Quote:Original post by CandleJack I had a similar conversation with someone who was saying that GPS devices were going to cause people to forget how to read maps. I guess in the long term this could be true, but is that a bad thing? How many people these days could navigate using nothing but the stars as their guide?
While alot of people might lack that knowledge today its not too hard to learn the basics using google.
http://www.trails.com/how_925_navigate-stars.html was one of the first links i found.
You'd still really want a map though, While the stars can tell you where you are they can't tell you where the place you wish to go to is.
[size="1"]I don't suffer from insanity, I'm enjoying every minute of it.
The voices in my head may not be real, but they have some good ideas!
The only negative thing I see in abundant technology is over-reliance. With google (and GPS devices as was mentioned) people don't retain as much information in their long-term memory.
Example, if I'm in a new place I let my GPS guide me. If I go back I will have no idea how to get around without my GPS device. If I go back without GPS but with a map, even once, I'll never need the map or GPS again.
Today I googled a recipe for cheddar biscuits. I have know idea what I put in the bowl except that I put in flour and butter. However, I had my pizza dough recipe memorized after one time because I didn't want to forget it.
Not a problem while access to the technology is available, but if the power shuts off or some solar flare wipes out satellites and the internet, there are a lot of people who will be screwed.
Quote:Original post by ChurchSkiz The only negative thing I see in abundant technology is over-reliance. With google (and GPS devices as was mentioned) people don't retain as much information in their long-term memory.
Example, if I'm in a new place I let my GPS guide me. If I go back I will have no idea how to get around without my GPS device. If I go back without GPS but with a map, even once, I'll never need the map or GPS again.
Today I googled a recipe for cheddar biscuits. I have know idea what I put in the bowl except that I put in flour and butter. However, I had my pizza dough recipe memorized after one time because I didn't want to forget it.
Not a problem while access to the technology is available, but if the power shuts off or some solar flare wipes out satellites and the internet, there are a lot of people who will be screwed.
You are saying something. I wouldn't be surprised, if this world (more precisely this civilization) would end like this. (Okay, the reason would more likely to be fear (because we are forced to be so dependent of technology), but sounded good).
Quote:Original post by ChurchSkiz The only negative thing I see in abundant technology is over-reliance. With google (and GPS devices as was mentioned) people don't retain as much information in their long-term memory.
Example, if I'm in a new place I let my GPS guide me. If I go back I will have no idea how to get around without my GPS device. If I go back without GPS but with a map, even once, I'll never need the map or GPS again.
Today I googled a recipe for cheddar biscuits. I have know idea what I put in the bowl except that I put in flour and butter. However, I had my pizza dough recipe memorized after one time because I didn't want to forget it.
Not a problem while access to the technology is available, but if the power shuts off or some solar flare wipes out satellites and the internet, there are a lot of people who will be screwed.
You are saying something. I wouldn't be surprised, if this world (more precisely this civilization) would end like this. (Okay, the reason would more likely to be fear (because we are forced to be so dependent of technology), but sounded good).
Ray Mears and Bear Grylls will have to repopulate the earth!
Research skills are something which have evolved / developed within a world where information takes time to find. With the advent of search engines and the current trend whereby all information ends up on the internet, those skills are no longer needed.
I shall abstract the problem for those who are confused by emotional argument.
Consider problem P.
P is solved through solution S.
Solution S is a Good Thing(tm) because it solves problem P.
After some time, solution T provides a Better Way to solve P.
People begin to learn T and S falls by the wayside.
People now see that people are losing the ability to use S. T is the cause.
Therefore T is a Bad Thing.
Don't thank me, thank the moon's gravitation pull! Post in My Journal and help me to not procrastinate!
I read an article today in the newspaper about the 'digital generation' and how teenagers these days are 'functionally illiterate', that is, can't spell, syntax simple sentences, have a discussion about history. But what I have observed is that, while people who use digital means as black magic boxes do have those tendecies, people that are the *real* digital generation, are much more eloquent.
Take this board for example, and some other programming forums as well. We may have it as an inside joke that the Lounge is the Hall Of Nonsense, but in reality, its quality compared to pretty much every other board on the internet is astounding. People here(I'm not counting myself), mostly those who are computer literate, are very good in constructing arguments, expressing themselves beautifully even in language that is not their own, having thought-out opinions and knowledge about diverse topics, like science,history,literature. Rarely, if ever, have I seen a member here that is technically competent, but fails in spelling or overall basic knowledge, or constructive arguments. Quite the contrary. Which lets me to believe that the problem is not how much the digital 'world' is part of your life, but on the contrary, it's how much you actually understand that world, what you are using, what is that thing that you depend on.
Quote:Original post by speciesUnknown Research skills are something which have evolved / developed within a world where information takes time to find. With the advent of search engines and the current trend whereby all information ends up on the internet, those skills are no longer needed.
I disagree with the assertion that research skills are no longer needed. While the nature of research has changed and many forms of research have become trivialized, and many of the skills formerly used in research are indeed no longer necessary, search engines are no panacea.
Instead, research skills are gravitating towards more effective utilization of our new tools (search engines) -- filtering out poor or bogus results, determining keywords to get more appropriate and relevant results, and specialized knowledge about how to deal with limitations in these engines (such as, for example, using "C#" instead of ".NET" as a keyword due to the later's ubiquity in domain names) -- and away from more obsolete methods.
I have a feeling that it is all about how you use the search engine tool. I remember only getting to use a calculator in high school in the later years, when math, science, and chemistry became more complicated. But I have a feeling that if the calculator is introduced earlier on, then this tool will be an all too easy replacement for the human mind, and students may never learn to develop their own minds to do basic calculations.
You either believe that within your society more individuals are good than evil, and that by protecting the freedom of individuals within that society you will end up with a society that is as fair as possible, or you believe that within your society more individuals are evil than good, and that by limiting the freedom of individuals within that society you will end up with a society that is as fair as possible.
