes to debates or arguments. Also that you should assert your voice, so people can listen to your opinion.

2.) Bellicose means warlike or hostile in manner or temperament. When Chavez uses this word in her coloum she is talking about the war and uses words that relate with war and politics. The term "campaign" comes from the French word for open land and was used in English to refer to the time spent on the battlefield or military maneuvers. Also she uses "rounds" for political debate and ammo in a gun. Another time she uses "firing a shot across the bow" which means issuing a strong warning.

3.) a)Chavez is trying to persuade the reading into beliveing that civility is extreamly important for debates and/or proving your point, yet sometimes going away from civility can make your point have more meaning and more powerful. Athough not to make the words you choose barbaric and/or clash together.

b)The best example for this in my opinion is "A well-meaning but foolish effort to replace the disgusting term "nigger" with "slave" in order to get the book past school censors deprives students from learning important lessons about both racism and the social mores of earlier eras. Diction in great literature tells us something about character, in both senses of the word, and tampering with it distorts the author's intent and interferes with the reader's understanding."

4.) I agree with Chavez's point that civility is important, yet going away from civility can give your point to prove more meaning. This go's for Mark Twain's book "Huckleberry Fin" and the word "nigger" to "slave" in his book just so it could be passed to the school so the students can read it. The students need to read the original version so the students can learn lessons on racism and social mores. This go's back to going away from civility can put deeper meaning into a work of liturature or speech.90 Even though going away from civility can help in strength it does not mean you should go out and use hateful words. This should be used when there is an arguement that a person and/or persons disagree with you then will be appropriate for the use.

GOING GOING GREEN!

1. "Have you figured out yet that I'm going as a cadaver, an anatomical gift?"

2. The way Semrau keeps information away from you helps because it makes the reader read with more depth and to reread some of his sentences to make you think what he is talking about. He uses words in sentences that everybody who has had to strive for a job has gone or is going through.

I believe the intent of the essay was that it is never to late to choose one of the three; conserve, reuse, or recycle. Although he talks about these three words as in yourself instead of nature. Waldemar "reuses" an old calling of his and that was to be surgeon. This is because he does not want to end his carrer and retire, so he goes back to his old childhood calling. He wants to go to Harvard Medical School to complete his task.

His writing strategy was a great one because he puts his own story to what he is trying to tell us, so people could relate maybe and keep reading. People also like reading storys instead of boring lectures tell someone to do a certain task they do not want to do.

RECYCLE!

Baby Jesus

The Lutheran Service book hymn 332 talks about Jesus's birth and how it all came to be in deep dramatic detail. It talks about how Jesus came from the VIRGIN Mary and because he did he is pure and fresh. We should all marvel about what had happened. The Kingdom had victory after Jesus had been born. Jesus shines with the Kingdom now that he is with his Father and he will be there eternally. Then we will be with him eventually when the time comes.

There is a great amount of emotion in this hymn also. What completes the sense of emotion is the great wide span on vocabulary that is used in this hymn. The words make the hymn come to life. One of my favorite parts of this hymn is "Wondrous birth! O wondrous Child! Of the Virgin undefiled!". This part of the hymn shows how such a success of Jesus's birth was and how it was such a great time in history. The whole hymn is an amazing one and really shows the wonderous birth of Jesus.