Future of Literacy
While reading this article there were many interesting facts that caught my interest. When I read the first quote by Plato it really made me think. It is very true that people often need to write things down in order to remember them. People write a lot of things in planners, in their cell phones, and even on their hands so that they can remember it. Another part of the article that made me think was that 3/4 of the worlds population can not afford to buy their own books and reading material. This means that the other 1/4 of the world will control what they read. It is very sad that these people can not afford to buy their own books. These individuals will never be able to walk into a book store and search for books that interest them. Ray's post is horrible.
posted by Dan Winslow at 5:13 PM
7 Comments:
Rays post was horrible.
I enjoyed the quote by Plato, and what Eco talked about after the fact. That books are good for you, they improve your knowledge and understanding of things. But it seems as though he is playing both sides here, a fence sitter. He then talks about how his children knew as much or more about the books he had read as a child from watching TV and/or movies.
I like Plato. I think he was a man who could have changed the modern world. He's wise when it comes to rhetoric, communication, and understanding people. He really knows what he's talking about and I wish I could shake his hand and tell him I love him.
The Plato quote does make you think. If writing was never used, would we all have better memories? Would we be able to train our minds to remember everything we need it to? I know that recently I have become so dependent on my planner, that I can barely remember anything.
I was interested in the beginning of the article as well. Eco talks about ow in Plato's time people were afraid of writing. To them thinking was internalized and it was not to be written down. I found it amazing that Socrates never wrote anything down, he kept all of his thinking in his mind. Comparing that to today, we write things down all the time. Maybe through writing we have lost the ability to remember information. However, Eco says that books can provoke further thought. Eco is worried about technology and he speculates a world that may lose printed literature. With losing the printed materials, people around the world may not be able to learn. Books will not last forever and people will start to have to choose which information to keep or get rid of. I hope that we come together as a community of knowledge and choose wisely.
I think this article was semi-interesting, particularly because of the way Eco discussed the progression of technology in relation to the furthering of language, culture and ideas. I also think that this brings to the forefront a very interesting idea. At the dawn of major technological advances that affect language, such as the computer, there are always romantics and traditionalists who adamently believe that things should remain as they were when they learned them. However, with advances like the written word and later the printed word there were people who opposed them. I think that eventually, everyone will be on board with computer technology as it affects literature, but when the next advance comes along, those who are advocating the computer, will oppose it.
This article waspretty much out dated. However, it did have some interesting points. The Plato quotes were intersting and really put things into a different perspective for me. Writing is something that will never go out of style because we all use it to help us remember things.
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