Silence!

After being given the task of communicating for an entire school day using only charades or illustrations, I was able to better understand the importance of medium when communicating a message. Being a poor artist, I struggled trying to effectively draw what I was thinking and still have it be interpretable to somebody. I also found that acting out my needs did not accomplish what I needed either. I couldn't express myself in a comfortable or descriptive way. My audience had a tough time figuring out what I was trying to say. When asked by a teacher to describe what I had done over the previous two snow days I found it near impossible to describe two days of activities with my limited amount of artistic talent and poor acting skills. These expeirences proved that how information is presented is crucial in revealing the purpose of a message.

Technology Takes Control

            In both the book, Amusing Ourselves To Death, and his speech author Neil Postman talks about the negative effects technology is having on society. He says that humans readily adapt to changes brought on by technology, sometimes without even knowing it. In his book, Postman uses the invention of the clock as an example of how technology changed society. Before time was measured with a device people based their schedules off of the Sun and Moon. Now as clocks have made time a quantifiable measure people try to fit as much into one day as possible. In his speech Postman also highlighted that cloning is an attempt by humans to control what has previously been left up to God. This change of events put people in control from one calculated point to the next, not God controlling moment to moment. This belief has contributed to reduced belief in God and an increase in man’s ability to control nature.

            Neil Postman also reveals through his book and interview that while intentions may be pure the results are often lacking. In the book he discusses news people and how they present their information to television. More anchors focus on their own appearance rather than how the day’s news can best be presented. The media has increasingly placed a greater emphasis on display rather than ideology in the news. Once again the example of cloning is used to illustrate Postman’s point. While the intent is to provide a repair body to aid a person in reality it undermines the gift of life. If man can create life from scratch then there is no need for a supreme being or god.