Merely a median?

I found myself chuckling that we watched this video on computer of all things. Maybe we will talk more with machines than humans! "It is a delusion to believe that the technological changes of our era have rendered irrelevant the wisdom of the ages." Neil strikes the point with that quote. He is addressing that our modern technology is only the median, which he describes in the book, for the content conveyed. The computer and phone are only another form of the median.

“Try to hear a little song, read a good poem, see a fine picture, and if possible, speak a few reasonable words." He is talking about being involved in ones surroundings rather and using devices only to communicate. However, his fear as stated in the book is that with advancing technology as the median it becomes easier and more convenient to communicate and as we attach ourselves to the idea of convenience it becomes more like our devices are controlling us, rather than we control the devices.  An idea that we are to be operated by the device, not the way it was intended. The entire book is spent to elaborate on the fact that we are so conveniently on the verge of amusing ourselves to death. We are part of a technological era that is focused on entertainment rather than logic and philosophy.  We live in the time of the technological social network.  The book and the video discuss how the convenience of our technological median has created some unique problems.  The technology of the median is advancing, but humans increased reliance on convenience because of it is causing content degradation.

Tino Moore

2-4-11