Postman Perspectives
Overall, I think that Technopoly was a powerful book. At first, I continually disagreed with the points he brought up. As I read on, I had to admit that his concerns were significant. With the last chapter, Postman significantly boosted his ethos. He finally explained how we can keep ourselves from sliding too far into mindless “technopoly,” something that I had been waiting to hear. I think that what we interpreted as a bitter, negative tone could have been easily avoided if Postman had offered constructive comments and solutions throughout the book. This chapter was by far the most optimistic.
In this chapter, Postman writes about the value of education and the reason why we should be educated. His conclusion is that education should be pursued not for one’s country, one’s own personal gain, or for immediate “technical” results. Instead, Postman says, education should be an opportunity to consider and celebrate the progress humans have made. This perspective on education is unique, interesting, and positive, and it’s a good way to conclude the book.
Comments
I also felt like Chapter 11 was the most optimistic chapter of the book, and Postman's ethos change a bit for me as well (he no longer seemed like a grumpy old man), but I never really felt like Postman addressed his own issues with answering how to stop technocrats from forming. The entire time reading, I sincerely felt all the things Postman is suggesting could happen and we could still have cell phones, Facebook, and every other "must-have" technology. To me it seems like Postman was more focused on ending his book on a good note than summarizing his solution to the problem he sees.
Posted by: Luis C | March 10, 2009 10:14 PM
I have to agree that he did a great job in concluding the book. As I see it, he started off with a broad topic and began to slowly narrow that topic down, which included well thought out transition topics/technologies, until he was able to successfully incorporate his final idea, a possible solution. Although I also missed his point initially, after reading the final chapters I believe I have a better understanding of what he is trying to say, and thus depending on what you personally believe is Postman's point, he either provided a solution or he didn't.
Posted by: Sam K | March 11, 2009 1:22 AM
I also really liked Postman's conclusion about education. I had never really thought about education in that way, as celebrating the progress that humans have made, but it makes me appreciate my college education even that much more.
Posted by: Liz K | March 11, 2009 11:15 AM