BASIC COURSE INFORMATION
As an online course, the writing that we do in English 305 is substantially
different from a face to face course. As such, it is imperative that you
understand the course style from the start. Nearly all of your work in this
course will be posted on the course blog. EACH WEEK YOU WILL HAVE THREE BLOG
ASSIGNMENTS:
1. A BLOG ENTRY,
2. A READING, AND
3. A WRITING ABOUT
THE READING.
Your reading and writing on the blog must be completed by
the Friday (by midnight) of the week in which the reading falls. You have all week each week to complete the reading and writing for that week, but there are no late assignments accepted, so be sure to be disciplined about the
work from the start.
Let me re-state that point; if you do the assigned
work before or during the week it is due, you will receive full credit. If you do the work after the Friday of the week it is assigned, you will get zero credit for that week.
I think that Postman’s point is quite valid and relevant in the sense that we are absolutely oversaturated in information we are not going to use as motivation for action. We get information from everywhere: radio, television, newspaper , friends, family, etc. The information we get is usually thrown at us and we typically do nothing except let it in one ear and out the other. Although, there are some people who do feel encouraged to act, the truth is that most don’t. I agree also that the potency of news/ information we receive has been diminished and many people are complacent with that fact. I think ideally news should incite some sort of action so that people could feel more involved in positively changing something they do not approve of. Postman stated the impact of technology has only detrimentally impacted our information to action ration and that is quite valid as well. Technology , in the form of our iphones, smartphones, laptops and ipads, has given us access to so much information that some people are in fact “impotent”. Some people become comfortable with the information overload and completely withdraw themselves from any action to help fix or confront the problem they care about. I see how this may some cause for concern.
ReplyDeleteYou are completely right that most of the information we receive just goes in one ear and out the other. This is especially true for the news that we receive on a daily basis. We are informed of so many troubling news everyday and only a minute portion of people actually take charge and take action. Even though we all hear information that is deeply concerning, the truth is that most of us will do absolutely nothing about it.
DeleteI believe that Postman is absolutely right. The part where he talks about how most of our news is inert, and that we cannot meaningfully act upon our news was very unsettling. Our sources of information are vast, and we simply do not act, nor have the motivation to act upon it. Relating to the article from a few weeks back, it seems as if the readily available information is treated as less important as more esoteric works. Now that this free flowing information is much more disseminated, we are moving towards a culture in which information is devalued, and not as important. However, it seems as if humans are more socially up to date regarding current events. The proliferation of mass news has definitely helped with globalization, but whether or not globalization,with all of its pros and cons, is good for society is another question.
ReplyDeleteYes, I believe that Postman’s ideas are valid and relevant. We are in an age where we want to hear all the bad news or gossip, yet do not do anything about it. No one takes a stand anymore, but really when you hear one thing after the next of horrible things happening, where do you begin when it comes to helping? I do believe we are on information overload, and different events or problems happening in the world no longer phase us. It seems the most effort people put out anymore is posting it on their Facebook to Pray for this problem and “repost” to their walls. Or I see all the time, people posting on their Facebook’s “missing children”. I see all these horrible things people are posting on Facebook that when I see the same post again a year later, I wonder if it is even real. There is so much information and news thrown out there at people that it becomes too much for us to process. Not only is there new information constantly being thrown at us, but every time we find out something new that works, it is being replace by something else. For example, I will try to read up on a new effective way to lose weight, when the following week I find out that it was irrelevant and that this “new” way is the best. Information is constantly being replaced by some other fact that I start to just tune it out. It gets confusing on what to believe, listen to, or follow up on, so how are we supposed to take action?
ReplyDeleteI absolutely agree with Postman, our lives are changing due to information overload. This abundance of information is often ignored if it does not apply to us, and that seems to be a continuous problem in our society. We don't have time to process and become involved with everything that we are presented with. I know for myself, that I cannot even watch the news at night because of how it makes me feel. It is one tragedy after another, and how could I choose who or what to help. Instead, I volunteer when I can, dontate when I can, and I focus on raising my daughter well.
ReplyDeleteI aboslutely agree with you on the news being tragedy after tragedy. I find the news depressing and I don't find an intrest to watch it.
DeleteI do as you do focus on my own life and help out in whatever way I can.
True, I agree with your statement. I am also a person that likes to skip the news because I believe that they do not present us with accurate information and it can turn out to be an unhealthy situation as well. I have also noticed that bad news overcome the good things that are happening in our communities. It can be depressing at times to know that there are careless individuals in our community when all we can do is work hard, take care of our family, and serve the community as we can.
DeleteI believe Postman’s ideas are valid. I believe this because there are always two sides to everything, and one maybe that all this technology is negative, but the other side is positive. Postman’s makes his point very clear we all think differently and therefore we will always see two sides to each spectrum. This type of situation happens every day, we could never agree on everything. I believe not being able to agree with everything has to do with how we were raised. How we were raised has everything to do with how we think, we all live different lives and we think differently. I might not like to watch the news because all I see are negative things, but my neighbor might watch the news every morning because she stays on top of all information. I actually see the news as depression and she loves it and watches it every morning. I would never be able to do that.
ReplyDeleteLike the saying goes every mind is its own world. I have to agree with that. We can’t disagree when we ourselves haven’t seen every angle of that other persons view.
I agree with Postman’s argument. It is true that we perceive most of the information that we receive on a daily basis as inert. The advancement of technologies has furthered the triviality of information and has diminished the “information-action ratio”. Through several sources we receive infinite amounts of information that we often consider useless. For the most part, when we receive information we no longer take action in response to it. Even when we listen to information that concerns us we eventually forget about it and move on. The fact of the matter, as Postman indicates, is that although we can make a difference we often choose not to. Although there are people that do make the effort and do something, most of us do absolutely nothing. He mentions that before telegraphy came into existence, the information that people knew about had “action-value.” However, now we face the problem of information overload because everything has become the context of news. A perfect example of this can be seen on daily morning news stations. Morning news consists of several different anchors that present quick flashes of global, national, local and other information which is way too much information for viewers to absorb. However, this overload of information is not only seen on the morning news, its everywhere. Through television, the internet, the radio and other technologies we receive short specs of information that no longer intellectually challenges us or fazes us.
ReplyDeletePostman's ideas are valid to some extent. He touched few points in his struggle to understand the diminished state we’ve gone to via technology. First, the gigantic amount of irrelevant news and information our ears collect every day makes it impossible for our mind to properly think about, analyze and down the road take an appropriate action. Second, with the numerous news we get daily, we lost the sense of importance and the sense of critical thinking. All what grasp our attention are the celebrities’ trivial stories and violence news, which we can gossip about it with no action, not even asking ourselves a simple plain question: what would we benefit out of what we hear or what should we do toward this issue? Third, the increased number and speed of news we get daily, dramatically reduced information/action ratio and made an action an unattainable dream. However, I disagree with Postman in his generalization tone he is using in writing this article, because not all people are passive nor every piece of information requires us to react. Also, taking an action depend on the knowledge of the person or group regarding the issue. For example, if I have a degree in philosophy and heard in the news that Paclitaxel, a cancer chemotherapy drug, works by slowing or stopping cancer cell growth, I would have nothing to do, to investigate and fully understand this subject, except to cast a ballot for someone who claims to have some plans, knowledge, as well as the power to act in that field of study. Instead of cursing the darkness, Postman should have tried to light a candle by educating us of how and when we may positively react or at least give us some guidelines that enlighten our path in the darkness of news and information we gain every moment.
ReplyDeleteYou raised a good point. Constructive criticism is always best.
DeleteI agree with a lot that your saying. You make very good points with your critical analysis of the article that I didn't see in that perspective, but I do now.
DeletePostman’s ideas are still relevant in that we do live in a society that more closely resembles Huxley’s vision. While many laws enforced by the government do control our life, our own pleasure seems to get in the way of normal, healthy living. In a time where drugs, alcohol abuse, and gambling run rampant as what could be considered a “good time,” they destroy not only the lives of the people addicted, but also those around them.
ReplyDeleteIn terms of the media and news, it does affect our lives—but not necessarily in a way that enriches us. Instead of reading the newspaper, people get their news from Inside Edition, The Insider, or a website like Perez Hilton. This kind of news is irrelevant to how life is supposed to be lived.
So much information is given as “news” that the actual news does not seem as important. Instead of deciding what we want to happen in our country, we blindly vote for a person who seems to stand for what we want. This allows people to not have to consider the real politics and what problems actually need to be solved.
I believe Postman’s ideas are valid and relevant because we as a society have been overlapped and so used to seeing negative news that we hardly are impacted by them anymore. All the negative news coverage has become a daily part of life that people hardly get reactions from it. I think we have too many sources of information coming all at once that we learned to ignore the news simply because it gets exhausting. Now and days we can get our information from everywhere such as radio, television, newspaper, and etc. Perhaps because of this reason we hesitate to act upon events occurring because it has lost its value and credibility. I believe some people dawdle when it comes to helping out when something bad occurs because they believe that if they saw this tragedy on the news somebody else must’ve seen it too and they can do something about it. I think this occurs because if you notice every time you watch the news or hear it, tragedy after tragedy occurs that desensitize the public. Being exposed to so many tragedies, makes people less sensitive because it becomes a norm. For instance, when Postman states on what we plan to do for all these certain types of events going on, he mentions that we will do nothing. Frankly, we rather cast a ballot and have someone else deal with the issue, unfortunately this isn’t something consistent, only happens every two or four years. It seems tricky how this works because you state your opinion on specific topics/news, and then your opinion becomes nothing more than news, and you are stuck not being able to do nothing about it, so your right where you started.
ReplyDeletePostman’s ideas are valid and certainly relevant. Information that is shared to the public by the news and media does raise many questions and provides no solutions. The advancement of technology has also created issues in regards of the amount of information available to everyone. I think its amazing how news can be spread among the internet in a matter of seconds. Obviously, the more individuals comment about it, the less credible the news becomes. The information-action ratio was definitely a great stage since people knew that what was brought to their attention was something that they can focus on and find solutions. Taking an active role is important when dealing with community issues, even though some individuals may not be in the position to take action due to certain life circumstances. However, for the individuals who enjoy and attain a high level of community involvement, like to take actions and see results. In today’s world, it is something that is so hard to do. Taking part of a rally, petition, or even a strike cannot only take time but it takes a great deal of energy and patience to see any changes take place. Now, Orwell and Huxley’s fears are also relevant to some of the beliefs society holds. While reading about their fears and beliefs, I was able to think of situations when I can say I was a victim of being controlled by inflicting pain or my fear of the truth being concealed from me. I find these readings to be so interesting.
ReplyDeleteI completely agree with Postman's argument. I do agree that there is so much information being put in front of the public through radio, television, and the internet. Negative news in particular is in such high numbers it does not bother us. It so shocking how much bad news we consume and yet we do nothing about it. I do not know what happen to the debate over whether we should allow the televising of convicts being put to death, but now that I really think about it, I do not think it will matter, for we are so desensitized.
ReplyDeleteI believe that postman's perspective is a very accurate depiction or what our society is coming to be because his statement's of society not wanting to read, loving their oppression and being overloaded with information and not acting on it, is happening. For example, our society does depend on the internet for information and news about anyhing. Like from our previous readings stated that people are skimming through articles on internet without actually reading them is a great example of no need of banning books anymore because they probably would not be read. Also, our books are becoming electronic which feeds flame to the fire of being more dependent on internet and technology. In addition, our sociey is not about helping one another in need, especially without benefits. For example, our society loves to broadcast violence and racist acts but only encourages society to watch in order to avoid those incidents from happening to them. Instead what society should be doing is broadcast the bad news and how to act together to prevent it from reoccuring. Now, society also rather waste their time watching the lives of others like in the Kardashians or Jersey Shore when we have greater concerns to look out for in society. Thus, I believe that there has to be a president with great persistence and leadership to help us from our own oppression and to help society be more involved helping each other.
ReplyDeletePostman’s ideas are valid and relevant to today’s society. One of the main reasons for that is that more attention is placed on negative news. For instance, in every day news channels more time is dedicated to the violent crimes and deaths than to news regarding success stories. The sad part of this type of acceptance for broadcasting violent acts is that many people will not do anything to make a change. Individuals are willing to complaint about certain situations but are not willing to make a change. It definitely is necessary to appreciate those individuals that are dedicated to making a change in society. Without a doubt, information has always been and will continue to be an influential part on society.
ReplyDeletePostman's ideas are very valid and relevant. I feel now that news is an information overload. We have many channels entirely DEDICATED to the news, even tailored to one's personal political preferences. While the news is a talking point for many individuals ("Did you hear about...?", "Isn't it terrible what happened...?") most of the time the subject is a depressing one, and contributes to a more high-strung and depressed society.
ReplyDeleteI found his points about Huxley and Orwell to be interesting, though. While I do not believe our society to be fully at one extreme or another, we seem to be somewhere in the middle and, depending on world events, slightly tip one way or another at times.
I believe Postman's ideas are extremely valid and relevant. I myself have not read Aldous Huxley's Brave New World, but I have read Orwell's 1984. Just from the information given and the excerpt from the chapter of Huxley's book, I would say this book is very relevant with our world today. Postman's ideas relating Huxley's book to the modern world are very accurate and have a scary sense of reality about them. One of the topics in particular, which discussed the abundance of information, even reminded me of the article we discussed about Google in which the massive amount of information at our disposal actually hurts us in more ways than it helps. In some respects people do have too much knowledge available, often times the wrong information which leads them to ignore help from others, ignore ideas from other sources, and ignore blatant correct information. Postman's ideas are dead on with the current reality of the world and personally, it does scare me in some ways.
ReplyDeleteThe postman's ideas was extremely relevant. With technology so advanced, we are able to access world wide new at any time and any place. The postman gives an excellent example of how little we can actually do regarding the world wide problems. We can vote, and only every 4 years. As a society, we do expect are larger problems to be solved for us. We can watch the news, but in reality we know we will not be a part of planning a solution. The news seems to report one of two issues, either the larger ones in which we wait to see what the government will decide or negative, hurtful stories.Either way the news they broadcast does not appear to stimulate our brains.
ReplyDeleteIt does seem to make people think they are smart because they watch the news. The information is useless if there are not follow up actions. I am not very active myself, but I am starting to feel a little bad about that.
DeleteWhile Postman's insights are extremely valid and relevant, in fact so relevant they caused me to laugh as I read this, I also found them to be self-defeating. He clearly believes that the information glut of the 21st century, or information age, has had a negative effect on the information to action ratio, and yet his very argument is an example of this. The series of rhetorical questions implying the reader's impotency to do anything about the information they read could also include "what do you plan to do to balance the lopsided information to action ratio created by the information glut?" In other words, Postman's ideas also fall into the category of information that isn't necessarily intended to produce an outcome.
ReplyDeleteI believe that what Postman had to say is true; that we have many thoughts about many things but will most likely never do anything about them. You always hear people discussing big issues and what should be done to solve them, but do you ever see anyone but politicians actually doing anything or even pretending to. That is the worst, that people can act like they know it all and have the answers to most of life's problems but, in reality, they don't know the first thing about what is really going on or how to solve the issue. Another thing that Postman touches upon is that he believes Huxley's vision is the right one in that what we love will be what destroys us because people love their possessions more than their fellow man and it should not be that way. We should be more willing to help one another than more worried about how to get the latest new thing. People place too much priority in their possessions than they do other people.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Postman. We live in a society where people try to hear as much news or gossip as we can and we don't really do anything about it. We just hear and move on. There is so much information that is easily retained by just turning on our phones or getting in our car and driving to work. We all have busy lives and we may hear news that is tragic and just shrug it off. We may get so much information that we don't really need and when we get news that is really important we kinda just overlook it. I notice that some TV stations like to show high speed chases. They do this to warn others so that they won't go out in danger. Sometimes the high speed chase is happening in someones town. Another reason that TV stations broadcast these chases is because they know people will tune in to watch something dangerous. Its disappointing to think that people might want to see someone injured on live television.
ReplyDeleteI read "A Brave New World" in high school, and now wish I would have paid more attention to it. I have never read "1984," but by reading Postman's comments on the two books I can tell that he is right. We are more likely to create our own demise by choosing to be distracted. I have heard people make fun of local news stories as if they are not important somehow because they do not affect the whole world. These people wonder how little problems in their own town are reported over larger national or world issues. However, these same people do nothing to aid or change what they hear about national and world issues. They could actually be a part of local change. They could affect their community, but would rather feel like they are more informed or knowledgable only because they watch the news. They know what is going on without being an actual part of it. I must say that I do this myself to a degree. We have come to the point where we often do this to people we know and love as well. We passively send birthday greetings and condolences of loss to our friends and family through Facebook and text messages rather than sending a card or making a phone call. Heaven forbid we leave aur homes or look away from our phones to reach out to someone else. I do not think everyone is like this or that anyone is always this reclusive, but the number is only increasing as new ways to distract ourselves increases. Passivity is a sneaky enemy.
ReplyDeleteI have also heard people laugh at the "little" issues that are going on locally. what these people fail to realize is that we have to first better ourselves before we can help better the world. I think people say this because they secretly feel like they don't have the power to make an impact so they'd rather not try that way in their eyes they aren't failing.
DeleteI think Postman is correct. What he said about people adoring “the technologies that undo their capacities to think” is very true. I used to never question my spelling capabilities because I was always pretty good at spelling, but now I always find myself questioning my spelling and it’s all because of auto correct. Now I don’t even have to think how to spell something because I can just type the first few letters of the word and suggestions will appear. Even though I see that technology is making me dumber I still can’t seem to completely get rid of it. In the article Postman asks what steps do we take to aid people who are in need of help; his response to this question is that we do nothing we just vote for someone else who claims they will help and pass the responsibility on to them, and I believe he couldn’t be more right.
ReplyDeleteNeil Postman’s chapter is indicating that we hear news everyday through telegraph (TV, radio, iphones, internet), but there seems to be no action taken to help improve crime rates, unemployment, preserving the environment, etc. With our technology so advance today, people have access to news, but people only talk about what is going on in the world instead of taking action. I agree to most of the parts Neil Postman is describing in this chapter. It was very interesting to read because for the most part, it is true. When people hear things on the news, people are very good about talking about it with coworkers, family, or friends, but they don’t really do anything about it. In my opinion, when there is action taken sometimes, you don’t really get an answer or result. For example, with crime rates. A couple people have told me their homes were robbed, and when they reported it to the police (action), they never got back an answer from them. One lady told me that she was hit & threatened by her husband, but when she reported it, the police told her that she had no proof so they couldn’t do anything about it. My alarm system at home came on one time, and when the company notified authorities to check my house immediately, the police never came until 4 hours later. By that time, I was already home. These are just some examples of people “taking action,” but they don’t really get the answer they want.
ReplyDelete