451 redux

We are approaching a time when, thanks to the advent of the Kindle and the I-pad, there is an alternate to the traditional book. In his novel, Fahrenheit 451, author Ray Bradbury addresses the evolution of technology stripping society of its ability to think critically. Books are reduced first to sound bites then destroyed all together. People seeing this loss band together to commit books to memory in preparation for a time when books will no longer be burned. We are now at a time where technology provides a mirror to his vision and yet books continue to be a comforting and relaxing pastime.

In contrast to the vision of book burnings there has been a push to digitize literature. By lowering the cost of the Kindle, Amazon.com is trying very hard to push the digitization of books. No one is talking about banning the classics or the destruction of books. Not directly. But if books stop being physically published, after 40 or so years they will become more difficult to acquire and more rare. Anytime something is no longer physically available there are risks of it being lost. This is the only way I see the loss of books to our society coming about.

Bradbury imagined and offered an era where the reduction of information into soundbites has desensitized the masses to no longer thinking critically. Television today, in its mainstream offerings, has offered us less knowledge in exchange for more voyeuristic options. Reality TV offers us an opportunity to feel better about our lives by mocking or demonizing others. The contrast tho, is in the variety. If we were to take today's TV back to the early 70's, when all one had was 3 networks to choose from, I could see Bradbury's vision coming to fruition. Where we now have hundreds of choices on what we watch and where we gather information there is still value to be found in the tech of TV.

The internet is also another tech that has changed how we view the written word and gather information. The internet offers us, in free countries, the ability to find virtually limitless information on most subjects. A lot of what is found, though to reference Bradbury, is found to be in the soundbite form. The thing about the internet is, that while a lot is offered as soundbites, there is also a vast amount of scientific knowledge. Without the ability to critically think it is very easy to find information supporting your bias. Critical thinking should come from educating yourself through life experience as well as shared thinking. If those lessons are learned the internet is a great source of information.

Critical thinking has always come to those wanting to research and decide for themselves. And mass appeal has rarely produced things of a critical value. The idea that people will stop thinking for themselves and follow blindly takes place today in less educated/free countries. It is the duty of everyone to seek, find, and treasure freedom and the ability to make reasoned choices and as long as we do that, we put off the vision of Fahrenheit 451.

451

We are approaching a time when, thanks to the advent of the Kindle and the I-pad, there is an alternate to the traditional book. In his novel, Fahrenheit 451, author Ray Bradbury addresses the evolution of technology stripping society of its ability to think critically. Books are reduced first to sound bites then destroyed all together. People seeing this loss band together to commit books to memory in preparation for a time when books will no longer be burned. We are now at a time where technology provides a mirror to his vision and yet books continue to be a comforting and relaxing pastime.

In contrast to the vision of book burnings there has been a push to digitize literature. By lowering the cost of the Kindle, Amazon.com is trying very hard to push the digitization of books. No one is talking about banning the classics or the destruction of books. Not directly. But if books stop being physically published, after 40 or so years they will become more difficult to acquire and more rare. Anytime something is no longer physically available there are risks of it being lost. This is the only way I see the loss of books to our society coming about.

Bradbury imagined and offered an era where the reduction of information into soundbites has desensitized the masses to no longer thinking critically. Television today, in its mainstream offerings, has offered us less knowledge in exchange for more voyeuristic options. Reality TV offers us an opportunity to feel better about our lives by mocking or demonizing others. The contrast tho, is in the variety. If we were to take today's TV back to the early 70's, when all one had was 3 networks to choose from, I could see Bradbury's vision coming to fruition. Where we now have hundreds of choices on what we watch and where we gather information there is still value to be found in the tech of TV.

The internet is also another tech that has changed how we view the written word and gather information. The internet offers us, in free countries, the ability to find virtually limitless information on most subjects. A lot of what is found, though to reference Bradbury, is found to be in the soundbite form. The thing about the internet is, that while a lot is offered as soundbites, there is also a vast amount of scientific knowledge. Without the ability to critically think it is very easy to find information supporting your bias. Critical thinking should come from educating yourself through life experience as well as shared thinking. If those lessons are learned the internet is a great source of information.

Critical thinking has always come to those wanting to research and decide for themselves. And mass appeal has rarely produced things of a critical value. The idea that people will stop thinking for themselves and follow blindly takes place today in less educated/free countries. It is the duty of everyone to seek, find, and treasure freedom and the ability to make reasoned choices and as long as we do that, we put off the vision of Fahrenheit 451.

America

In today's society, we are faced with many complex issues. Debt, security, safety, freedom, guns, and religion are some of the hot buttons that spawn numerous responses. The founding fathers when they constructed the Constitution, had debt from the revolutionary war that they dealt with by paying it off. They were a fledgling nation and as such made the alliances necessary to preserve the safety and security of the new republic. Freedom was a driving force behind what they fought for, so they forged the document to preserve it as best as they knew how. And guns, well everyone had them, used them and saw the value of preserving the right to have them. Religion is a topic that when it comes up is likened to politics, and should not be discussed between friends.

Why are we uncomfortable talking about religion? Most people have an inner belief in a higher authority. There are also that choose not to participate and those that deny it altogether. What is common to most people is a desire to believe what they want and not have to defend or argue it. Where it gets even more interesting is when the government decides to get involved. Religion and its place in modern society, especially when government is involved, is an uncomfortable subject because of the variety of opinions. Because it involves opinions it is often difficult to come to a consensus and often invokes emotion in both parties.

The phrase "separation of church and state" comes from a letter from Thomas Jefferson over concerns that the federal government would allow religions to be forced out by a religious majority. While it has been quoted by courts, the term is not found in the body of the constitution and is covered by both the establishment clause and the free exercise clause. The legislature "should make no law respecting the an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof."

Thomas Jefferson wrote "The God who gave us life gave us liberty at the same time" and asked ‘Can the liberties of a nation be secure when we have removed a conviction that these liberties are of God?’". He believed in a higher power and argued a separation.

Modern interpretation of this amendment has moved into a direction that bans all things associated with religion from things and locations associated with the government. This invocation of a separation of church and state has prompted an attempt to remove God from our currency, our courts, the national anthem, and all things associated with government. The fallacy here is that this is a nation founded on the right to believe. The Declaration of Independence states that, "that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable Rights". Creator is capitalized by the writers because it represents a higher power. The foundation of our freedom and ability to debate comes from a power higher than ourselves. The magnitude of invoking a Creator give a weight and supremacy to our rights that will not allow governments or men to deny us.

God as a term is found nowhere in the Constitution. This does not mean that the founders were atheist or nonbelievers, but that they were creating a document that they hoped would last and could be referenced by countries where other faiths and belief structures were found. And once the freedoms found in the Bill of Rights were adopted the people would enjoy the freedoms found there. To invoke Judeo-Christian traditions would limit the historical power of the Constitution as those traditions would not translate well to other faith based countries. The importance of the Constitution to the world still being felt today. Iraq used it as a reference when drafting their Constitution.

The argument that persists is the the government should not endorse Christianity over another religion and therefor should not have any references to Christianity. There are people trying to get crosses off highways, 10 commandment references out of courts, In God We Trust off the money and the Pledge of Allegiance out of our schools. The Constitution does not create a separation of church and state but rather prohibits and establishment of a government sponsored religion. It does not guarantee freedom FROM religion but rather a freedom OF religion.

Once again friends and families should never discuss religion or politics, especially if there are conflicting views. This is because when it comes to religion, it is faith based and therefor has no clear cut right and wrong position. And politics because if one is not conservative, they are wrong, and liberals don't like being wrong. :)

The internet has for better and worse changed the way we interact, shop and communicate in this day and age. While the exact date of the creation of the internet is not easily found there is a consensus that its formation began sometime in the early 60's. The idea was to take the growing computer technology and expand it into a "Galactic Network", whereby computers could share information world wide. We are living in the fast paced reality that they dreamed of. We can almost instantly have information, whether true or false, on thousands of topics. While the internet provides us with access to shopping, information, gaming, and social contact, it is not without its faults.

Until the early 90's, people went to their local markets, malls, and grocery stores when they needed goods and services. Catalog shopping was available, though its volume of purchases paled in comparison to what was purchased locally. TV offered some power of purchase but again most of what was purchased was done so locally. The growth of the internet has contributed to an increase in e-commerce according to the US census:
"In 2008, e-commerce grew faster than total
economic activity in three of the
four major economic sectors covered by
the E-Stats report. However, change
over time in the e-commerce share of
each sector’s overall shipments, sales,
or revenues continues to be gradual."
Manufacturing is the largest user of e-commerce. Nearly 40% of its transactions are handled electronically. People and businesses are changing their buying habits as sites like e-Bay provide a global swap meet. As a San Diego Chargers fan in the early 90's, finding a hat I liked came down to two choices, what was offered at Wal-Mart type stores or what was offered at sports specialty stores that tended to stock according to popularity. San Diego, after the Super Bowl loss and the drafting of Ryan Leaf, was buried at the bottom of their division and unpopular. This limited me to finding only one style of cap here in Arizona. This last year I had the choice of every style offered by the team as well as the Division Champ's hat. The change in my ability, as a fan and consumer, to purchase that item has been very satisfying.

Credit cards and electronic payments are the new currency of the world wide web. Because so much of what we do is electronic these days the need for security is great. The rise of "phishing", or what is in effect digital mugging, has created a whole industry of people trying to steal, trick, and scam you. Fortunately most sites now provide a basic level of security, but we must be ever diligent in making sure we are only giving our information to trusted and safe sites. Those providing the service must also provide for secure transactions in order to grow and protect their online identity.

In researching this blog and learning about the creation of the internet, it is quite refreshing to not have to rely on my parents' encyclopedia set that still has Germany separated by a wall. The information offered by a stroke of the finger far exceeds what I had to work with back in high school, where I had to go to the local library and hope they had informative books. There was no way for local libraries, short of phone calls, to communicate. We lived in a small town with no university access so if they didn't have the information I would change my research subject. The upside to the limited accessibility was that generally, when published, publishers and editors would fact check. Most of what was printed could be taken as accurate. In contrast, the internet allows unlimited access to post any information you like whether correct or incorrect. Wikipedia, at its start, was at times mocked for the information posted there. Through limited user submission and editorial oversight Wikipedia has gained a much better reputation in recent years. The use of the Internet for research can be both helpful and harmful. In researching, one has to learn to cross check and verify information.

The rise of Facebook and other social networking sites has given the world a very personal/impersonal way to communicate. Friends can be located and view the minutia of your life. I recently, in my bi-annual visit to Facebook, had a friend request waiting from a high school best friend. It was fun to say hi to him but seemed very voyeuristic and impersonal. I would rather call him to catch up. The downside to this impersonal communication is the rise in "Cyberbullying". Whether it is the ability to insult someone with out having to deal with the guilt, or just a need to finally say what you are thinking with no regard for feelings because you don't see the direct effect of your words, the rise of this form of abuse is getting some cultural attention. Actions and words, lacking visual or verbal feedback, must now, more than ever, be considered if we are to rein in the misinterpretation.

As is the case with new technology, there will continue to be trial and error in learning how to control and adjust. When cars first came out there were no stop signs or traffic signals and as the need for them arose they were created and used. The same can be said for the internet, we are creating the road signs and rules for its use. Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to a new era in human history, the era of world wide accessibility. Tread carefully as we build the new roads.