BP #1

Sandy-

In the article “Orality and Literacy: From The Savage Mind to Ways with Words,” written by James Paul Gee the quote that I chose was ” while oral cultures produce powerful verbal performances which may in fact no longer be possible once writing become entrenched in a culture, human consciousness cannot achieve its full potential without writing.” This means that societies were able to function based on orality through the process of passing information from generation to generation. As they were able to make that information memorable by being performative in story telling of a relative or real event. However once a society becomes literate it expands the “world view and self”  as now information can be individually sought after analyzed, compared and referenced.  This aids in the progression of a society as people can now form logical reasoning and identify contradictions this makes it so that orality is no longer the only way to receive information. This makes me think about my own culture. Haitian culture relies heavily on orality and a lot of what I learned about it has been through story telling. These stories or accounts usually explained why things were the way they were in Haiti or used as references to approaching current problems. Orality is deeply engrained in the culture and in agreement with Goody though I live in a technological society I’ve learned from a restricted literacy community. This has been the primary way of how I learned the “Haitian way.” I agree with the article because I feel that information passed/shared through word of mouth may not be reliable. As the perception of information change based on bias the integrity of it is called into question. The information may not be verifiable just simply obeyed and believed to be true. As literacy increases individuals are able to ask themselves thought provoking questions and possibly add innovative ideas to old information written. There is potential for an illiterate society to become advanced. The writer writes the article to expound on the effects of literacy in a orality based society by including the works on orality and literacy. The research done by Levi-Strauss, Havelock, Goody, Ong and more helped in making the article clear by presenting trials and specific work done on this subject. Each of their works added to the idea of literacy being the divide in humanity as well as how its effects can determine identity, advancement and preservation. What I noticed about the writing was that it seemed argumentative for example Ong acknowledging that there needs to be a revision on our understanding of how people connect literacy and human identity.

In the passage “Technopoly: The Surrender of Culture to Technology,” by Neil Postman I quoted Thamus. “…And as for wisdom, your pupils will have the reputation for it without the reality: they will receive a quantity of information without proper instruction and in consequence be thought very knowledgeable when they are for the most part quite ignorant.” This means with the introduction of new technology or writing those who utilize it will gain a new found sense of wisdom or “knowing all.” They will have access to an abundance of information that they will learn in a short period of time however due to lack of experience this will expose their incompetency. With learning new technology it is important to not only educate ourselves on how to use it but to put into practice what we’ve learned. Without this process this can create a false sense of expertise and conflict amongst those who are experts. The passage makes me think about computers and the internet providing us an expansive range of information and how we use it today. It is easy to feel like a professional at something after reading and watching Youtube videos on a subject of interest. However the expectations can be unrealistic just reading about how to become a Michelin star chef is different than reading and practicing to become a Michelin star chef. It is important to apply practical applications behind theory so that one day we can then be considered experts. I disagree with Thamus I feel like new technology creates opportunities for people to expand their knowledge. Writing/literacy changed the world around us because we are able to seek information for ourselves and educate ourselves by comparing, analyzing and researching. Though we have access to more information were not necessarily considered experts right away however we can learn the basics of a subject and build on that through study and practice. Not only was Thamus pessimistic on the idea of introducing new technology to the Egyptians and its capabilities he failed to acknowledge its usefulness. Not only will it allow for more innovation but advancement in a society as well which can be beneficial. The writer provided examples throughout the passage which I feel created a “lightness” when reading it. This allowed me to visualize scenarios for example when discussing the creation of the clock he describes the horror Gutenberg, a devout Christian, would have felt from seeing the clock being used to aid in capitalism and for business men to make money. This made the writing easy to ready and entertaining. The writer also used language that made it comprehensible so I didn’t have to stop and find the definition of words. I also finished reading the passage being able to tie into and understand what he meant by technopoly.