WS 3371 Fall 2007

I remember when my elementary school got its first computer. It was an old Apple with a flickering green screen and was unable to do anything unless you had the proper hard disk for it. Computers fascinated me as a child (and still do today), and I can recall the feeling of excitement that would accompany the infamous “Computer Lab Day.” I really didn’t do much typing on computers back then... instead used the arrow keys to move the strange depiction of a frog, hit the space bar and munch the numbers while trying to stay away from the ugly troggles. Or traversing the Oregon Trail and dying of a snake bite or drowning because the calked wagon sunk into the river.
I do like the idea of living without a computer for twenty days, however wonder if it would effect my grade in this class from not being able to post comments on this blog. There is a definite feeling of symbiosis to my email account, I constantly find myself checking it and rechecking it, even though I know that there will be nothing of importance (It’s just the same with regular mail, who doesn’t like getting a letter?)...
It was also interesting to point out that instead of watching skateboarding videos and looking things up online the authors son actually went out and started skateboarding and reading.
The history of computers is so short, but it developed into a mainstream giant so fast it’s ridiculous. To think that nowadays there are more computers in homes than dishwashers and telephones is crazy (maybe the mobile phone counter-acts that information?). In any case, I wonder what it would have been like if the computer would have been invented in the 30’s? Would it have taken off like it did, or have been stamped out of existence only to have something else in its place? An even better question is what will replace the computer in the future?

I agree that the prevalence of the computer in such a short amount of time is mind-boggling. I think maybe it’s because it can do such much in such a short amount of time. This is pretty evident in “20 Days Without a PC”, obviously you can function without a computer, but having one available makes things so much easier. After reading that article, it made me wonder about my own computer use and whether or not I could function without one. I guess I could, but I really don’t want to. I mean, could I live without spell check? Yes, but I love it so much. Even when I write posts like these, I type it into Word first so it can check my spelling and then I copy it over. When I took the GRE perhaps the most frustrating part of the test was that the essay section had no spell check feature. There were so many times in which I thought of this brilliant word that was perfect for my argument but couldn’t use it because I wasn’t sure how to spell it and I didn’t want to look like a idiot if I got it wrong.

I rely on the computer everyday to do some tasks or get a hold of certain people, as do 99% of us. Basically every household/corporation has a computer that they rely on to organize files or keep important information. I remember late 1999 when the craze about the 'world ending' due to Y2k crashing and how the world wouldn't operate correctly for a while afterwards because computers would think it was 1900 and not the year 2000. That event itself shows how dependent we've become on computers in just the little time they've been available to us.

When people say that their time spent watching TV has gone down due to the computer, they think of it as a good thing (not wasting time watching TV). But when you think about it, when you're on the computer, not everything done on it is productive at all. If anything, the computer is now a substitute for the TV.

The computer has played such an important role in my life. I simply could not imagine life without it. Everything is done over the computer now. I pay all of my bills online. I check my account online. I work on the computer. I type papers using the computer. And I'm sure everybody in this class actually say the same thing. It's just so amazing how quickly computers have evolved into the "must have" category. Now people have two desktop computers and a laptop.

My fascination with the computer began in sixth grade. My teacher had us to go into the computer lab and play "Where In the World Is Carmen San Diego." LOL! After about three weeks of playing that game in the computer lab, I had to have a computer in the home. I begged my parents to buy a home computer for the house so I can play that game at home. Of course, with all of the technological advances with the computer like the internet (i.e. chatting, email, personal im's), there were other ways to draw me into using the computer.

I've pondered over if I could go even over seven days without the computer. If I didn't have to go to work and didn't have to send an email, I'd easily say yes. But there's no way I could that long without a computer on my job. I'm on the computer twenty-four/seven. And like I said last week, whoever invented the computer, THANK YOU!

I am curious to know how much time people use their computer to go online. In the very beginning, going online was not part of a computer. A computer was used to store files and type out documents. It seemed as though people were not spending that much time on their computer tgeb. Back in middle school, I was only able to play Oregon Trail for so long before I got bored. I think that the internet became the catalyst of our obsession with the computer. I tried keeping track of the amount of hours I was on the computer without being online and it was less than 5 minutes. In fact, the only reason I am on my computer now is to make this ONLINE post. Otherwise, I would be on my computer to check my email, communicating online, check facebook, and watch pointless YouTube videos.

The computer have definitely made my life easier by keeping my files, pictures, and songs organized. I couldn't imagine living without it. However, I think the original main function of the computer is no longer a priority to many. Being online is much more important than being able to find a document.

Well the fact that we use a computer for blogging for a class shows how integrated it has become in education and in daily activities. I use my computer for just about everything. I can’t think of one class that I have taken in which something was not needed to be done on the computer in order to complete an assignment. It is a great source of information. I am kind of noticing that less is required to commit to memory. For example, my chemistry professor told me that at one point he had to memorize log tables. It seems silly to that now when we have access to all sorts of tables of information. When I am in lab and some sort of a synthesis is needed I just go and search vast volumes of journals. It has become a great reference tool for all kinds of applications. So much so that people say, “google that”, and everyone know that it means looks it up on the computer. It has made information available to many more than just those that go to school. Anyone can hop online and learn math, physics, or whatever subject from video tutorials, pdf’s, online books, and journals. I think that’s one of the best uses of a computer.

I like the idea of trying to live without a computer for 20 days. I think that it would take the right kind of situation to actually make it work though. For example, those who work in an office full-time would have a hard time doing this. I can’t imagine explaining to my boss that I could no longer use a computer to complete my work because I wanted to see if I could do it without one. However, I think that living without a computer would be a good way to simplify one’s life. As with many technologies, we use computers to accomplish more tasks throughout the course of our days. Many times, however, we go out of our way to find ways to use all of the functions allowed to us by our computers. By doing this, we squeeze in more and more into our days until we finally become fed up from all of the technology. Features like the internet, desktop calendars, and email are all unnecessary to sustain a good quality of life, but they become addictions of ours because they are usually convenient, easily accessible, and normally entertaining.

I really loved the section about the programming instructions that came with some of the first widely available personal computers. I guess such information was needed since most people had very little idea what to expect from this new technology. Even so, such explicit instructions delivered in so organized a manner made me wonder who was really programming what... or who.

This programming seems to have worked though, since nearly all of us today have become somewhat addicted to our machines, save for a few isolated ranchers. I did enjoy his argument however as I thought was constructed much more deliberately than the one put forth by the Amish community, describing exactly what makes a technology more useful and worthy of replacing the old version.

I thought these articles were very interesting. I enjoyed Joseph’s discussion about the computers from elementary school. I also remember these old Apple computers. They had the small screens with the bright green graphics and type. I remember on Thursday’s we go to go to the computer lab to practice typing then we had free time to play the Oregon Trail. I remember seeing the updated version of the game with color. You can actually tell what the animals look like, rather than them just being different sized green blobs. It’s funny to think back to when computers were first being introduced into everyday life. Everyone was confused by them and uncertain as to if they actually needed one in their home. Now however, nearly every home in America has at least one computer. Many people cannot function without computers on a daily basis. I thought that the “20 Days Without a PC” was a great example of this. Having a computer handy on a daily basis is not essential it is just convenient. It is convenient to have a personal computer available to do your work, homework, email family and friends, and do research. We can definitely survive for short periods of time without computers but have they become so essential that daily life cannot function if one is not available at certain times? Are we so reliant on these machines and the internet that we would not know what to do if they were suddenly unavailable? It is funny how about only 15 years ago this technology was relatively new and confusing, but today it is indispensible.

I thought it was interesting that one of the reasons that Wendall Berry won't get a computer is that it is harmful to the environment through the use of electricity. Most people won't get computers because they will be too complicated to understand and use. His attention to the fact that coal is used to provide energy for computer use shows his true concern for the environment. He even tries to write during the day with natural lighting so that he does not use electricity at night.

Already on day 3 of "20 Days Without a PC" Lake says that his boss mentions to him that he is probably losing money. His name kept coming up for work, but no one wanted to work with an unwired author. His source of money and ultimately survival depends in part on his ability to access certain technology. Other people, also working to make money and survive, don't have time to work with someone that cannot work as quickly as they can. Technology has become necessary to the majority for survival. If we all just stopped then we wouldn't need it, but I don't know if that will ever be a possibility.

There was one quote that really caught my attention in the article, "20 Days Without a PC." David Lake was talking about his love for google and how easy it is to get answers to his question. He says, "I'll have to work harder to learn stuff. Or live with knowing less." This quote really made me realize how much I rely on the computer/internet. I use google all the time to look up something I have a question about. The last time that I used a dictionary (like the physical book) was probably in junior high, when I still had weekly spelling test. Now, if I don't know the meaning of a word or how to spell it I can always firgure it out from Word or dictionary.com. I am not sure if it is a good thing that I don't need a real dictionary or not.

Another interesting point that David Lake brought up was the cost of sending mail versus sending an e-mail. Not only do you have to pay for shipping, but it also cost time. I also find this interesting because of the Wendell Berry article. One of his reasons for not getting a computer was it should be more energy efficient. I do not think it is more energy efficient to have a truck or plane suck up gas to get your letter where it needs to go rather than sending a quick e-mail instantly.

I think the most interesting quote I found on Doing What Comes Naturally, was when a father told the writer “‘It keeps kids quiet, so I couldn’t afford not to buy it’” (talking about why he bought an expensive computer game for his children). I think this illustrates the need for parents to find other means to occupy their child. I think this is also a key ingredient to how people have become so dependent on technology rather than other people. Parents (and children) see the computer as something to occupy their time, something to play while not having to do a think but click a button. Because of the rise of computer and video games, I think a lot of people have turned into “technology” zombies, and rely on these devices as their only means of personal enjoyment.

20 Days without a PC is an interesting way to look at what our lives would be like without PC’s. Today, we are dependent on such items for work and play, and that it seems incomprehensible not to have them always readily available to us. I believe that I could function without a PC, as could many other people. However, I think that there are still some that probably would not be able to function, because it seems all their skills and talents revolve around such objects (i.e., the man who cannot write a paper without spell check and the internet as his information guide, the person who has never stepped foot in a library because the internet is their tool, etc). PC and other technologies like them have made life and living more convenient, but they seem to have also taken away many basic skills that we all should have.

“Why I am not going to buy a computer” didn’t make sense to me. The writers’ way of doing this didn’t make sense efficiency wise. A computer could have saved him time by spell checking his work and enabling him for easy editing. Instead, he gives the hard work [what could easily be accomplished on a computer] to his wife. He could be getting a lot more work done if he would just use a computer. I don’t believe that if you are a talented writer, like the author in the reading, that a word processing program would hinder your ability. I think he is giving the computer too much credit and insulting writers who do use it. Perhaps if this world was ‘slower paced’ and competition wasn’t as great as a writer than yes, more people would be able to get away with a typewriter and have a personal spell checker. All in all he came off as a stubborn old man.

When I was watching A Beautiful Mind last week, something struck me, I saw Russel's desk, and there was no computer. It was awkward to look it, I felt like the desk was missing its crucial element, and I thought to myself, there is no way I would be able to go through college without a computer. It is funny to think that about 10 years ago I was just getting comfortable with them, playing games, using “paint”, and doing that ridiculous typing program. Today, I use the computer for every class I’m taking, and for all of my media/information means. I used to think living without a TV would be hard, well, now I’m doing that, and it’s because something better came along. To live without a computer for 20 days would be challenging, but I believe manageable if we were to leave our normal settings. I visited a friend of mine in Ely, Minnesota, and for about a week we went camping and canoeing. I did not use any sort of modern technology, and it was very liberating. It was as if I had conquered the digital age; however, if I had been staying around the city area, it would have been a constant struggle.

It is truly amazing what computers can do and what we can achieve by using them. Computers have become part of everyone's lives in some way shape or form. Wether it be used for email, searching for information, word processing, entertainment, the uses are nearly endless.
Our society has come to rely on computers to perform an endless array of tasks for us from something as simple as spelling errors to something as complicated as assembling cars. Wendell Berry makes a very important point in that technological innovation involves replacing the old model with the new model. However, in many instances this is not just some machine, it is actually somebody. By replacing what someone does with a technological innovation takes away what many people actually enjoy and treasure. Computers in particular, have come to do so many things for kids that they don't actaully have to know it. Take spelling for instance, I remember taking spelling tests all through grade school but now that computers have the ability to do such a task, children don't actually need to know how to spell.
My question is wether this shift towards a technological based society is actually good for society? As the one man pointed out that when he didn't have the use of his computer he actaully had to work harder to find information and learn how to do something. Don't we want people in society to actually posess skills and know how to do things rather than consualt the internet or a computer everytime they come across a problem in life?

Thinking back to my days in elementary school, I remember when we first started using computers. They must have been one of the first models of the Apple computer.

They brought us into the new "computer lab" and had us put boot discs in and all sorts of other confusing tasks. The instructor tried to get us to start using the word processor program. What an odd name for a program.

Imagine trying to explain a word processor to a first grader. I had no clue what we were doing. They wanted us to type sentences into the thing, that's all I knew.

And don't ever run the disc drive without a floppy disk in it! It'll burn the motor out. (Maybe after a year of doing it ha ha)

"Doing What Came Naturally" reminded me of how recent computers are. Now I just accept them as part of my everyday, but when I think about it, in elementry school, going to the computer lab once a week was very special. My family had a computer at home and so did about half of my class, so when we would hand in papers word processed we were kind of "advanced" I guess.

In a conversation that I recently had with my mother, she told me that when she was in college, there was no such thing as emial. I was shocked. I asked her "How did learn about important things regarding your classes?" She said "You had to go to class, otherwise you wouldn't know."

My earliest computer memory is from 1st or 2nd grade computer lab. They were Apple computers of some type. I don't remember doing anything significant with them except for playing Oregon Trail. I didn't get my own personal computer until I was about 12. It was a hand-me-down Packard Bell. I found it interesting that video game systems were a more common type of home computer in the 80's. I had much more experience with my Nintendo, which I got when I was 5, than I did with any computer growing up. The reading mentioned children as young as 4 being computer users, but the young people in my family have Playstations, Nintendo DS's, iPods, but none have their own personal computer yet.

I thought the part about the UPC codes and cash registers being one of the first consumer experiences with the computer. My grandpa still tells stories about his first experience with computers while working at Sears department store many years ago. I am surprised that paper is so common in a world where computers are everywhere. I work at the US Attorney's office, and all the files are paper. Its a big mess, they take up a terrible amount of space & we go through boxes of paper each day printing and copying. Amazon.com just released today an "E-Ink" book reader that sounds like it may turn into a popular part of society. It was all over the Tech blogs today. You can wirelessly download newspapers and books to the device for a smaller price than the print versions, and the screen is suppose to look like printed text on paper.

Coincidentally, later today on the Science channel, there were couple things caught my attention, because these were the technologies we have discussed ealier in this course, one of the example was the new generation of canals using revolutionized technology, the Falkirk Wheel. (http://www.thefalkirkwheel.co.uk/index.asp) other them that topic, it also discussed about the computer technology and how it have great impacts into our society. One of the favorite quote from the show was: "The micro chip that plays birthday music on your birthday card is more powerful than any of the 1970s military alias commanding computers in the world!!" Seeing how powerful the little chips we throw it away after birthday was back in about 40 years ago, then the show discussed that the speed of micro chip processor processes information twices as fast in every two years of time. Imagine how fast the computer technology is growing! I think back in time computers were only used for documentaries use only, however the fast growing rate is making it more like all in one kit, we need it for writing papers, play games or chatting online or even talk to people oversea through internet. I think it is interesting in the early of the article it states two of the greatest invention through centuries were phone and computer. And since our technologies now away more advance, we mixed the two of greatest inventions together, we get something like PDA phones. Technologies are moving in a fast pace, its interesting to imagine what's going to be our next greatest invention through the history.

Computers are such a recent and amazing innovation. They are so vital to everything we as college students do. We check our email, pay our bills, read materials for class, post discussion questions for class, and even watch videos via the computer. It is such an amazing technology. I can’t imagine going back to the “old fashioned”. How did people ever even write papers? It is hard to imagine writing a 15 page term paper by hand or on the typewriter.

I remember my family’s first computer. It was so old it didn’t even have Windows! It was some DOS program or something. Then there were the Apple computers at school. Number Munchers and Oregon Trail were perhaps the best games ever invented.

I thought that Wendell Berry’s standards were very interesting reasons for not buying a computer. Even though I would find it very difficult to live without my laptop, I found his nine reasons justifiable. One that really caught my attention stated, “It should not replace or disrupt anything good that already exists, and this includes family and community relationships.” It almost seems like the computer has replaced these relationships.

Computers are intimate part of our lives today. When I get up in the morning I check my email and read some of the daily news on the computer. If I want to know the weather outside I don’t took out the window or find a thermometer, I simply look on the internet. Anything that I need to look up or spell or are just simply curios about is simply referred to google to give me what I am looking for. I email people and professors questions and comments rather than calling them or talking to them in person. It just seems so much easier to communicate. Email is easy because you can contact someone at anytime. They don’t have to be home, or even awake. You send them a message and they can reply on their own time. It is efficient. Wendell Berry’s ideas are seemingly ridiculous in today’s society. His practices are rarely use anymore. I understand where he is coming from though. I guess if it works for you do it. I don’t think his requirements for new technologies really fit very well. I agree that it would be nice but they aren’t really practical anymore. New technology now seems to be just to make everyday life easier. If it makes your day smoother or quicker or improves time It will be invented.

Looking back at my first years of computer use, I remember the Apple computers with orange or green text colors. In elementary school we had computer on Fridays and we had to type for awhile before we could play Oregon Trail. The two good computers we had, had a typing game even on them. Going from 3 ½ inch floppy discs to a 1GB jump drive is a big change.

Thinking about my electricity use, my computer takes a large portion of my total use. I think people forget they use a lot of electricity and so they don’t remember to turn them off at night or when you don’t use them. When I lived in the dorms and didn’t pay the electricity bill, I had my computer on ALL the time. Now having lived in a house where I paid the bills, I only turn my computer on when I have to use it.

I thought that the idea of living without a computer for 20 days is very interesting. I have only made it seven days without using my computer. I was thinking about how long I could make it now, I’m pretty sure I could make it a couple days without changing my current lifestyle. I work in an office where I use a computer everyday at work. I do not think that my boss would let me not do my work for an extended period of time. Another factor that would make not using a computer complicated would be my school work. It would be a great experience to not use a computer for 20 days; I think I will try to go an extended period of time without my computer in the summer.

When I first got the family computer I remember being one of the first people in my class to have one. It was such a big deal to me. I learned how to do the major basic functions and I played golf on the computer until 4:30am, as a 10 year old. It was quit an experience for me. Over the progression of next decade the image and the usage has changed drastically. Now it is in all of our homes and we cannot do any school work without it. Computers where adopted extremely fast and now dominate our culture, and now you can see this similar trend with the adoption of the cell phone into society. What is going to come after the cell phone?

With computers changing our society it has had some effects. It has become a crutch for so many including me, checking my spelling for this little post. We now use it to check our weather before we leave our house we use, we use them as our social networking tools, and we use them for our entertainment. Which brings about an important question: Where will we be without computers in 10 years, in 20 years? Will computers ever be obsolete or unusable? Will we ever just lose technology suddenly? And what would we do without that technology?

I will aim this at Mr. Berry while trying to bear in mind that I’m responding to something written in 1987:

“How could I write conscientiously against the rape of nature if I were, in the act of writing, Implicated in the rape?”

This first argument is principally based on his abhorrence for the energy industry, which is distinct from his argument as to the potential benefit (or lack-of-benefit) of computers. This could, then, be a straw man argument, in that if I say I use a computer and such use is beneficial to me, and he says that I am, therefore, contributing to the rape of nature, he is misrepresenting my position in that he has in no way refuted the fact that computers are beneficial to me. Moreover, no single person on this earth should be as high-minded as to think of themselves as somehow disavowed from nature’s destruction. He’s already implicated whether he recognizes it or not.

“I do not own a TV set. I do not see that computers are bringing us one step nearer to anything that does matter to me: peace, economic justice, ecological health, political honesty, family and community stability, good work.”

I feel that a man so detached from common media outlets must explain how these things don’t bring us closer to the things he mentions here. How would *not* having TVs or PCs bring us closer to peace, economic justice, etc. given that such innovations allow us to communicate in ways hitherto impossible? Can’t better communication facilitate peace? Rally people to a cause?

“It is well understood that technological innovation always requires the discarding of the "old model"—the "old model" in this case being not just our old Royal standard, but my wife, my critic, closest reader, my fellow worker.”

This is simply absurd, and seems to demonstrate the author's skewed attitude toward technology and its place in our lives. As with any technology, one must recognize computers for what they are. They are not wives, critics, or readers. They are not people. They are tools.

“I disbelieve, and therefore strongly resent, the assertion that I or anybody else could write better or more easily with a computer than with a pencil. I do not see why I should not be as scientific about this as the next fellow: when somebody has used a computer to write work that is demonstrably better than Dante's, and when this better is demonstrably attributable to the use of a computer, then I will speak of computer with a more respectful tone of voice, though I still will not buy one.”

Dante would have used a computer were one made available to him. Writing skill has nothing to do with the medium through which it is expressed. The argument that one cannot attribute his or her work to a computer is a separate argument from whether or not one can do work more easily with a computer than a pencil. Therefore, this is an irrelevant conclusion in that the ease with which something is done has nothing to do with whether or not such a thing is done with skill. Nor does it have anything to do with the avenue through which the person chooses to articulate that skill.

These are not logical arguments. They are generalized assertions based on personal lines of reasoning which are, quite possibly, the result of stubborn traditionalism.