My Thoughts

When reading the excerpts from McLuhan, Stiegler, Wolf and Barzillia, and Carr, my last thought was "the machines are going take over." Though it may not be as catastrophic as James Cameron portrays it in "The Terminator," technology has left irreversible effects. Our relationship with technology is older than Methuselah, and from the first use of it our development of technology and dependency of it has increased. This is even more so with the dawn of the computer and the Internet. Wolf would say it altered our cognitive process.  This process is what allows for deep thought or reading.

In the excerpt Is Google Making Us Stupid? by Carr he explains how in the era of information our reading habits have changed. Due to the change in our reading the content created has changed, more summarized and shorter in length. This is so the reader can be more efficient when gathering info. The proliferation of information is efficient and like so we are become efficient. So efficient, Carr describes it by saying we are becoming machines. That's a scary thought. We have integrated technology so much into our lives it basically controls us to the point where we change.

Technology is dominant in our lives and its going to be like that for the future as well. However, here is where my hope lies, in education. Incorporation of tech in the educational system will allow for the cognitive process to grow and be put to use. This is where we can take control. As McLuhan says in order for education to truly by gained the old ways must be relinquished. That is a bit extreme. But being able to produce an effect rather than just have the effect occur would be more beneficial. Its important to keep our cognitive process intact, so we don't become mindless machines