Is the Internet a Blessing

[Bernadette]

Personally I think that intellectually challenged people will be deprived even more by the internet but bright people will take strong advantage. You can make the choice: play games all day, chat, gamble or watch porn. On the other hand you can learn everything about literature, politics or sculpture. The availability of information on the internet is not corrupting but rather how you use this information is what matters.

From Is the Internet a Blessing? a blog by Arnold Jansen op de Haar on the Holland Park Press website http://www.hollandparkpress.co.uk/blo...

[Elaine]

You can not learn everything about literature, politics or sculpture on the internet. The facts stored on most URL's do NOT include considered fine-grained analyses of anything. You get facts, meaning dates, numbers, concise definitions, and names from the Internet. You don't get how to use those facts intelligently. My experience with students is that the Internet has taught them that trivia is the apotheosis of knowledge and they're floored when I'm not impressed by trivia and they become angry when I make them draw inferences from trivia and to note what is omitted from the trivia.

[Feliks]

Bernadette wrote: "On the other hand you can learn everything about literature, politics or sculpture...."

But that is not 'learning'. That is bullshyt. You learn by getting an education in a formal teaching environment; you learn when you interact *live* in a classroom full of other minds; you learn by entering into an intellectual dialog with a mentor or instructor. You learn by forming in-depth points-of-view and evaluating the dis-similar viewpoints of others. You learn by conducting self-directed research and by aligning yourself with a methodology. Or, you learn by acquiring life-experience; by making mistakes and discovering consequences to your acts.

Flicking your eyes for a half-second over a glowing screen where flat, 2-dimensional 'factoids' are spoon-fed to your eyes... 'teaches' you nothing. You acquire no skills; master no rationale; develop no mental rigor. Books --on the other hand--are not static. Books are a journey.

Peter wrote: "Yes because there's a lot of information on it. You can research it at home or wherever you are. It gave us new possiblities to communicatie with people all over the world. It also changed the way we do business...."

Raw, unstructured information is useless; home-based research without critical thinking is of little merit; and "communication around the world" is a mis-perception.

The internet squelches actual communication and replaces it with a zombie. We all wind up merely yakking and gabbing to the exact same kinds of people as ourselves: entertainment consumers. Other people possessing internet accounts. And how odd is it that we always chat in English? Gamers talk to gamers, movie-fans talk to movie-fans. Cultural exchange is not occurring. Instead, discourse is being boiled down to a bland, common, uniform variant. No one in Cleveland Ohio is learning Swahili to talk to actual villagers in Timbuktoo, in their language.

The internet is perhaps the worst plague to strike human civilization in all history.

[Mitali]

Feliks wrote: "The internet is perhaps the worst plague to strike human civilization in all history. "

Yes, of course. Never mind all those wars, genocide, natural disasters, and actual plagues. It's the internet that has caused the most suffering in human history.

Feliks wrote: "No one in Cleveland Ohio is learning Swahili to talk to actual villagers in Timbuktoo, in their language."

Probably because no one in Timbuktu speaks Swahili. It's an East African language, while Timbuktu is in Mali, West Africa. Also, it's a city not a village. Yes, I checked that all on *gasp* the internet, aka the plague to humanity.

Just FYI, I (an Indian woman) use the 'plague' to learn Italian so I can chat with my Italian-speaking friends, and because I'm interested in languages in general. What a horrifying case of non-communication among the same kinds of people.

[Feliks]

Mitali wrote: "Yes, of course. Never mind all those wars, genocide, natural disasters, and actual plagues. It's the internet that has caused the most suffering in human history...."

Oooooh. Snarky, snarky, snarky! Perhaps you are one of those individuals who need--as I said--a real education rather than relying on the internet. Okay, I have five free minutes. Let's walk through this triteness of yours, point-by-point:

First. Natural disasters & plagues are rarely worldwide in scope and not of our own doing. So set them aside, as they make no sense as points to raise.

War and genocides are indeed, fully well embarked upon willingly by men, but with what base cause? Ignorance, fear and hate. These three mental aspects are in turn, caused by what? Remoteness, separation, apathy, and distance between human beings. What does the internet bring about? These very qualities. It isolates us and separates us all into our own little worlds...and we frankly don't care much what happens to anyone else as long as it 'doesn't interrupt our movie'.

Furthermore, the internet is a global phenomenon--much more dangerous than a local catastrophe like famine--and it is one we are embracing with open arms. That makes it worse than anything else yet encountered in history.

So, I stand by my statement. The worst thing that can happen to us is long-term damage to our ability to truly communicate with one another; truly relate to one another, truly bond with one other.

2

Mitali wrote: "Probably because no one in Timbuktu speaks Swahili. It's an East African language, while Timbuktu is in Mali, West Africa. Also, it's a city not a village...."

Timbuktu was a village at one point. And it was invaded, used by nomads, etc/whatever. You really want to drill down to pinpoint what language was ever spoken there? Hairsplitting like that is the classic foil of internet pinheads.

Anyway, nevermind. I'm missing my cue. Here is where I'm supposed to stand ashamed, abashed, and bemoan my fate, which is what you really want, yes? Or would you rather have a cookie?

Mitali wrote: "Yes, I checked that all on *gasp* the internet, aka the plague to humanity....."

(Feliks entering from stage-right, draping forearm over face) "Oh jeepers, is my face red. How mortifying. I didn't "fact check" my casual analogy which I belted out in this little white message-box on a Goodreads chat-thread. How remiss of me! Not using Wikipedia before just spewing it out there; just relying on my own wit! How can I ever show my face on Goodreads again?"

I guess we ought to now assume that clearly, you have the better educational grounding than I. You whisked right over to Wikipedia, whereas I didn't. Though you didn't come up with the analogy yourself in the first place (as part of a cogent argument), you are able to 'niggle' mine to death with some irrelevant trivia which you never knew before and will forget in a year.

3

This is why I suggest you go back to school if you've left off: you may learn what to place weight on in a debate. Better to have 'skills' than 'tricks'. Tricks only carry you so far. For example, what if we were have an impromptu discussion of ancient African empires sometime...or write a paper on that subject, off the top of our heads ...with our laptops turned completely off...? Where would you be then? I'd be fine.

Mitali wrote: "Just FYI, I (an Indian woman) use the 'plague' to learn Italian so I can chat with my Italian-speaking friends, . ...."

Sorry, I doubt your statement here, on the face of it. Immediately as soon as you uttered it. You're either exaggerating or fibbing to make your point.

Thought: maybe there's a career waiting for you in Bollywood?

[Mitali]

Feliks wrote: "Perhaps you are one of those individuals who need--as I said--a real education rather than relying on the internet."

Actually, that applies more to you, considering that you're using the internet to try to 'intimidate' (and doing a laughably bad job of it, too) strangers, when you don't know the first thing about them.

Not that I owe you any explanation, of course, but I have a few seconds free, so here goes:

I already knew that Swahili isn't spoken in Timbuktu, because I'm very well read about the languages of the world, and about world geography as well. When the internet didn't exist, I got along very well indeed, since I could read, had access to bookshops and libraries, and had a brain. What the internet helps is in just speeding up fact checking.

My statement about learning Italian is 100% true. Just because you (an asshole on the internet) think I'm a liar doesn't mean that I am.

Last but not least: I can't believe you're completely serious about the internet being worst plague to strike human civilization. I thought at the very least, you'd admit it was an exaggeration for rhetorical effect. But since you're so deluded as to actually believe that sincerely, I'm out - I don't debate with tinfoil-hat-wearing conspiracy theorists. Have fun surfing the great plague to humanity.

[Jayaram]

Just moderation and discretion.. in life anything can be great with these two..including chocolates and sex!!!!