Silicon Snake Oil
SLM 521 – Summer 2003
Brandi Adamy
1. Clifford Stoll proposes, “Suppose the network replaces newspapers, books, libraries and teachers. Is that a good thing?
Newspapers, books, libraries and teachers are what education is based and formed upon. Without any of those things we would become nothing. Jobs would be lost, money would be lost, intelligence would be lost, humanity would be lost.
2. Stoll states, “What are you telling a child when you set him down before a computer? One unspoken message is, “Go interact someplace else with this machine for a while.” Nobody knows how kids’ internal wiring works, but anyone who’s directed away from social interactions has a head start on turning out weird.”
The computer is a creative tool for children to use for learning, opening and expanding young minds. Children have plenty of opportunity to interact with others during play dates, school and various other community outings. As long as computers, video games, and even the good old television are not abused and used too often, these tools help develop a child’s hand-eye coordination, fine motor skills, listening skills, following directions, reading and letter recognition, and other various skills that all are crucial in child development.
3. Chapter five was entitled "A Short Chapter about the Short Lives of Digital Things." This chapter stated that computers have short lives and compared it to other electrical devices. It discussed how consumers purchase computers and in a couple of years it is obsolete.
One of the most expensive things a family will buy after a home and a car is probably a computer. Yes, it is frustrating to the consumer that technology is moving so fast that the newest computer in the store is already “old” when they buy that newest model. But the model you buy at the store will serve its purpose for a long time to come in a family’s home, especially when you can buy more space, newer upgrades and other equipment to keep it “new” until it is time to buy a new computer.
4. E-mail is clumsy, inefficient, and impersonal. It appears to be free, yet is actually quite expensive, and can be much slower than ordinary postal mail.
E-mail is an excellent means of communication if it is used correctly by everyone involved. You can get messages to someone very quickly as long as they are there to receive the message. As far as impersonal goes, I know I get excited to see an e-mail from a friend or family member who lives on the opposite side of the country, because I know they are thinking of me. Unfortunately there is the junk mail, the forwards and all of the other unwanted stuff that gets in the user’s way and wastes time, but truly it is a simple way of getting simple messages across to people far and near.
5. Information available over the Internet is often stale, incomplete, misleading, unreviewed, or simply wrong.
While it is true that some websites offer false and misleading information or not the most up-to-date information, it is due to the web maker himself. Most educated people and most people with common sense will know what specifically they are looking for on the net and can determine if it is what the most current truth is. People will believe what they want to believe and that does not only pertain to the information on the internet.