I am not a really tech savvy person but at the same time I do not refrain from using new technologies. I have taken a computer programming class, and did well in it, but it is not my passion or something that I foresee myself using much to any extent. I only keep up with the development technology, with any depth, when I am in the market to buy something, like a new computer. With all of that said, my opinion has been greatly influenced by that of my family who believe that because of technology, along with other things, today's culture and my generation is missing something that past generations have had. So, growing up with these stories of grandiose ages gone by I feel like technology has changed us to a great extent and not completely for the betterment of us as people.
During this class I have found it interesting to see the development and progression of some of the technologies that we use today and what people are predicting for the future. Today we are witnessing technology, specifically the computer, advance at a remarkable pace and it has undoubtedly forever changed how we as humans actively go about our lives. There are even theories about how technology has altered how we act, think, and communicate. One question that occurred to me is can our generation retain the information that we obtain, either through reading or some other medium, as well as past generations who didn't have technology like the Internet that make information so readily available? Hopefully, by researching how the human memory system works and how we use technologies, like computers and the Internet, as well as finding some more knowledgeable opinions on the subject, I will be able to conclude, or at least theorize, if, and how, these technologies affect our memory.
Annotated Bibliography
Catone, Josh. "The Staggering Size of the Internet." Mashable. Mashable Inc., 25 Jan. 2011. Web. 15 Mar. 2011. <mashable.com/2011/01/25/internet-size-infographic/>.
This website page displays information such as the number of emails sent per day, the number of websites on the internet, the number of Internet users, social media usage, and online media usage. This data should be helpful in describing what the Internet has to offer to those who can access it as well as the sheer number of people that are accessing it. Also, it can show the breakdown of the types of information that is being accessed via the Internet.
Caygill, Howard. "Meno and the Internet: between memory and the archive." History of the Human Sciences 12.2 (1999): 1-11. Print.
Caygill analyzes the Internet and details its impact on the theories of memory established by Plato. Plato's Meno strove to reduce memory to a basic technique of recalling information. Written around the time when the Internet was really beginning to become extensively used this should give some insight into if the Internet is causing memory to become obsolete.
Franklin, B. & Plum, T. "Library usage patterns in the electronic information environment" Information Research 9.4 (2004): 187. Print
This paper examines the usage of libraries and print mediums as a result of the "networked electronic services". Because so much information is available online, and so easily accessed, it should mean that less people will actually, physically, travel to the library in order to do research. By understanding how the use of the Internet for research purposes has developed it should allow me to determine the prevalence of this style of study.
Higbee, Kenneth L.. Your memory: how it works and how to improve it. Englewood cliffs, N.J.: Prentice-Hall, 1977. Print.
Higbee discusses how the human memory system works and ways in which to improve its functioning. He even discusses the use of mnemonics. By understanding how the memory works and ways in which it can be influenced, both positively and negatively, it should give me better insight into how the Internet and other technologies affect it.
McGaugh, James L., Paul E. Gold, and William T. Greenough. Memory consolidation: essays in honor of James L. McGaugh. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association, 2001. Print.
Memory Consolidation goes into great detail about the inner-workings of human memory. Topics included in it cover the functioning of brainstem structures, new models of memory formation, and "morphological approaches to memory". This source should accompany that of Higbee yet add even more scientific research and documentation, thereby adding to the credibility of the conclusion.
Wright, Josiah, and Immanuel Bekker. The Phaedrus, Lysis, and Protagoras of Plato . London: MacMillan and Co., Limited, 1888. Print.
What is compelling about this source is the story of Phaedrus and his meeting with Socrates. They discuss things, one of which is the Egyption god Thamus who made the point that writing hinders memory. Socrates agrees with that in that writing cannot answer a question which is essential to knowledge, it can only remind you of something you once knew. I genuinely am interested mainly in one particular quote that I have found in this document that deals specifically with the main point detailed earlier.
Andrew, this will be a good topic if you keep it focused. A danger could be branching out too far, to cover many aspects of how the Internet might be changing our habits or even our ways of thinking.
ReplyDeleteSo stick to memory. The open question, as it was for Socrates, is "does more easily accessed information equal greater knowledge?" This was his complaint against young Phaedrus and his high-tech communication tools called "writing."
One fact worth hunting down, if only for bragging rights, would be "what is the storage capacity of the human brain?" An linked concept would be "how much can we realistically 'hold' in our working memory?"
Then you can begin to derive a governing claim about the role of the Internet in aiding or hurting human memory.