Bradbury was partially right. He saw the future and the dumbing down of people's ability to think in a critical manner. It probably has taken longer than he realized. The generation starting with 1980 is not reading like older generations. I have read stories on the internet and they didn't have video. The comments were negative about this. People don't want to read when you can have it given to you without work via video.
Since 1983, more than 10 million Americans reached the 12th grade without having learned to read at a basic level. In the same period, more than 6 million Americans dropped out of high school altogether.
Reference
Education Statistics Reference Information
A Nation Still at Risk, U.S. Department of Education, 1999
What is going to happen when they have kids you think that they will be an example of reading and getting them into newspapers and books? I don't think so.
More than 20 percent of adults read at or below a fifth-grade level - far below the level needed to earn a living wage.
Reference
Literacy Statistics Reference Information
National Institute for Literacy, Fast Facts on Literacy, 2001
50 percent of American adults are unable to read an eighth grade level book.
Reference
Reading Statistics Reference Information
Jonathan Kozol, Illiterate America
That is roughly 100 million adults. I believe that based on these figures within ten years books printed will not be in the majority. Kindle and Ipad will be the books of the future both in private and public.
When the State of Arizona projects how many prison beds it will need, it factors in the number of kids who read well in fourth grade.
Reference
Reading Statistics Reference Information
Arizona Republic (9-15-2004) Advertisement by SheaHomes Inc. www.sheahomes.com
It is taking longer then just the internet and tv alone. It includes mp3 as well as future media's that we haven't even known yet.
I don't believe that authorities will ever burn books (except Bible maybe). It will go the way of anything that doesn't make a profit. People don't want to go out and rent so they have videos' sent to them. Before long they won't even want to go all the way out to the mailbox. It will only be in the house on a tv in every room. I have seen the old people that use to read now they sit around and watch tv all day. There will come a day when the population won't care if books are destroyed as what good are they if you can't read them. My daughter (I am not biased of course) reads better then a large amount of adults I have met even those in college. Oh yeah she is only 8.
Based on these figures above and hundreds more I can't post on a small blog. Reading is going away and with it critical thinking. When you watch something and they tell you this is what is going on then it makes it easy to believe without thinking about facts. I don't read like I use to as I don't have time as an adult. I only read about a book a week instead of five a day. I can only hope that as I raise my kids to read and think critically they will pass that down to their kids. Maybe this will help to postpone Bradbury's fears.
Friday, July 23, 2010
Tuesday, July 20, 2010
People are uncomfortable with multiple solutions to a single problem because.
It will put them out of business or out of the control loop. Having the solution to a problem puts you in control. If there is a problem that someone is having and I can fix or solve it then I am needed. It makes me feel good and puts me in a good light even if it’s temporary.
Take my work for instance. I am a plumber and when someone has a shower full of human waste and need their main line snaked I am a hero till they get the bill. I have the solution and for the moment they need me. If they could find another way to do the same thing i.e. do it themselves they wouldn’t call me or need me. Most of the time when I show up they have plunged, snaked and put drain-o down the line. Even though they are in an uncomfortable situation they have a smile on their face when I show up.
When I was on the Fire Department and we came on a wreck or injury. People assumed that it would be all taken care of. We came in with confidence and some knowledge of how to help the situation. The people we were there for believed that we were the solution to the problem so everyone got out of the way. You never have all the answers but if you are the only solution then people put their trust in you.
Both of these instances are the same. Whether Plumbing or Fire Fighting you go into uncertain circumstances. You want people to think or suppose that you have the answer, the only answer for the problem. We come in as the single solution to the problem and throw our answers.
Today we have the problem with a single solution. The BP oil spill. The issue is who is in charge and what the solution is. When you don’t have a single person in charge with a for sure answer then it makes everyone nervous. We have the white house possible in charge. We have the Coast Guard maybe at times. We think it is BP but they are having a squabble among themselves.
http://www.newsherald.com/articles/spill-84775-charge-depends.html
All problems have more than one answer. The construction trade says there is more than one way to skin a cat. BP and the Coast Guard are arguing who is the right person to be in control. Pull the cap off, put it back on. People from all over the US have sent in ways that could have fixed the problem. If BP had used one of them it would have undermined their authority.
Right or wrong is only a perception many times. Is someone in charge and do they have the only answer. This makes us feel good so we can go about our lives without an inconvenience.
It will put them out of business or out of the control loop. Having the solution to a problem puts you in control. If there is a problem that someone is having and I can fix or solve it then I am needed. It makes me feel good and puts me in a good light even if it’s temporary.
Take my work for instance. I am a plumber and when someone has a shower full of human waste and need their main line snaked I am a hero till they get the bill. I have the solution and for the moment they need me. If they could find another way to do the same thing i.e. do it themselves they wouldn’t call me or need me. Most of the time when I show up they have plunged, snaked and put drain-o down the line. Even though they are in an uncomfortable situation they have a smile on their face when I show up.
When I was on the Fire Department and we came on a wreck or injury. People assumed that it would be all taken care of. We came in with confidence and some knowledge of how to help the situation. The people we were there for believed that we were the solution to the problem so everyone got out of the way. You never have all the answers but if you are the only solution then people put their trust in you.
Both of these instances are the same. Whether Plumbing or Fire Fighting you go into uncertain circumstances. You want people to think or suppose that you have the answer, the only answer for the problem. We come in as the single solution to the problem and throw our answers.
Today we have the problem with a single solution. The BP oil spill. The issue is who is in charge and what the solution is. When you don’t have a single person in charge with a for sure answer then it makes everyone nervous. We have the white house possible in charge. We have the Coast Guard maybe at times. We think it is BP but they are having a squabble among themselves.
http://www.newsherald.com/articles/spill-84775-charge-depends.html
All problems have more than one answer. The construction trade says there is more than one way to skin a cat. BP and the Coast Guard are arguing who is the right person to be in control. Pull the cap off, put it back on. People from all over the US have sent in ways that could have fixed the problem. If BP had used one of them it would have undermined their authority.
Right or wrong is only a perception many times. Is someone in charge and do they have the only answer. This makes us feel good so we can go about our lives without an inconvenience.
Wednesday, June 30, 2010
One way technology has change society.
Communication has always been a mover and shaker in societies. It is the rise and fall of many areas of life and death. If you head back 3000 years ago you had fast runners that would run between cities and who would deliver messages of wins or losses in battle. People would deliver news between towns of weddings and funerals. One Thousand years ago they had town criers who would tell the latest news of interesting items that was going on in surrounding areas. They would announce what the king or mayor would want everyone to hear. They also would sound alarms if an attack was coming or a nobleman was entering town. One hundred and thirty-four years ago Alexander Graham Bell was awarded the patent for the telephone. This was the wave of the future for communication. This was the town crier, the runner and more all into one machine.
Now that we have cell phones the modern way of communication things have changed immensely. Business is one or lost on abilities to sell on the phone. Your speech how it's perceived can cause joy or sadness. You can call 911 and let them know that you or your neighbor are being attacked. You find out about weddings or funerals immediately with pictures or text. Our daily lives are changed constantly as we don't have to go to a store to purchase items. With the invention of texting you can stay in contact with each other 24 hours a day.
The issues that come with this change is instead of just being able to know things faster or and increased knowledge of what is going on in people's live. We can now hear things and see things as they are happening or before they happen. I can tell everyone what I am going this weekend or where to be. I can send a picture or video of what I am doing. Sometime I can know to much about someone by what I read. People have used cellphones to send pictures to hurt people. Another problem is when using the phone or texting is okay. You are in a resteraunt and trying to have a converstion and the person next to you is having a conversation with someone that is n't there. You are in line at the grocery store and hearing about somone's private life. Kids today are texting while they talk to you. (they don't have to look at the keyboard)
Modern communication is great in many ways but someone need's to start standing up and saying in certain instances "No Cellphones Allowed In Here!"
Monday, June 14, 2010
wittc
Why I took this class. It was required for the degree I am going for. I think it will be an alright class and I will more than likely learn something out of it.
Wednesday, June 9, 2010
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