Postman Chapter: 1

While reading the chapter from amusing ourselves to death, I wondered, “Will I be (fill in the blank) to death?”  This got me pointed in the direct of topicality. They use the wording “to death” instead of “‘til death” which prompted me to think that it is somewhat our fault.

            I noticed that this first chapter goes in a few directions off the start. The idea that the printed word and digital word aren’t compatible in this day and age makes me think of a few phenomena. One being that with the use of printers and computers to shift the medium to electronics means, in effect, made it even easier to use paper. Instead of copying notes by hand, we can mass print and distribute. Our paper usage increased significantly. This may have been an unforeseen consequence. Secondly, newspapers seem to be obsolete. However, the content is still there, it has just evolved to stay in the game. New apps and online outlets have taken the place.

            A lot of the chapter talks about the shifting mediums. Postman says that Reagan was president while writing this so I assume that while writing one of the big improvements in home tech was Betamax and VHS. I don’t imagine that technology was as cheap as it is today. The price and availability is what put more electronic devices in people’s hands.

            The medium is the metaphor is an interesting concept. The last page describes how a watch recreates time under its own volition in a precise manner. This relays the notion that in every tool created has associated schemas or constructs that we all understand. What this conveys, is an idea that the metaphor is a literary term to describe a similarity that we already understand but need a way to understand what one another means. Today, if I were to say “I’ll text you later” or “ttyl”, people would understand the concept. I had one final thought: