In the Agora: Technology and the March of Mankind

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October 25, 2005

Technology and the March of Mankind

David Wayne nicely extends a discussion between David Darlington and me on what impact certain technologies have on intellectual growth. I briefly discussed a new Steven Johnson book and asked, "Does TV Make You Stupid?" David countered with an excellent review of Neil Postman's book titled "Amusing Ourselves to Death." Using Postman's thesis, Wayne turns the focus from television to the internet and blogging:

This is my way of saying that, though I think we are seeing and will continue to see sexier technologies than blogging, the sexier technologies will not necessarily quash the desire to read. Postman was afraid that, in a graphically driven age, people would lose their ability to think. In some ways this is true, I am quite certain that thousands, maybe millions of minds have been turned to mush by technologies like film and the internet. Yet, the same technologies that have turned many minds to mush have revealed brilliance in the minds of others.

This is what we are currently seeing in blogging. Yes, there is enough drivel in the blogosphere to fill an ocean, but blogs have revealed many great minds that most of us would never have known had it not been for blogging.

History shows that nearly every great advance in civilization was preceded by an advance in communications technology - from the earliest invention of language to the printing press to the telephone. In the Middle Ages, for instance, books were rare commodities. Monks and others spent lifetimes copying texts by hand. Knowledge was only available to the few who could afford books. But once Johannes Gutenberg invented the printing press, the common man had firsthand access to knowledge.

Not only could an ordinary person read his own copy of the Bible, but he could read it in his own language - German, French or English - rather than in Latin. As we all know, this led ot the Reformation and tremendous changes in Western culture. The comparisons between the internet and the printing press may be the most cliche comparison in modern times, but I think it's so widely used because it's so very true. The printing press may have improved the spread of knowledge more than any prior invention in history, and I think we'll soon find that the internet has come closest to offering a similar advance.

Of course just as the printing press brought the common man a Bible, Plato, and Ayn Rand, it would also soon bring Playboy and Hustler. Kristie Vosper, Rhett Smith, and Joe Carter take a deeper look at those implications.

Posted by Joshua Claybourn at October 25, 2005 12:05 PM

Comments

Playboy and hustler are the other side of the coin of the Bible.

More accurately, of religion/societies efforts to suppress mans basic energy -which is Sex.

The more religion tells man to suppress sexuality, the more Homosexual activity will arise, the more pornography will arise.

It is like the energy of sex becomes warped and twisted when suppressed - you cannot destroy it, keeping it bottled up, or pushed down actually makes it stronger - and it will find a way to come out - as we see with the 900 billion + porn industry.

It is easy to see, no study is needed. When you tell a child he cannot do a certain thing, this very thing becomes more desirable to him. Anyone with a child knows this. Anyone who observes themself can see this as well. His desire to usurp your imposed limitations will possibly even come out in non-related situations - such as breaking a glass, spitting water, smacking another sibbling.

My vote, though, is always for greater information and availability of that information - be it hustler, the bible, or the Rig Veda.

Censorship of information is tyrannical. Even with absolute toilet information. Mans capacity to judge and descern for himself, as an individual must be respected and cultivated - not subterfuged by any organization - islam, christianity, hindu - which wishes to control the input of ideas/thoughts within individuals.

Abundant historical proofs show the absolute desolate experiences which fruit from the seeds of censorship.

Remember the law of momentum. Hate creates hate, love creates love - and so forth. Censorship will create more and more censorship.

Posted by: Michael at October 25, 2005 01:40 PM | permalink

It should be "between David Darlington and me" (object of the preposition), rather than "between David Darlington and I."

Posted by: nitpicker at October 25, 2005 02:04 PM | permalink

gracias

Posted by: Joshua Claybourn at October 25, 2005 02:09 PM | permalink

Are you sure about that ?

David and I

or David and Me?

Posted by: Michael at October 25, 2005 02:42 PM | permalink

Joshua: I'm not sure that Ayn Rand is such a good thing, and I wouldn't put her on the same level as the Bible and Plato.

Posted by: Matthew Brown at October 26, 2005 04:04 AM | permalink

Joe Carter makes a salient point in the article you linked: we often assume that the solution to the ills of technology is more technology (such as filters to keep out internet p0rn), when in reality the best filter is a fully developed (or redeemed) adult morality that finds certain sins unappealing. Personal responsibilty can never be hacked.

Posted by: David at October 26, 2005 08:59 AM | permalink

amen!

cultivate personal responsibility and individual judgement.

those who want to 'do away' with things like porn, want to do so because inwardly they feel too compelled to participate. they want it gone so their desire for it will go - but that wont work either.

Posted by: Michael at October 26, 2005 04:53 PM | permalink

October 25, 2005

Technology and the March of Mankind

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