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Neil Postman Review

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Submitted By masons2199
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Mason F Smith
WRTG 391 – Advanced Research Writing
Assignment #1: The Critique Essay

What can technology do for you Technology is changing everyday whether we like it or not. That is a fact. It is a tool we have been accustomed to using for life. Something we desire and need. From reading Neil Postman's book "Technolpoly: The Surrender of Culture to Technology" you can see he feels all technology will do is create a two sided argument. He says "Another way of saying this is that the benefits and deficits of a new technology are not distributed equally. There are, as it were, winners and losers" (Postman, 1992, Pg.10). He feels that if someone benefits, someone must also suffer but, I disagree. His ideas are motivated by a story written many years ago that could have a totally different meaning but, he interprets in his own way. From the beginning of the book you can tell he finds technology a double edged sword. Postman states "In the United States, where television has taken hold more deeply than anywhere else, many people find it a blessing, not least those have achieved high-paying, gratifying careers in television as executives, technicians, newscasters, and entertainers"(Postman, 1992, Pg.8). This is the benefit he sees. He then follows with the downfall of "On the other hand and in the long run, television may bring a gradual end to the careers of school teachers,.." (Postman, 1992, Pg.10). Where is his proof. Maybe there are not a lot of teaching positions, but is that solely to blame on technology? According to forbes.com, "are contending with budget cuts and the threat of layoffs, but people in the field expect them to start hiring again, and heavily..."(Weiss, 2009, Pg.1). Not because of technology, but because of a deficiency in educational spending. He makes a point that technology is redirecting our understanding of language and meaning. That

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