One of my grandfather\u2019s favourite sayings is \u201cThe more things change, the more they stay the same\u201d. I found myself thinking of this phrase a few times in the readings and audio programs. In the chapter The Judgment of Thamus, the title character expresses skepticism about the development of writing, and in the Cambridge Forum they touched on the concerns of people about the introduction of codex books and the printing press. Today we are concerned with the effects of digital technology. It seems to me that for every new technology there is a concern with the lasting effects upon ourselves and our society. I feel that it is appropriate to question developments occurring in our society while at the same time to remember that we as a species are always changing and evolving and so things are not going to remain the same. <\/p>\n
One aspect mentioned by Dr. O\u2019Donnell is that new technology does bring a change, and even though it could be a large change, it is not as calamitous as people had though, at least so far. He used as an example the introduction of the printing press which had a very large impact on society, especially in regards to diminishing the authority of the Catholic Church (Cambridge Forum, 1999). Postman (2011) also makes a good point about how we don\u2019t know how our new technologies will be used in the future. His example was of the clock and how it was intended to be an instrument to assist the monks for the timing of prayers, and now the world runs on clocks and time management. I think this shows that there is no way to know for sure the outcomes of integrating a particular piece of technology.
\nAnother aspect that was brought up in the Cambridge Forum was that of balance. That each piece of new technology comes with benefits and detriments. One example of this is the amount of information that is available through the internet. This can be a good thing, as noted by Willinsky (2002) the more information available to people the easier they can make informed decisions. He explains that an informed public will be to contribute more to the democratic procedures. However, it is also possible to be overwhelmed by all of the information that is around. It can be exhausting to wade through it all to find the authentic information. As mentioned in a response to a question about the validity of websites at the Cambridge Forum, there is good information out there but there is also a lot of trash. I really liked how they handled this question because they didn\u2019t say how bad the internet was for producing this \u201ctrash\u201d but instead explained how there has always been difference of opinions and interpretation of facts and all the internet has done is put you in more contact with these varying pieces of information. I think this is really where education comes into effect, to learn how to critically judge a piece of information and decide which sources are reputable. <\/p>\n
On an episode of Quirks and Quarks, Dr. Zuk stated that something to the effect of \u201cevolution is a continuous process with no perfection\u201d (McDonald, 2013). Even though she is an evolutionary biologist and was discussing human evolution on a biological level, I feel that this comment is applicable to our changing society and the technologies that bring that change. Although it is right to be concerned about massive societal changes, I think it is also important that we learn from the paradigm shifts that have already taken place. In our culture writing is so commonplace it is almost impossible to imagine life without it. Are our memories worse because of it? Probably, but the human world keeps moving along. Above all, we need to be aware of our history but also move and change, hopefully with some critical thinking to which changes we would like to keep and which can be let go. <\/p>\n
Sources:
\nCambridge Forum. (1999). From papyrus to cyberspace.
\nMcDonald, B, narr. \u201cPaleofantasy with Dr. Marlene Zuk.\u201d Quirks and Quarks. CBC Radio 1. April 17, 2013. Retrieved from http:\/\/www.cbc.ca\/player\/Radio\/Quirks+and+Quarks\/ID\/2381902835\/
\nPostman, N. (2011). The judging of Thamus. Technopoly: The surrender of culture to technology. Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group. Retrieved from https:\/\/books.google.ca\/books?id=gYrIVidSiLIC&printsec=frontcover&hl=en#v=onepage&q&f=false
\nWillinsky, J. (2002). Education and Democracy: The missing link may be ours. Harvard Educational Review, 72(3), 367-392. Retrieved from http:\/\/pkp.sfu.ca\/files\/Democracy.pdf<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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