Umberto Eco
It seems to be that Umberto is standing for the side of using technology to promote the existence of books in the future. I like how Eco relates to the new technology used today for skills similar to ones in the past. When writing first came around, it was believed that the skills of memory would degrade because humans would not have to exericse these skills anymore. As writing progressed, it seemed to help advance human skills. This is similar with today's technology; by using tapes, CD's, television, and much more, an individual can learn a large amount in a shorter period of time, compared to reading a book. The points at the end of the article are very logical in their reasoning. Books overcrowd to quickly in shelves, destroy trees valuable to the environment, are very expensive, and are just getting beat out by the new technology. Although basing everything on technology shows difficulty in the future. Umberto explains by using another story, that a person that still knows the multiplication tables in the future could be wanted for far more then the average person due to their ability to function during power shortages.
posted by Alex at 12:38 PM
10 Comments:
We really haven't talked about the issue of the environment yet and how that is getting destroyed through us making more books. I think it is a good point to consider and i would be willing to start reading from a computer screen if it means saving the world that we live in.
Interesting post... I never thought of things that way before, like the whole writing and losing memory thing from a looong time ago. Who's to say that technology won't improve humans by relying less on books and more on technology. Things like the multiplication tables should still remain part of the elementary curriculum because it would be hard to function as a normal human being without being able to do simple calculations in your head. Kids can use technology to learn.. in fact I encourage it.. but some things just shouldn't change.
This is a very well written response. I agree that books have become combersome to carry around and are much better when easily accessed online. If there were to be a sort of online library with vast resources, this could help the average student with his or her research paper. Although there are many sites which have excerpts from a book, there are no ligitimate sites (which are free to the American public) in which to obtain an entire publication. Also, trees produce oxygen as well as shelter for animals and so the unneeded cutting of our forests must stop. Ballin'!
I agree that technology will only increase the amount of knowledge that people have access to. People might tend to get lazy, but they will not have to work as hard to pursue knowledge. And digital media will help the environment by saving trees.
Enjoyed your post, seems like we keep on getting back to the issue of what the future is going to hold for books and learning in general...I do aggree that somthing has to change because books are way to expensive, and they do waste alot of trees and with global warming we need those trees..yup i think thats all
Books do take up a lot of space and kill a lot of trees. But who really wants to strain their vision and read everything they need to know on a computer screen. I definitely agree that the publication of new books is taking a toll on the environment but then i figure we can just plant more trees...even though it takes them about 20 year to grow i think it is still impossible for us to cut every tree in the country down for the books we will make in that same amount of time!
I never thought about the fact that we waste a lot of paper by not reading a book online, as you pointed out in your response. We've only discussed so far in class the fact that computers will probably take over for books eventually, and that we all liked books because there was "just something about them" or whatever. The environmental aspect of books vs. computers is an interesting point.
I agree that with using technology like TV's, computers, CD's, and tapes a person can learn a lot more then reading from a book because technology moves so much faster. I also believe that books and other publishings take away a lot of trees but most likely I can see we won't do anything about it until it actually becomes a threat. I think it is time to start moving away from paper related readings. I know some people are used to books and magazines but we have the resources to make these readings electronically visable and it will only get better. For example you might see in a movie a cylinder device that allows you to pull out a plastic looking see through page where you can download reading material wirelessly.
i like the fact about how a person who can do multiple facts tables without a calculator would be more useful. it makers complete sence and even though i couldnt tell you what 7x7 is i could use a computer or calculator to figure it out. but the more and more i look back at what i learned in elementry and high school i realize that having that kind of knowledge is much more faster to spit out than it would be to take the time and get out a calculator or turn on a computer. i also think that no matter what century we enter we will always have vast technology and i feel that eco is wrong, i think that someday there wont be the simple things like books anymore. i think that people will have everything at their fingertips with the push of a button.
I do understand the concern about printed books destroying trees, but I still feel that books are important. I personally love to read and I cant imagine not having books. I do not like to read off of a computer and feel that no matter how adnvanced technology gets, reading just wouldnt be the same without the hard copy of a book in my hand.
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