All media work us over completely. They are so pervasive in their personal, political, economic, aesthetic, psychological, moral, ethical, and social consequences that they leave no part of us untouched, unaffected, unaltered. The medium is the message. Any understanding of social and cultural change is impossible without a knowledge of the way media work as environments. All media are extensions of some human faculty – psychic or physical.-Marshall McLuhan
Part One
Although we created it, we did not exactly design it. It evolved. Our relationship to it is similar to our relationship to our biological ecosystem. We are codependent and not entirely in control…We are now all connected, humans and machines. Welcome to the dawn of the Entanglement.” (W. Daniel Hillis 251)
- Context: Explain the context of the article
- Claim: Describe what the quote is claiming.
- Comparison: Compare the quote to actual examples you have encountered and “test” out its accuracy. Is it always true? Just sometimes? For certain people (under 10 yr olds)? Certain situations?
- Knowledge: Explain how this quote increases your understanding of yourself, your culture, and the tech you are using.
In other words, how do choices in all thee areas lead to good or bad effects?
Some inspiration:
The Internet has changed the way we make decisions. More and more, it is not individual humans who decide but an entangled, adaptive network of humans and machines. (W. Daniel Hillis 229)
Speed plus mobs. A scary combination. Together, will they seriously reduce the accuracy of information and our thoughtfulness in using it? Somehow, we need what taking our time used to give us: thinking before we talk and questioning before we believe. I wonder—is there an algorithm perking somewhere in someone’s head right now that can act as a check against this growing hastiness and mobbiness? (Alan Alda p. 291)
I notice that I correspond with more people but at less depth. I notice that it is possible to have intimate relationships that exist only on the Net and have little or no physical component. I notice that it is even possible to engage in complex social projects, such as making music, without ever meeting your collaborators. I am unconvinced of the value of these. (Brian Eno p. 126).
I notice that more of my time is spent in words and language— because that is the currency of the Net—than it was before. ( Brian Eno p. 126).
The Internet is the greatest sex education machine—or the greatest pornographer—that has ever existed. Having spent time teaching at a Muslim university, where the torrent of Internet sex was a hot topic, I would not underestimate its impact on traditional societies. There is a saying that rock and roll brought down the Soviet Union; once the Soviet subconscious had been colonized, the political collapse followed easily. The flood of utterly uncensored images of sexual pleasure that reaches every corner of the world is certainly shaking the thinking of young men and women in the conservative societies I’ve worked in. (A Anderson p. 210).
You can also search Brockman’s book or the Internet for your own relevant quote–just cite it in a way that I can easily find it.
Brockman, John. Is the Internet Changing the Way You Think? (Edge Question Series) . HarperCollins e-books. Kindle Edition.
- Post Title: FirstnameL-Journal 2
- Post Format: Standard
- Post Category: Journal 2
- Featured Image: yes!!
try to find one relevant to your ideas by doing a google image search on related topics.