Late Night Thoughts.

Not sure if I'd rather know "lots of stuff about a few things" or "a few things about lots of stuff"?" I saw this tweet tonight and immediately thought of our class discussions. I think it's a good question, but I'd rather be the first, I think. The Internet allows everyone to know a few things about lots of stuff, and experts are rare. I still think experts know a few things about lots of stuff, everyone does, but artifacts such as PhDs and the title of "expert" are very respected and sought after.

One thing about last week's reading that interested me was the idea that all things run their course, die out, and return in a different form. One example was literacy, and I thought of a lot of examples. Books were popular then seemed to be largely replaced by the internet and other technology. Now books have returned in eBook form. 

As we discussed in class, writing was popular and it's largely been replaced by typing and texting. New words/phrases have been introduced into our language because of the growing popularity of texting shorthand. Some people commented on how their handwriting has gotten worse because they don't hand write too much, but I predict writing will become popular again. People are able to use a stylus on tablets, but beyond that I think hand writing things will become "trendy" and special. I know I would rather receive a handwritten letter over an email.

I also thought of photos. Before, polaroids and 35mm photos were popular. Then everything went digital and now vintage photos are "cool" again (I thought of Instagram, an iPhone app where you can put filters on photos to make them look old/vintage). I suppose antiques in general follow this path - something is useful for a time, and no big deal after that. Then, after some odd years, it suddenly is valuable again. People use old gadgets as decorations.  

One example given was teaching - in traditional classrooms, teachers were the ones who provided knowledge to the children. Even though they still are important today, a lot of people learn from the Internet. So, teaching, as McLuhan said, has become "an art form." I agree with this and I think it puts a lot of pressure on teachers because they have to compete with new technology to get kids' attention. However, I think in time teachers will become a lot more appreciated as the "online class" fad wears off.