Today I read a
New York Times piece about Ray Bradbury by Tim Kreider, where he talked about the author's foresight about the role of technology in our contemporary world. His view is that we live in a dystopian future already.
What do you think about that?
I'm saddened when I watch The Andy Griffith Show because of how simple things were back then. We're much closer to 1984 or Fahrenheit 451 now than we are to Aunt Bea. But the newspapers didn't die (although many are in trouble); they're in electronic form. I think we're all much more isolated than we were growing up, but in another way, we're more connected due to social networking. But is it real? How many of your "friends" do you actually talk to each year?
ReplyDeleteI think the temptation is to do everything online, but Kreider is definitely right about one thing: we have to keep reading, and keep having social interactions with real people in real time. One reason I love teaching so much is the human interaction. With a desk job, I'm 99.9% certain I'd be staring at a screen all day, everyday.
I don't know how much people used to interact in the past, and from what I have read and seen, it seems like life could be pretty solitary then, too, but I agree with your points about the needs and growth that get addressed through human interaction.
ReplyDeleteIf we want to talk about what's real nowadays though, I am afraid we could spend the rest of this class and not get to an answer we all agree on.
And I hear you about staring at a screen all day. For work, I am not so much a fan, I have to admit. And yet I teach this class!?!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EzD0YtbViCs
ReplyDeleteYou should watch this...he was a little crazy.
He never drove a car or used a computer either, a complete Luddite. It was good to watch the video, so thanks for sharing!
ReplyDelete"And now, a close-up of the cat!"