Dire Straits "Money for Nothing"

"Money for Nothing" by Dire Straits

This song is all about the age of new technology. According to Wikipedia, the song is written from the view point of two working class men that are commenting on what they see in the music videos they’re watching. They’re basically saying that the singers and people on MTV don’t have to work very hard compared to what they do (install appliances). They make fun of the MTV people and specifically one guy, saying he’s a millionaire and wearing ear rings/ makeup. The song talks about installing microwave ovens, custom kitchen deliveries, refrigerators, cameras, and color TVs. Household appliances that weren’t readily available to regular working people are now affordable and common among most citizens. In the older days, people used to watch videos on MTV all day because that’s all that was on that channel. Instead of videos all day now there are shows and movies. 

Is Google Making Us Stupid?

"Is Google Making Us Stupid?"

In the article, Nicholas Carr starts with talking about distractions and loss of attention. He can tell that his brain is changing, being re-wired or redirected to other stimulus as he tries to read. As a writer, the internet has sped up his research process. He went from spending days deeply searchingthrough books to now clicking on links in just a second, skimming through information. He describes this by saying, “Once I was a scuba diver in the sea of words. Now I zip along the surface like a guy on a Jet Ski.”

His friend Scott Karp explains that having once been a literature major in college and once an intense book reader, he now struggles to keep attention after just a few pages. He states that the way he reads hasn’t changed, the way he thinks has changed. He admits that he skims through lines because even the few pages he reads is too much to absorb. We are now so used to reading short emails, passages, or texts that we struggle to remain focused during long increments. Our brain isn’t wired how it used to be.

Friedrich Nietzschediscovered that “our writing equipment takes part in the forming of our thoughts.” In the article, he was referring to his type writing experience. We discuss this in our class when talking about the differences in writing on paper vs typing an email or using a screen. 

The internet is everything we need and have ever used. The article states that the internet is, “our map and our clock, our printing press and our typewriter, our calculator and our telephone, and our radio and TV.” Google basically has the answer to all our questions. Brin and Paige, the inventors of Google, stated that the search engine is our form of artificial intelligence. The thought of our brains needing to “operate as high-speed data-processing machines” is unsettling. We are not programmed to have every answer to every question as Google does though with all this information and answers at our fingertips, I believe we are working towards becoming versions of that. 

I had to read several of these paragraphs multiple times because I kept skimming and not paying attention. 

Screen Reading Articles

"Reading in a Whole New Way" :

Smithsonianmag.com

In this article, Kevin Kelly explains how humans have gone from reading books to now reading screens. The newest platform for reading and writing is taking place on screens. The article talks about how with a book, the most physical interaction needed is to turn a page whereas now, we are using our hands/ arms to control consoles. We can do so much more with this new technology. When screen reading we can research a word, communicate opinions, share information, and so much more. Technology is everywhere and it continues to evolve everyday. 

Annie Snead

"Everything Science Knows About Reading on Screens": 

In this article, Annie Snead questions why people tend to have a lesser understanding of their reading when on a screen rather than on paper. The screen offers tons of distractions. Everywhere you look, every page you turn, or every site you go on, there will be something like an ad or a video jumping at your attention. The article mentions several pros to reading a paper book rather than digitally. 

The article “Reading in a Whole New Way” seemed to brag more about the increased usage and advantages of technology whereas the article “Everything Science Knows About Reading on Screens” made the point of favoring paper reading. In my opinion, I would have to agree with the second article defending paper reading simply because I know I pay attention better when reading something not on a screen. I do not have near as many distractions right in front of me. 

Widerness Downtown Interaction

The video of the guy running and the birds flying toward my house was a little bit creepy. I say this because of how easy it is to type in an address and see exactly where it is, how it looks, and see its surroundings…especially my own house! Though it was also very cool because the running guy was running on the same route that I run while at home. I have never realized how many houses on my street have pools in their backyards. 

Website

Growing Up Digital

The song "We Used to Wait" explained life before digital media. Growing up, my family has always had some type of digital device and I have been able to watch technology evolve right before my eyes.

I remember always asking my parents what the weather would be for school that day or sitting by the tv with my mom waiting for the answer. However now we have an app for that. We have an app for everything which makes things easier having some much information basically as our fingertips. I remember my elementary school teachers sending home weekly flyers hoping the students' parents would open their folder to find it.
Now we have websites to post and receive this information.