Skip to Content.
Sympa Menu

percy-l - Re: [percy-l] College Essays

percy-l AT lists.ibiblio.org

Subject: Percy-L: Literary, Religious, Scientific, and Philosophical Discussion on Walker Percy

List archive

Chronological Thread  
  • From: Wade Riddick <wriddick AT usa.net>
  • To: "Percy-L: Literary and Philosophical Discussion" <percy-l AT lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Subject: Re: [percy-l] College Essays
  • Date: Thu, 16 Oct 2008 12:02:03 -0500

>I wonder if kids are writing less, or just different. If texting is
>writing, then they are doing an awful lot of it.
>

I don't think there's much depth or self-reflection that occurs in
'texting' - at least compared to regular writing. I don't know. I just
wouldn't wait for a socratic dialogue to pop out of my cell phone. It's
like waiting for the room of typing monkey's to pop out Shakespeare.

It's ironic. People need to read and write more to achieve greater depth
and yet technology has chopped up words into their smallest emissions,
emptied of nuance and complexity. We're speaking more and saying less.
Due to the limits of our thumbs and the size of a keyboard that can fit in
our pocket, we even have to compress the spelling of our words. What's
next? Hieroglyphics?

I, for one, don't have faith that "new" communications technologies will
usher in some sort of improved social order. We're reshuffling deck chairs
on the Titanic, hoping this magically produces a new life raft. Interest
groups can hijack just about any means of communication. We're lead where
we want to get lead. If we're unwilling to invest in our own thought
processes, we shouldn't be surprised down the road when we get outfoxed by
ourselves.






Archive powered by MHonArc 2.6.24.

Top of Page