Made To Break ( Second Blog )

     It should forever be known that just about every single technological innovation will become obsolete as we progress into the future. The advancement of technology makes our dreams a reality the next day. The radio was once the only way reach massive audiences, but the "elimination of static and permitted realistic, high-fidelity radio broadcasting" along with the replacement of "vacuum tubes and wire circuitry with transistors" created the Television. ( pg 84 ) Just as the radio replaced the phonograph, the television nearly replaced the radio completely. Luckily for the radio, FM broadcasting was perfected and it played a crucial war during World War II, nicknamed the first electronic war.
     Although obsolescence plays a role in technology it also played a role in the suburban obsolescence. After the war many veteran soldiers came back to America homeless. The idea that old techniques and styles of housing needed updating became clear in places such as in Atlanta when, "2,000 people answered an advertisement for one vacancy." ( pg 129 ) The living standard of the past became obsolete when the Federal Housing Administration recommended national space, safety, and construction standards. What difference would these new improvements in housing make, if science threatened to obliterate mankind entirely? The the invention of the atomic bomb scared the crap out of many people especially Norman Cousins, who published the so called Modern Man is Obsolete. Its very interesting to see how the advancement of technology and science made other technology obsolete but at the same time could potentially make mankind obsolete.
     I guess mankind forgot about the notion of "Better Living...Through Chemistry." ( pg 124) America used this notion to free themselves from Japan's silk grip and create their own synthetic silk known as nylon. But nowadays the notion seems to be purposely design a product for failure and "introduce something that will make those products old fashioned, out of date, obsolete" for money! ( pg 153 )Where does better living come into play there?

Made To Break ( First Blog )

     When we look at the Egyptians pyramids we stare at amazing structures that have stood through generations. However, when people in the future look back at Americans structures will they stare at "pyramids of waste?" ( Giles Slade page 7 ) Americans don't have enough time and money to keep creating landfills to dump their electronic "trash". Many times though, the trash is actually equipment that still works. The only problem is that a new product is out in the market. The idea of disposability has infested itself in our minds and its the means of progress and change. Obsolescence is used to describe out of date consumer products and there are three types of obsolescence. These are technological, dynamic, and planned obsolescence.
     Technological obsolescence occurs when a major technological invention takes places to make the successor no longer needed. One example is when the electric engine was created for a car. This type of obsolescence is very time consuming and expensive, so it happens every once in a while. Dynamic obsolescence to me is the most crucial type because it involves changing the style of a consumer product to make it marketable to consumers. It is amazing how changing the availability of a color can bring the downfall of an old product and the new product is a musts have. Finally planned obsolescence is the technique of making products cheaper and less durable to keep consumers buying.
     No one could have predicted that people would become so dependent on materialistic products. " A few foresaw a world...in which the ever expanding taste for material goods and the theory of comparative advantage would keep us all running as fast as we could on a giant squirrel wheel." ( pg 9 ) New ethics were brought up in our society beginning with consumer goods such as Yankee watches. These dollar watches were only a dollar and even though damaged watches could be returned for a new one, consumers chose to throw away the item and buy a new one. The fact that the good was only a dollar beat the notion of returning the item and waiting several weeks for a new one. Society is still like this today, we buy cheap goods on a regular basis and wear them out. Once that occurs we throw away the good and replace it right away.
     If we look at the war between Ford and General Motors people could see how "style could date cars more quickly and reliably than technology." ( pg 36 ) Henry Ford was more focused on traditional values of making consumer good durable. But he soon learned that General Motors and their " New and Improved" ideology would bring them success. General Motors changed the style of their Chevrolet by expanding their color options and making the car more fashionable for woman as well. General Motors and many companies goal is to "hasten obsolescence, in 1934 the average car ownership span was five years, now [1955] it is two years. When it is one year, we will have a perfect score." ( pg 45 ) The big picture is that these companies will use advertisement to make its consumers by their products no matter how cheaply they are made. Their success comes from the fact that we keep going back to them to buy their goods over and over again. Meanwhile we keep adding to the electronic trash that will soon become a pyramid.

The World and Wikipedia ( Second Blog )

     Many of us enjoy Wikipedia because of its hassle free way to create an article in an online encyclopedia. There are many reasons why we love it, one of the reasons is because it creates a virtual nation. Knowledge is everywhere but some times people do not like to share their wealth on knowledge face to face. Thus Wikipedia serves as a virtual nation where "people can be as shy or anonymous as we like, and yet our work, good and bad is listed and others can explore." ( pg 120 ) Wikipedia lets us write about whatever we like. It is true that some work may become deleted because of its incorrectness or vandalism, but it creates an editing war that many enjoy. Many of us enjoy finding these old arguments on the talk pages, because even though pages may get deleted, "their shadows-the deletion discussions live on." ( pg 125 )
     Wikipedia is a place where everyone is equal! No encyclopedia on paper would allow just anybody to create an article. Lord Emsworth for example, a Wikipedian wrote about the British peerage system. Many people followed his work, but what many people didn't know was that he was a 16 year old from New Jersey. As a society we enjoy talking about ourselves and Wikipedia allows just that! A debate however arises, that people should not edit their own biog because in many instances people stretch or just simple lie about who they really are. This discredits Wikipedia as a legit encyclopedia. If their is an error or vandalism on your page, then correct it but any that is a matter of interpretation should be left untouched.There are good reasons why not to trust wikipedia, among these reasons are we don't know why or on what grounds people make the edits they do.
     "You can't trust Wikipedia when its facts are footnoted because the source is usually Wikipedia." ( pg 180 ) We will all use Wikipedia one day or another and that's because the internet in a way is throwing it in our faces. Google search engines bring up Wikipedia sites tops on its list. Well known editors and respected people are starting to cite Wikipedia and contribute to it to create a circle of knowledge.

The World and Wikipedia ( First Blog )

     I'll admit I have used Wikipedia in high school to get a research paper done. However, Wikipedia has not been my first choice for background information, due to its "anyone can edit text feature". I have always gone to Google and searched a specific topic and no matter what I'm searching for, Wikipedia seems to have an article pertaining to it. It seems strange that Google always has links to Wikipedia top on its results list, but as stated in Andrew Dalby's The World and Wikipedia, "Wikipedia was the simplest way to ensure that the average Google results page look useful." ( pg 86) Yes Wikipedia is a very useful tool, but its users must realize that anyone can create or edit these articles and the information is not always correct. I feel that Wikipedia has the potential to be an immensely useful tool if everyone use it correctly, as a "circle of knowledge." ( pg 21 )
     Encyclopedias have their origins thousands of years ago, thanks to Gaius Plinius Secundus. Secundus made notes of everything and spent every moment possible writing it down. The evolution of encyclopedias took off from there, but the problems were always the same. It was extremely difficult to revise encyclopedias make them up to date. A significant feature was added to encyclopedias, the ability to write and edit articles in Nupedia's ( an online encyclopedia written by experts ) supplementary site. This supplementary site became Wikipedia and it has brought along its benefits and dangers along.
     Some Wikipedians "do alot of planting, while others prefer to pull a weed here and there." ( pg 52 ) These planters or editors create articles that hopefully benefit the circle of knowledge, but sadly that is not always the case. For example, John Seigenthaler was a man who, without knowing, had a wiki page. In this page, "he was thought to be involved in Kennedy's assassination." ( pg 58 ) John was outraged by these false accusations and tried to find the culprit, but on what counts can the culprit be charged with. Wikipedia like many other websites has brought drama along. In a weird turn of events, a wiki page was created for the hoaxer and labeled 'Wikipedia hoaxer.' Wikipedia itself turned into a medium of punishment and harassment for the hoaxer who was just messing around. This technology such as self created encyclopedia, is allowing the world to edit reality. "The best feature of the site is that anyone can edit virtually anything contained on it. The worst feature of the site is that anyone can edit virtually anything contained on it." ( pg 50 ) The good and bad always come hand in hand.
    

Technopoly ( Second Blog )

     It seems nowadays that the only form of knowledge has official status when conducted by experts and experiments. We use technology to give us data, but information given by a computer in today's society for example is "equivalent to God's will." ( Postman pg 115 ) If we take a look at doctors, their whole role has changed due to technology. Why has their role changed? Simple, American medicine was attracted to new technology. At first doctors used observation and direct communication to figure out what was wrong with a patient. But the invention of the stethoscope, a machine, that bond between doctor and patient was broken. From there on, the invention of new technology has caused Americans to demand CAT scans for headaches and doctors have given in to these to avoid being seen as incompetent.
     If we look at computers, they have had a bigger impact. Computers seem to have no boundaries, it has come to the point that people compare us to machines. The only difference is that "we are thinking machines." ( pg 111 ) I personally think that we are nothing like machines, we have the ability to feel emotions and understand, as where a computer cant. America is most definitely a Technopoly and looking at how we act towards computers its no shock. When a computer gets infected with a virus, we try to make it healthy again so it can perform well. The computer starts to sound more and more like a human being. Society needs to step back and realize that we can live without technology and that it is just machinery!
     Technopoly has seriously damaged the significance of symbols in America. Symbols are very important because they "function like machines in creating new mind-sets and therefore new conceptions of reality." ( pg 128 ) Symbols are inexhaustible, but the more frequent they become used they lose meaning. Technology, especially advertisement has made a ridicule of commemoration days such as Martin Luther King and others, which is used for furniture sale days. Advertisement isn't to be blamed however, technology is. Humans need to become a loving resistance fighter, as Postman puts it. To become this, "keep close to your heart narratives and symbols that made the U.S. the hope of the world." Always remember the symbols such as the Statue of Liberty as the symbols of freedom and hope. Reject efficiency as the goal to life and remember that technology is something that should never become natural to us!
    

Technopoly ( First Blog )

     Many people in today's society think along the same lines as Thamus, the king of a great of Upper Egypt that "technological innovation has a one sided effect." ( Postman pg 4 ) The truth is that technology is good and bad, always both, however it just depends on how humans decide to use it. The problem with technology is that society is surrendering everything to it. It is becoming a religion for many people, in which the only way to move forward into the future is to accept technology or get left behind. For example if we look at the invention of the mechanical clock, it was created for monasteries. At first it served as "the technology that could provide precision to these rituals of devotion." ( pg 14 ) Soon this clock turned devotion from God, to the devotion for money. The clock became used for working hours and capitalism. 

     According to Postman their are three types of cultures, tool using culture, technocracies, and technopolies. Basically in tool using cultures tools were integrated into their society, at times some tools were not introduced such as the submarine because of the fear that it would not be accepted in God's eyes. In technocracies, tools attacked the culture, such as Galileo's idea that the sun did not move around earth but the earth moved around the sun. In scriptures it was said that the earth was in the center of the universe and everything revolved around it. But once inventions as the telescope came to existence, it brought along new ideas, many which went against Gods word. Finally a Technopoly is "totalitarian technocracy." ( pg 48 ) 

     The technocracy culture was a very important step because it was the start to the separation between moral and intellectual values. Science can explain many questions humans have, but not all of them such as why are we here ,so religion still sticks around. However, technopolies are rushing massive amounts of information that is not being controlled by anyone. It is true that cultures suffer from a lack of information, but too much information "information without meaning, information without control mechanisms," only makes the information we have useless!