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Total Members Voted: 9

[MetalSlimeHunt]

And the greek philosophers were right on that one. Mass literacy has indeed crippled everyone's ability to memorize things like epic poems, and society hasn't fallen apart because of that.

[Sensei]

I'd say the poems are a lot safer on the internet. Since any computer can store any (publicly available- and then some) information, there will be no Burning of the Library of Alexandria which leaves society-changing technology undiscovered for nearly two thousand years.

[Leafsnail]

I believe Google is running an archive scanning project for that very reason.

I suppose that could also be seen as a bad thing though, too - I mean, once information is out there, you can generally never get rid of it.

[Nikov]

Two thousand years from now, web archeologists will be getting some really wierd ideas about current sexual norms.

[Nivim]

 "Video games will eventually be able to test for any human trait, including the ability to lead and resistance to the detrimental effects of power." As more of a true or false start.

[Qmarx]

I ask: "How do you know you can trust the words in that book?"

Because academic literature goes through a meticulous peer review process to make sure it is.

Ha ha.

And the greek philosophers were right on that one. Mass literacy has indeed crippled everyone's ability to memorize things like epic poems, and society hasn't fallen apart because of that.

I wouldn't say crippled.  If you want to learn how to, you can fairly easily. 

It'd be like saying that the automobile crippled everyone's ability to use buggy whips.

[timtek]

It's seems as though we're discussing the web more than the internet. I would have to say that the internet is definitely not detrimental to humanity, in fact it's an enormous benefit. Culturally life on the web(merely one aspect of the net) can get pretty brutal, but the underlying technology connects almost our entire planet. If something goes wrong somewhere we are able to react more quickly to it, saving more lives and money than was ever possible before the internet emerged. Before phones it could take months, sometimes it was to late to help out in a major disaster. Now with the eyes in the skies hooked directly into the net we get information almost instantaneously.

Like someone else stated, it's a tool and how it is used plays a major role in its effect on humanity. I think the detriment to humanity is the lack of parental control over how children use the cultural force that is the www. Most parents would not let their kids roam a major city all day and night without any supervision, but they have no problem letting their kid grow up on the web. I'm not calling for censorship, I love the web the way it is, but I do think parents need to teach their children how to use the web to their advantage and not fall into the many pitfalls that an unrestricted system can offer.

[Il Palazzo]

A lot of threads get necroed lately. Hmmm.

Anyway, as for the parental control, and generally dealing with their kids' growing up with computers - the problem is that nobody knows how to actually do it. It's a completely new situation in which the present-day parents have found themselves in. There were no previous generations facing similar problems, on whose mistakes we* could learn.

*Not a parent myself. "We" meaning our generation.

[timtek]

I disagree, not knowing how to raise an internet ready kid was my mom's generations problem. I'm 33 and grew up online and we weren't rich or anything either. At this point you have people who grew up online raising kids. They should know the dangers and issues that can arise. Parents talk to their kids about drugs and sex, they should also be talking to them about the web.

[Virex]

I ask: "How do you know you can trust the words in that book?"

Because academic literature goes through a meticulous peer review process to make sure it is.

And academic literature is far more efficiently distributed electronically, and most printed reading material is not academic literature.

But most don't have access to the academic material, since that's behind pay-per-view systems or in on-line magazines with payed subscriptions...

[Bauglir]

-snip-

[ChairmanPoo]

scientific magazines often provide articles free of charge

[MetalSlimeHunt]

I vote new topic, and suggest we debate the institution of mandatory swim training in elementary school.

[Bauglir]

-snip-

[Heron TSG]

That'd be an interesting debate. It'd kind of suck for people like me who sink like so much granite.