Silicon Snake

Clifford Stoll’s book clearly admonishes aspects of computers and Internet use. His main focus is the negative impact these technologies are having on society. I found some of his comments valid, where others seem outdated. Since his book Silicon Snake Oil is approximately seven years old, I am curious if any of his opinions have changed since then. As a side note, his book is available used on Amazon.com for $.38. Could this be an indication that others feel his views are antiquated? Here are some of my comments to Mr. Stoll’s opinions.

Mr. Stoll: “Few aspects of daily life require computers. They’re irrelevant to cooking, driving, visiting, negotiating, eating, hiking, dancing, speaking, or gossiping.” - While I agree that computers do not directly impact these activities, they can certainly indirectly influence them. For example, I can’t dance with a computer, but using the Internet I can find a site that lists the moves to a new dance or locate where local dance lessons are being offered. Email has made it easier and more economical to speak or gossip with friends and family who live far away. Many businesses and educational institutions rely on computers as part of daily routines to fulfill job responsibilities or teaching methods.

Mr. Stoll: "Information available over the Internet is often stale, incomplete, misleading, unreviewed, or simply wrong." – I can’t fault the author for driving home this point. Many people, especially students, fall into the trap of thinking everything posted on the Internet is true and valid. Our school librarian teaches a mini-lesson that proves not all websites are valid and useful. There is much misleading information on the Internet, such as hoaxes or bias writings. However, one cannot deny the fact that the Internet will provide more current information and more variety on topics than an older edition print resource. One needs to be mindful of how to search for valid information and cross-reference the material found with other websites or different types of sources.

Mr. Stoll: “Simply by turning to a computer when confronted with a problem, you limit your ability to recognize other solutions – I agree with Mr. Stoll’s statement. I find many of my students ignore other resources because they feel the Internet is the “mother load” of information. While the Internet does provide a wealth of knowledge, it is proper to seek other resources as well. For example, interviewing a person who experienced the Great Depression may glean more personal and emotional information than reading information from a website. For most of my assignments, I limit the amount of Internet sources my students can utilize. I even found myself craving other outlets of information besides my computer for this class.

Mr. Stoll: “E-mail is clumsy, inefficient, and impersonal” – What did we ever do without email! I couldn’t disagree with this statement more. Email has streamlined the way our society communicates. It is easy to contact many people at once with email distribution lists and with the help of spell and grammar check, the “clumsy” part of emailing is out of the equation. While icons and appropriate lingo help personalize the email messages, I sometimes find myself “reading into” the tone of the sender based on word choice. This has gotten me into trouble in the past.

Mr. Stoll: Internet is “a poor place for commerce” – This is definitely one comment I would love for the author to revisit today. The Internet has made shopping easier for millions of people. From comparison-shopping, to locating hard to find items, to bidding on a dream item, the Internet is a grand place for commerce. I buy books for discounted prices online as well as shop from catalogs online. Granted there have been cases of stolen credit card numbers from hackers and thieves, but overall the Internet is a safe place to browse and shop.