"...Worries about information overload are as old as information itself, with each generation reimagining the dangerous impacts of technology on mind and brain. From a historical perspective, what strikes home is not the evolution of these social concerns, but their similarity from one century to the next, to the point where they arrive anew with little having changed except the label..."
Showing posts with label media. Show all posts
Showing posts with label media. Show all posts
Wednesday, February 17, 2010
A History of Media Technology Scares, From the Printing Press to Facebook
Via LIS News and Slate:
Wednesday, February 3, 2010
On Plato
(This started as a comment and then got quite long, so I moved it to the main page)
I really am fascinated with, and have spent a lot of time ruminating upon, the arguments against written language contained in Plato's Phaedo. Part of this is because I studied a great deal of Plato in my undergrad, and was always fascinated by the idea that so much of what I was gleaning from that material was never intended for the record.
When Plato recorded (or created, depending on your view) the Socratic dialogs, he was primarily recording a method of teaching and learning that was not especially popular (the Apology is evidence enough of that). The Socratic method as we know it consists of group learning in a question-and-answer sort of environment. It is not front-led, in that each member of the group is encouraged to contribute both in the asking and the answering, but is certainly guided. The Platonic/Socratic argument against written knowledge is that it precludes this kind of inquiry. The written word, Plato's Socrates surmises, says the same thing to everyone. In that sense, then, it is dangerous, because one person may read a text in a way that encourages positive action and another may read it in an opposite way.
(Edited to add: After a comment, I noticed that this paragraph seemed somewhat contradictory. What I mean, and what comes from reading the Phaedo, is that Socrates' opinion is that while a text literally says the same thing to everyone, it cannot defend itself against misinterpretation. I hope that clears up my somewhat overtired musings.)
I wonder, as we move away from book-based learning and communication of ideas, what new sorts of teaching and learning will be created, and what old forms may be revived. In the world of blogging we already see much greater room for discourse within texts, with comments and message boards present on almost any blog and even many news sources. In things like Wikis, too, we see this ever-presented adaptability of text and information, and the arguments both for and against such flexibility. Even the medium in which our class is presented is one that is completely new, allowing for distance learning that also exists in a group setting.
With this constant flow of conversation, the originals are always adapting, both with the direct additions from the comments and the potential additions and modifications by the author as new ideas, questions, and information are presented by the readers.
What has been called the information age is, for our purposes, a new environment for learning, and I think it will be fascinating to see how the teaching professions and the lives of students evolve over the next ten or twenty years.
I really am fascinated with, and have spent a lot of time ruminating upon, the arguments against written language contained in Plato's Phaedo. Part of this is because I studied a great deal of Plato in my undergrad, and was always fascinated by the idea that so much of what I was gleaning from that material was never intended for the record.
When Plato recorded (or created, depending on your view) the Socratic dialogs, he was primarily recording a method of teaching and learning that was not especially popular (the Apology is evidence enough of that). The Socratic method as we know it consists of group learning in a question-and-answer sort of environment. It is not front-led, in that each member of the group is encouraged to contribute both in the asking and the answering, but is certainly guided. The Platonic/Socratic argument against written knowledge is that it precludes this kind of inquiry. The written word, Plato's Socrates surmises, says the same thing to everyone. In that sense, then, it is dangerous, because one person may read a text in a way that encourages positive action and another may read it in an opposite way.
(Edited to add: After a comment, I noticed that this paragraph seemed somewhat contradictory. What I mean, and what comes from reading the Phaedo, is that Socrates' opinion is that while a text literally says the same thing to everyone, it cannot defend itself against misinterpretation. I hope that clears up my somewhat overtired musings.)
I wonder, as we move away from book-based learning and communication of ideas, what new sorts of teaching and learning will be created, and what old forms may be revived. In the world of blogging we already see much greater room for discourse within texts, with comments and message boards present on almost any blog and even many news sources. In things like Wikis, too, we see this ever-presented adaptability of text and information, and the arguments both for and against such flexibility. Even the medium in which our class is presented is one that is completely new, allowing for distance learning that also exists in a group setting.
With this constant flow of conversation, the originals are always adapting, both with the direct additions from the comments and the potential additions and modifications by the author as new ideas, questions, and information are presented by the readers.
What has been called the information age is, for our purposes, a new environment for learning, and I think it will be fascinating to see how the teaching professions and the lives of students evolve over the next ten or twenty years.
Thursday, January 28, 2010
The FCC's Future of Media Project
The Federal Communications Commission is hosting an online discussion about the future of media in local communities. Additionally there is a blog with information and resources. You can learn more at http://reboot.fcc.gov/futureofmedia
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