Team Postman: Amusing Ourselves to Death

From 20803

(Difference between revisions)
Line 1: Line 1:
http://www.wardahbooks.com/main/images/amusing.jpg
http://www.wardahbooks.com/main/images/amusing.jpg
==Summary==
==Summary==
-
 
-
    In his book, Postman states that he believes that our culture has lost all sense of true communication.  All we do is watch TV, and then allow that to spur our conversations and that we rely on TV for all of our news coverage.  He follows the development of the different communication media throughout the years starting with the letter, to the printing press, to the newspapers, and so forth.  Postman supports the early types of communication because they were full of information and knowledge that was needed for the mind to thrive.  With the invention of the telegraph and photograph he begins to see the new ways to acquire knowledge; it is no longer just about the printed word. 
 
-
    According to Postman, we have lost all forms of public discourse.  With the invention of television, he finds the faults in the “shallow” news stories broadcast every night.  The first televised political debate is one of Postman’s main arguments because he sees this as politicians merely becoming celebrities. Lastly, he is disturbed by shows such as “Sesame Street” because parents view this as learning when all it is doing is teaching children to love television.  Postman argues that we should defeat the TV era and not rely on it for every aspect of our lives, we should control our own lives.       
 
==Vocabulary==
==Vocabulary==

Revision as of 23:30, 29 April 2008

amusing.jpg

Contents

Summary

Vocabulary

Modern Application

Themes

Author

Educational Background

Postman was born in New York City and grew up there most of his life. He graduated from State University of New York at Fredonia in 1953. He received a master's degree in 1955 and an Ed.D in 1958, both from the Teachers College, Columbia University, and started teaching at New York University (NYU) in 1959. In 1971, he founded a graduate program in media ecology at the Steinhardt School of Education of NYU. In 1993 he was appointed a University Professor, the only one in the School of Education, and was chairman of the Department of Culture and Communication until 2002.

Postman’s persona

Postman was known as an excellent public speaker, a man full of poise, and his best attribute terribly good humor (Rosen). Not only did Postman write about how technology was negative, but lived that way too. Rosen states that Postman would always say, “You have to understand, what Americans do is watch television. I am not saying that’s who they are. But that is what they do. Americans… watch… television” (Rosen). Postman refused any technology thought to “improve” something in which he had never requested improvements (Rosen). He resented being controlled by technology.

Neil_Postman.jpg

Eulogy

Andrew Postman, Neil’s son, wrote a eulogy [1] of his father after his father’s passing.

Quotes By Neil Postman found on Ariga.com

Technopoly is a state of culture. It is also a state of mind. It consists in the deification of technology, which means that the culture seeks its authorization in technology, finds its satisfactions in technology, and takes its orders from technology Neil Postman


Americans are the best entertained and the least informed people in the world Neil Postman


Children enter school as question marks and leave as periods Neil Postman


The authority of a definition rests entirely on its usefulness, not on its correctness (whatever that means); and it is a form of stupidity to accept without reflection someone else's definition of a word, a problem, or a situation Neil Postman The problem, in any case, does not reside in what people watch. The problem is in that we watch... Neil Postman


I believe I am not mistaken in saying that Christianity is a demanding and serious religion. When it is delivered as easy and amusing, it is another kind of religion altogether Neil Postman


What we need to consider about the computer has nothing to do with its efficiency as a teaching tool. We need to know in what ways it is altering our conception of learning, and how, in conjunction with television, it undermines the old idea of school. Neil Postman


Once you have learned how to ask questions - relevant and appropriate and substantial questions - you have learned how to learn and no one can keep you from learning whatever you want or need to know Neil Postman


We have transformed information into a form of garbage, and ourselves into garbage collectors Neil Postman


There is no escaping from ourselves. The human dilemma is as it has always been, and we solve nothing fundamental by cloaking ourselves in technological glory. Neil Postman


We have devalued the singular human capacity to see things in all their psychic, emotional and moral dimensions, and we have replaced this with faith in the powers of technical calculation Neil Postman


All knowledge begins with a question Neil Postman


Cited:

Rosen, Jay. Press Think http://journalism.nyu.edu/pubzone/weblogs/pressthink/2003/10/07/postman_life.html

Argia.com

Retrieved from "http://editthis.info/20803/Team_Postman:_Amusing_Ourselves_to_Death"
Personal tools