A long history of technolgy warnings

“Writing destroys memory and weakens the mind, relieving it of work that makes it strong. Writing is an inhuman thing.”  - Plato (500BC)

From the Slate article Don't Touch That Dial by Vaughn Bell that outlines how humans have always viewed new information technologies with trepidation:

A respected Swiss scientist, Conrad Gessner, might have been the first to raise the alarm about the effects of information overload. In a landmark book, he described how the modern world overwhelmed people with data and that this overabundance was both "confusing and harmful" to the mind. The media now echo his concerns with reports on the unprecedented risks of living in an "always on" digital environment. It's worth noting that Gessner, for his part, never once used e-mail and was completely ignorant about computers. That's not because he was a technophobe but because he died in 1565. His warnings referred to the seemingly unmanageable flood of information unleashed by the printing press.

This was timely for me since I heard a recent speaker warn about our mobile technologies becoming our "outboard brain."

Great article to share with your more technophobic colleagues.

Comments

[Michael Doyle]

A couple of thoughts:

1) Plato and Gessner may not have been wrong--the well-read person has a distinctively different view of the world than does a pre-modern peasant, and while our bias favors the well-read person, too many of the educated elite are confused, confused enough to continue to practice culturally destructive behaviors for short term gain.

I am sure the CEO of Dow Chemical is literate, and even nice. It's gentlemen, not peasants, that get us in trouble.

2) Matters of degree, well, matter. I'm sure someone squawked when pilots were dropping bombs from Zeppelins, but even a 300kg bomb from a Zeppelin cannot compare to what fell on Nagasaki.

The poster is frightening.

[Steve]

I agree that there is a great danger in getting overloaded with data. Think about these things.
1) How many different passwords do you have today? How many of them are stored in your head vs. stored in an electronic document or on your smart phone, or are automatically filled in for you by your computer. I
2) How many of your friends phone numbers do you not have memorized?
3) When you misplace your cell phone do you struggle trying to figure out how to connect with your friends or work mates?
4) When you search on the internet for something how often do you just take the first page on the search engine listing as the right answer or the best resource.
5) How many text messages and emails do you get in a day? How many of them are immediate important and how many are just fluff?

I am one of the greatest examples of overload I know. I continually fight that battle and become more and more reliant on the technology around me to keep simple things “remembered”. As STEM educators we need to find ways to help our students understand how to better filter what they really need and when they need it. Though I don’t know that it is just the overload in data that is possibly the biggest curse. Have you ever noticed how often people will break out of thought to answer a text message? We talk about the dangers of distracted driving, but really notice how many of your students are living distracted lives. The increase levels of social distractions add stress. We need to help them understand that they do not need to immediately answer every text. In the workplace IMs and Text messages can really bring productivity down to nearly nil. I had a person who worked for my company for a while who constantly was on his blackberry checking his facebook. He really struggled getting much accomplished and no wonder – he was in a nearly constant state of social interruption. Microsoft Studies show that it can take up to 15 minutes to get back to a serious mental task after an interruption like a text, email or IM. Stress levels go through the roof as people see their work days fly by but with little productivity. So, back to the original thought. Overload can happen because of too much information. I believe not being able to turn off the channels that bring us information may be the real killer.

[Dottie]

Yep, we are all drinking from the firehose of information. What I think we need to impart to students is how to look for the best information efficiently, synthesize it in a reasonable time and know that no matter how much time you have to do a report or project, you will miss something. Be Ok with that. Take time to unplug and smell the flowers. Allow yourself to get lost in a good book once in a while to remind your brain that it can read and understand long passages of text.
We can't stop the firehose but it is necessary to sidestep it once in awhile. One last thing from my significant other who works for all types of driving safely issues: Don't text and drive! That kind of technology use can really kill you.

[Doug Johnson]

Hi Michael,

Many of the well-read are indeed confused - but confused at a higher level! I agree that being well-read is not a prerquiste or an indicator of morality.

All the best,

Doug

Hi Steve,

I share your same concerns and have many of your same observations. I just find it fascinating that historically, any new information technology was greeted with more or less the same warnings!

All the best,

Doug

Hi Dottie,

I agree stepping aside now and then is important. My problem is that when I step back in, the current almost washes me away! Still taking a week to go hiking with my son at the end of the month. Information flow be dammed (pun intended).

Doug

[Mark Clayson]

Thanks for your posting . I think it is so great. I will come back and see how it goes.