Premium Essay

Analysis Of Neil Postman's Speech Informing Ourselves To Death

Submitted By
Words 693
Pages 3
Too much of a good thing When we look at our world today we are constantly surrounded by information technology; more specifically digital media. The "buzzes" and bings" which we have all become accustom to are constantly bringing us new information, most of which clouds our minds and takes our attention away from the problems that occur in our real everyday lives. Neil Postman makes a similar observation in his speech "Informing Ourselves to Death". In which he speaks about how much technology, specifically the computer, is leading to an excess of information in our day to day lives. You can see this when he says "The tie between information and action has been severed. Information is now a commodity that can be bought and sold, or used …show more content…
When this idea of written information that could be spread to the masses was invented it had honorable intentions, to spread God's word to the world. "Gutenberg thought his invention would advance the cause of the Catholic Church, whereas in fact, it turned out to bring a revolution which destroyed the monopoly of the church." We can see this same idea materializing its self as the internet in the modern day. This powerful resource began as a way for brilliant scientists to communicate back and forth with more speed and ease. Thus, clearing confusion and advancing the case of science. But, the World Wide Web has ended up clouding our minds and taking the focus off of the world right in front of us. This confusion has had so much of an effect on us that we are not able to differentiate between information that is relevant, and information that is irrelevant to our lives. Mr. Postman demonstrates this through an experiment in which he makes a seemingly unbelievable claim about a made-up study that was done by a presages institution. He finds that "the average person today is about as naive as was the average person in the middle Ages. In the Middle Ages people believed in the authority of their religion, no matter what. Today, we believe in the authority of our science, no matter what. "Through this study Mr. Postman is able to show us that even though we may believe most of

Similar Documents

Premium Essay

Critical Thinking

...fourth EDItION fourth EDItION This clear, learner-friendly text helps today’s students bridge the gap between Its comprehensiveness allows instructors to tailor the material to their individual teaching styles, resulting in an exceptionally versatile text. Highlights of the Fourth Edition: Additional readings and essays in a new Appendix as well as in Chapters 7 and 8 nearly double the number of readings available for critical analysis and classroom discussion. An online chapter, available on the instructor portion of the book’s Web site, addresses critical reading, a vital skill for success in college and beyond. Visit www.mhhe.com/bassham4e for a wealth of additional student and instructor resources. Bassham I Irwin Nardone I Wallace New and updated exercises and examples throughout the text allow students to practice and apply what they learn. MD DALIM #1062017 12/13/09 CYAN MAG YELO BLK Chapter 12 features an expanded and reorganized discussion of evaluating Internet sources. Critical Thinking thinking, using real-world examples and a proven step-by-step approach. A student ' s Introduction A student's Introduction everyday culture and critical thinking. It covers all the basics of critical Critical Thinking Ba ssha m I Irwin I Nardone I Wall ace CRITICAL THINKING A STUDENT’S INTRODUCTION FOURTH EDITION Gregory Bassham William Irwin Henry Nardone James M. Wallace King’s College TM bas07437_fm_i-xvi.indd i 11/24/09 9:53:56 AM TM Published by McGraw-Hill...

Words: 246535 - Pages: 987

Premium Essay

Marketing

...fourth EDItION Critical Thinking A student ' s Introduction Ba ssha m I I rwi n I N ardon e I Wal l ac e CRITICAL THINKING A STUDENT’S INTRODUCTION FOURTH EDITION Gregory Bassham William Irwin Henry Nardone James M. Wallace King’s College TM TM Published by McGraw-Hill, an imprint of The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., 1221 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10020. Copyright © 2011, 2008, 2005, 2002. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or distributed in any form or by any means, or stored in a database or retrieval system, without the prior written consent of The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., including, but not limited to, in any network or other electronic storage or transmission, or broadcast for distance learning. This book is printed on acid-free paper. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 DOC/DOC 0 ISBN: 978-0-07-340743-2 MHID: 0-07-340743-7 Vice President, Editorial: Michael Ryan Director, Editorial: Beth Mejia Sponsoring Editor: Mark Georgiev Marketing Manager: Pam Cooper Managing Editor: Nicole Bridge Developmental Editor: Phil Butcher Project Manager: Lindsay Burt Manuscript Editor: Maura P. Brown Design Manager: Margarite Reynolds Cover Designer: Laurie Entringer Production Supervisor: Louis Swaim Composition: 11/12.5 Bembo by MPS Limited, A Macmillan Company Printing: 45# New Era Matte, R. R. Donnelley & Sons Cover Image: © Brand X/JupiterImages Credits: The credits section for this book begins on page C-1 and is considered...

Words: 240232 - Pages: 961

Free Essay

Networks

...The Wealth of Networks The Wealth of Networks How Social Production Transforms Markets and Freedom Yochai Benkler Yale University Press New Haven and London Copyright _ 2006 by Yochai Benkler. All rights reserved. Subject to the exception immediately following, this book may not be reproduced, in whole or in part, including illustrations, in any form (beyond that copying permitted by Sections 107 and 108 of the U.S. Copyright Law and except by reviewers for the public press), without written permission from the publishers. The author has made an online version of the book available under a Creative Commons Noncommercial Sharealike license; it can be accessed through the author’s website at http://www.benkler.org. Printed in the United States of America. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Benkler, Yochai. The wealth of networks : how social production transforms markets and freedom / Yochai Benkler. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN-13: 978-0-300-11056-2 (alk. paper) ISBN-10: 0-300-11056-1 (alk. paper) 1. Information society. 2. Information networks. 3. Computer networks—Social aspects. 4. Computer networks—Economic aspects. I. Title. HM851.B457 2006 303.48'33—dc22 2005028316 A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library. The paper in this book meets the guidelines for permanence and durability of the Committee on Production Guidelines for Book Longevity of the Council on Library Resources. 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1...

Words: 214717 - Pages: 859

Premium Essay

Business Management

...SECOND 21ST CENTURY ACADEMIC FORUM CONFERENCE AT HARVARD MARCH 8 - 10, 2015 MARTIN CONFERENCE CENTER HARVARD UNIVERSITY BOSTON, MA USA Teaching, Learning, and Research in the “Just Google It” Age CONFERENCE PROCEEDING VOL. 5, NO.1 ISSN: 2330-1236 Table of Contents Authors Paper Title Page Maryam Abdu Investigating Capital Structure Decisions and Its Effect on the Nigerian Capital Market 1 Norsuhaily Abu Bakar Rahimah Embong Ibrahim Mamat Ruzilawati Abu Bakar Idris Abd. Hamid Holistically Integraded Curriculum: Implications for Personality Development 16 Sandra Ajaps Geography Education in the Google age: A Case Study of Nsukka Local Government Area of Nigeria 30 Helen Afang Andow Impact of Banking Reforms on Service Delivery in the Nigerian Banking Sector 45 Billy Batlegang Green IT Curriculum: A Mechanism For Sustainable Development 59 Rozeta Biçaku-Çekrezi Student Perception of Classroom Management and Productive Techniques in Teaching 74 Thomas J.P.Brady Developing Digital Literacy in Teachers and Students 91 Lorenzo Cherubini Ontario (Canada) Education Provincial Policy: Aboriginal Student Learning 101 Jennifer Dahmen Natascha Compes Just Google It?! But at What Price? Teaching Pro-Environmental Behaviour for Smart and Energy-Efficient Use of Information and Communication Technologies 119 Marion Engin Senem Donanci Using iPads in a dialogic classroom: Mutually exclusive or naturally compatible? 132 Nahed Ghazzoul Teaching and Learning in...

Words: 236613 - Pages: 947