haha...Google

There seems to be alot of discussion lately about the legitimacy of the internet. In my opinion, the internet is a useful tool when it comes to research and gaining knowledge. Nicholas Carr wrote a whole article about the idea that search engines are dumbing down society by making information too easilty accessible. I see the reasoning behind this. Its like Google has made things so easy, we are not used to doing manual work in order to find information we need. As Carr says, "research that once required days in the stacks or periodical rooms of libraries can now be done in minutes". It is true that at one point in time, people needed to spend alot more time to acieve the same results. Society now seems too wrapped up in speed. We never really take the time to just sit and relax. We live in a state of constant motion. It feels like if we are just sitting still, we are wasting life. This is due to the fact that people value speed and efficiency. For example, families used to spend hours baking bread and making food...now we can jsust go to a fast food place and get whatever we want in a matter of minutes. All people have become accustomed to quick results. And we act the same way with knowledge. It is very true that people find it difficult to concentrate on long books or articles, but i do not think Google and other search engines are to blame. It is simply something that society has pushed us towards. Google is the result of a fast-paced society. It is a tool that fits into the world we have created. I really do not think that the internet has lead to the stupidity of society. People know so much more now than they used to! We have so many answers that had once been questions. Things like Google only help in that way that they help people all over the world share ideas with eachother. People are more able to collaborate or research which leads to answers quicker, which is what our society craves. Even Carr admits that "the Web has been a godsend to [him] as a writer". Even a man that feels Google has been detrimental to oue brainwaves can admit that the internet is extremly useful.

What does it mean??

The world is obviously changing. It changes every second of every day and there is nothing we can do about it. It seems as though the world is becoming increasingly obsessed with technology and other advancements like T.V, internet, and other technical devices like cell phones and computers. Its apparant, by watching that video that our world is changing completely. Just in the past twenty yeras or so, society has completely transformed. Its like we would not be able to function without technology. Postmodern thinker Jean Baudrillard believed that society "becomes electrified only by computer networks and electroncic media" (Powell 65). He is pretty much sayinf that we are all motivated by electronics. All the information we want to share is easy to pass along now. It is easy for anybody to communicate or collaborate with another person even if that person lives on the other side of the world! This makes it a whole lot easier for new ideas to be developed and new discoveries to be found. Combining ones research with that of another person is simple. This is why so technical world seems to be expanding so fast. It is impossible to slow it down because as soon as one new piece of information is found, more questions are addressed. Then these questions will be answered which will create more questions and more speculation. It is an unending cycle. It seems like our world is beginning to emphasize science, much like a postmodern society would. It seems very possible that we will be able to function in society by technology alone. I just think that its interesting that we know more now than we have ever known yet that also means that there are alot more questions that are unanswered and these questions just keep going. I think its a really interesting parallel that has been drawn in this world. It seems like sitting at home on the computer would only make the population less intelligent yet in reality, it actually brings more knowledge into the society.

Cats cradle 1-7

Cat's Cradle, so far seems like a very interesting book. The ideas presented are original and yet we can be sure that all the stuff we read in this book are "shameless lies." The novel is about a man named John who is writing a book called The Day The World Ended, about the reactions of the people who were alive the day the atomic bomb was dropped. Since his book is about the atomic bomb, certain aspects of Cat's Cradle are scientific, which relates to postmodernism because postmodern ideas tell us that scientific research is the foundation of knowledge. A prime example of this is Dr. Felix Hoenikker. He is the scientist who made the atomic bomb. According to his son, "people weren't his specialty." The man did not know how to interact with other human beings but he was a genius when it came to science. He seems to be completely desenchanted with the rest of the world and what is happening. The only thing he focuses on are the things that interest him, which always has to do with science. He is a very original character and very intersting due to his lack of emotion. When somebody suggests that the atomic bomb was a sin, Dr. Hoenikker asks, "'What is sin?'" In his mind, science is not sin. The act of progress is a good thing which mean science is a good thing because it answers the questions people have. In some opinions, the atomic bomb was a sin because it was so destructive, but in Dr. hoenikkers mind, it was a scientific advancement. Postmodern ideas agree with Dr. Hoenikker I think because they ceneter around scincentific advancement; the answering of new questions which just causes new questions to appear. The work must go on and on becauses there is no way that all the questions people have will ever be answered.