Talk about some heavy reading!

The recurring themes I found in the readings included cause and effect of content and form of technologies, technological determinism, technology and its effects on literacy and power within the framework of society, and the connection between technological advancement and the arts.

I enjoyed reading Understanding Media by McLuhan the most. I loved his philosophical approach, the analogies, and the correlation he presents between advancements in technology and art. But the progression of ideas is extremely disjointed. There’s no visible logical order . . . the article reads like the merging of works by Rothko and Pollock. The simplicity of a subject is clear, yet misleading, and the presentation is chaotic! When McLuhan talks about how the medium is the message, though, he over-simplifies the idea that technology is an extension of social behavior, and that uses of technology have either positive or negative effects.

The predictions made by Vannevar Bush in the mid-40’s really surprised me. His approach to the subject matter seems most practical of the four writers. And talk about intuitive! He understood the purpose and effects of technology. When he explains how specialization of technologies bogs us down, but that it is necessary for progress, he hit the nail on the head! Technology, while potentially time-consuming in regard to social use, makes life so much easier!!

Williams’ article takes a closer look at how new technologies are adopted by society. With McLuhan, he discusses in-depth how technology affects media, and how mass communication influences acceptance of technologies by society.

I enjoyed reading Engelbart the least. Wading through the material, I felt like his approach to explaining how technology “augments human intellect” was too theoretical, that he had too few ideas of his own, and that he relied too heavily on Bush’s work. Did I mention I had an especially difficult time reading his article because of all the GSP issues? Eeek!! The one idea Engelbart actually made himself that caught my attention was his belief that, as time progresses, humans have an increasing need for computers, or The Clerk, but computers require fewer commands from humans to operate.