Neil Postman, RIP: What Is Lost and What is Gained? - Reader comments at The New York Sun

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Submitted by Chuck Lanigan, Feb 19, 2008 16:46

Thanks for a thoughtful review. Over 20 years ago Neil Postman also raised questions over the impact of mass media on cognition, literacy and discourse presciently in 'Amusing Ourselves to Death' and later in books such as Building a Bridge to the 18th Century: How the Past Can Improve Our Future . It's good to see Siegel carrying on the tradition.

I don't think Postman was a Luddite, but he was a skeptic. Sadly, he's dead now. Most people are too busy buying into the technological determinism and hype that surround us to ask themselves the question he thought s/b raised about any new technological phenomenon, including the Internet. In the absence of thoughtful, reasoned discourse by the media and others in authority, each of us should ask ourselves in Postman's words: 'What does this technology do for me? What is lost and what is gained in terms of how it benefits or detracts from my daily life and what it means to be human?'

Incidentally, Marshall McLuhan is generally regarded as an advocate, if not celebrant, of mass media and the post-literate (tribal) world. I always thought so. However, an essay by Bob Rodgers in the Literary Review of Canada suggests his view was more ambivalent, viz:

'McLuhan was much misunderstood. He never promoted TV over books as popular accounts gave out. He never expressed a preference for tribal culture over individualism. He never said the patterns of perception imposed by the ear are superior to those of the eye. '

Related References:

Bob Rodgers, In the Garden w/ the Guru, LRC http://lrc.reviewcanada.ca/index.php?page=In-the-Garden-with-the-Guru
Cliff Stoll, 'High Tech Heretic' and 'Silicon Snake Oil -- Second thoughts on the Information Highway'
Shoshanna Zuboff, In the Age of the Smart Machine, the Future of Work and Power
My web site: http://waysofknowing.home.comcast.net/~waysofknowing/

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Other reader comments on this article

Comment	By	Date
When I read that, the following recent article came to mind: - Has the unbridled spread of commercialism and technology transformed... [MORE]	C. Ikehara	Mar 4, 2008 21:57
Is there a more worn-out phrase? Perhaps "X is a necessary book" might be. After the first couple of paragraphs,... [MORE]	Dan Mayes	Feb 23, 2008 03:26
1. "The fault I find with our journalism is that it forces us to take an interest in some fresh... [MORE]	Mike Boehm	Feb 21, 2008 04:14
Similar thoughts abounded with the advent of the printing press and the Gutenberg bible. I wonder if Mr. Siegel drafted... [MORE]	Michael Makowsky	Feb 20, 2008 14:15
Thanks for a thoughtful review. Over 20 years ago Neil Postman also raised questions over the impact of mass media...	Chuck Lanigan	Feb 19, 2008 16:46
Thanks, Chuck Lanigan, for the reminder, I used to teach Postman's book (AMUSING...) and found students would feel attacked personally... [MORE]	George T.Karnezis	Mar 4, 2008 14:45
The internet is no obstruction to democracy as it is a mirror to what democracy is essentially or at bottom:... [MORE]	SL	Feb 19, 2008 11:45
An exceedingly large amount of bloggers are people who WERE trained as journalists. They blog rather than write for a... [MORE]	Kristen O	Feb 19, 2008 01:45
It's unfortunate that Wikipedia gets picked on so much - it's a paradise of truth and light, compared to most... [MORE]	Paul Perry	Feb 18, 2008 23:52
i relish the fact that i'm reading this anti-technology review on a laptop in bed in between refreshing my facebook... [MORE]	massrepublican	Feb 18, 2008 23:44
This book sounds like something we need much more of ie: critical examination of a modern phenomenon that is too... [MORE]	id hamilton	Feb 18, 2008 23:20
Oh please. Lee Siegel goes to a baseball game and is dismayed to note that some people near his seat... [MORE]	Ellis Weiner	Feb 18, 2008 20:47
The advice to those who overeat should be the same to those who spend inordinate time on the Internet: .... [MORE]	Harvee	Feb 18, 2008 14:53
Ms. Rosen tells us that Siegel makes three points: the Internet, under the guise of promoting democracy, actually leads to... [MORE]	Stephen Kennamer	Feb 18, 2008 13:38
A few more minusses 1)The Internet has enabled easier Terrorist connection and action 2) Hate- groups thrive on the Internet. And they... [MORE]	Shalom Freedman	Feb 18, 2008 02:42

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