Sorry Benjamin Kunkel.
The insular, dramatic affirmations just don’t cut it this time.
Speaking from my experience, the internet (lowercase ‘i’) is what lead me to the serious study of literature and philosophy and history. Need I point out how many comprehensive and correct resources there are for said ‘serious’ study? I would use some more time to turn every word in the last sentence into a link for Benjamin and everyone reading this, but my severely addled ADHD brain just won’t let me. I see something shiny. Damn you, Interwebz! And that same ADHD mind is going to pass on your next article, because, hell, there’s so much more pseudo-subsumption to get to.
Tags: benjamin kunkel, internet
Why did the internet for you what a library couldn’t? What is the difference for you? Besides me asking the question, I am removing myself from the questions, as the ‘ I ‘ I am removing is genuinely curious.
and… ‘ …Siegel’s preference for professional skill and authority against the digital canaille leads him to champion the execrable ’90s sit-com Friends over an innocuous televised talent show like American Idol.”
I wonder if a good question is why Friends became more popular than the show is copied and stole from, the equally (if not more so) funny “Living Single”.
Good post. I like these articles. I like how you gave the article than its counterpoint.
Why did the internet for you what a library couldn’t? What is the difference for you? Besides me asking the question, I am removing myself from the questions, as the ‘ I ‘ I am removing is genuinely curious.
and… ‘ …Siegel’s preference for professional skill and authority against the digital canaille leads him to champion the execrable ’90s sit-com Friends over an innocuous televised talent show like American Idol.”
I wonder if a good question is why Friends became more popular than the show is copied and stole from, the equally (if not more so) funny “Living Single”.
Good post. I like these articles. I like how you gave the article than its counterpoint.
there are so many typos in my post i am scared. I’ve been doing that a lot lately. I feel stupid.
there are so many typos in my post i am scared. I’ve been doing that a lot lately. I feel stupid.
I’m surprised the debate hasn’t moved past it’s initial simplicity, and realised that online material in general, and blogs as part of that, are as various in genre as any print media. There were (and still are) solicitous and violent books and magazines, just as there was and is The New Yorker, Time etc. And there are blog equivalents of all of these.
I’m surprised the debate hasn’t moved past it’s initial simplicity, and realised that online material in general, and blogs as part of that, are as various in genre as any print media. There were (and still are) solicitous and violent books and magazines, just as there was and is The New Yorker, Time etc. And there are blog equivalents of all of these.
The counterpoint article I linked to does expand on this idea a little.
Michael: I have a pretty big problem with his disparaging of friends and subsequent dismissal, as harmless, of American Idol. C’mon. Too damned subjective to be informative or even interesting. He asserts his own ‘good taste’ too much for me to eat.
The internet provided a community that aggregated the knowledge I wanted to absorb and amplified the epistemic dialectic. Plus, people make fart jokes n stuff.
The counterpoint article I linked to does expand on this idea a little.
Michael: I have a pretty big problem with his disparaging of friends and subsequent dismissal, as harmless, of American Idol. C’mon. Too damned subjective to be informative or even interesting. He asserts his own ‘good taste’ too much for me to eat.
The internet provided a community that aggregated the knowledge I wanted to absorb and amplified the epistemic dialectic. Plus, people make fart jokes n stuff.
kunkel
kunkel
OH OH OH I forgot to label this Mean Monday.
OH OH OH I forgot to label this Mean Monday.
I grew up on books. I learned all the stuff I learned, initially, from books. And I felt involved with a community, whatever that is. Never felt a lacking.
Then my family finally bought a computer and it was on. Though still books were my central and the internet used as a quick-casual fact checker or source for small bits of information which would take a week long search to find, if even possible, as the book might not be in stock or orderable.
So your type of creature fascinates me and makes me want to fully understand you. All the available stuff the internet offers books (and their holders, libraries, bookstores, random people who have books) offers too, as the internet is an offshoot of people, which is why it has grown to include media once regulated to the pages of an assassinated tree. Mad Libs and Madd magazine had a lot of fart jokes, but also some pretty good political/social information, too. But obviously the internet attracted you to it more strongly than other media.
You mention ADHD, so it is the gratification and speed which causes all your good-feel fuzzy feelings? If you had the largest and most complete library in the world, living in a mansion, with your closest friends under one roof, would the internet still entice you more than books? Is it the digital/electrical pulses? Could it be some people are attracted to these pulses electronics give off verses books?
You mention amplification (of the conversation of knowledge) — but you chose (or it seems that you chose) to become more attached to the amplification rather than what it is amplifying… could I be wrong and think that there was a point where the internet’s knowledge sprouted from books first, and the non-book-based information existed in minuscule, but now that has flipped, or at least, evened out? So am I wrong to say that that amplification is book-based? The knowledge is what is being amplified, right?
But why is it amplified? (Is this then sync’d back up to the ADHD connection of quickness?)…. I guess it can almost be being down to those who sip colas and those who gulp it down… I dunno…
I’m not jumping on your face here. I’m really just trying to figure everything out… hope you don’t think I’m attacking you or anything man.
I grew up on books. I learned all the stuff I learned, initially, from books. And I felt involved with a community, whatever that is. Never felt a lacking.
Then my family finally bought a computer and it was on. Though still books were my central and the internet used as a quick-casual fact checker or source for small bits of information which would take a week long search to find, if even possible, as the book might not be in stock or orderable.
So your type of creature fascinates me and makes me want to fully understand you. All the available stuff the internet offers books (and their holders, libraries, bookstores, random people who have books) offers too, as the internet is an offshoot of people, which is why it has grown to include media once regulated to the pages of an assassinated tree. Mad Libs and Madd magazine had a lot of fart jokes, but also some pretty good political/social information, too. But obviously the internet attracted you to it more strongly than other media.
You mention ADHD, so it is the gratification and speed which causes all your good-feel fuzzy feelings? If you had the largest and most complete library in the world, living in a mansion, with your closest friends under one roof, would the internet still entice you more than books? Is it the digital/electrical pulses? Could it be some people are attracted to these pulses electronics give off verses books?
You mention amplification (of the conversation of knowledge) — but you chose (or it seems that you chose) to become more attached to the amplification rather than what it is amplifying… could I be wrong and think that there was a point where the internet’s knowledge sprouted from books first, and the non-book-based information existed in minuscule, but now that has flipped, or at least, evened out? So am I wrong to say that that amplification is book-based? The knowledge is what is being amplified, right?
But why is it amplified? (Is this then sync’d back up to the ADHD connection of quickness?)…. I guess it can almost be being down to those who sip colas and those who gulp it down… I dunno…
I’m not jumping on your face here. I’m really just trying to figure everything out… hope you don’t think I’m attacking you or anything man.
How old are you? I ask because there can exist a generation gap w/r/t internet use, not taking into account the amount of fascination with computers, e.g. my brother, who is 25, is incredibly knowledgeable about all things computer/internet, and well-read, and has spent 1000x more time at the computer than in a library.
I’m not too articulate at the moment, temporary health reasons, but let me continue…
Probably why I became heavily involved with the internet is the speed at which you can find information. I wouldn’t say it’s the gratification of just the speed alone, but, if you’re curious about Zen Buddhism, you can go to Wikipedia and get a good sense of the tenets/history, and also find real-life-hyperlinks to print books. I’ve been lead to read more books because of that quick-curiosity-sate and through community recommendation than I did when growing up in school, or among family and friends, local libraries, etc.
Your hypothetical mansion-friends situation sounds really nice, and could potentially replace the internet for me, but I’m also an introvert (80% of the time) and like having an Off button. I don’t think the aesthetic of electronics has anything to do with it. I prefer reading things on paper.
I’d say I turn on the computer every day for a few reasons: to be entertained. To talk to friends. To study. To make art.
The knowledge is being amplified, yes, but the discussion and study of said knowledge is what is incredibly alive. That’s hard to find in a library. The discussion and redefinition of knowledge is what attracts me the most. Constant challenge.
That’s all I’ve got right now, sorry I couldn’t be more thorough or well-put.
How old are you? I ask because there can exist a generation gap w/r/t internet use, not taking into account the amount of fascination with computers, e.g. my brother, who is 25, is incredibly knowledgeable about all things computer/internet, and well-read, and has spent 1000x more time at the computer than in a library.
I’m not too articulate at the moment, temporary health reasons, but let me continue…
Probably why I became heavily involved with the internet is the speed at which you can find information. I wouldn’t say it’s the gratification of just the speed alone, but, if you’re curious about Zen Buddhism, you can go to Wikipedia and get a good sense of the tenets/history, and also find real-life-hyperlinks to print books. I’ve been lead to read more books because of that quick-curiosity-sate and through community recommendation than I did when growing up in school, or among family and friends, local libraries, etc.
Your hypothetical mansion-friends situation sounds really nice, and could potentially replace the internet for me, but I’m also an introvert (80% of the time) and like having an Off button. I don’t think the aesthetic of electronics has anything to do with it. I prefer reading things on paper.
I’d say I turn on the computer every day for a few reasons: to be entertained. To talk to friends. To study. To make art.
The knowledge is being amplified, yes, but the discussion and study of said knowledge is what is incredibly alive. That’s hard to find in a library. The discussion and redefinition of knowledge is what attracts me the most. Constant challenge.
That’s all I’ve got right now, sorry I couldn’t be more thorough or well-put.
It IS a Mean Monday, because Grace’s dad is dead and all you wanna do is make jokes (and fuck Amy)! That’s really insensitive, Ben.
It IS a Mean Monday, because Grace’s dad is dead and all you wanna do is make jokes (and fuck Amy)! That’s really insensitive, Ben.
Thanks Ken, man. I appreciate your response.
I’m 24.
I’m used to be really connected to the internet for a little while in high school. I love computers/electronics and I’m gonna go to trade school for it soon.
But I noticed how much more useful a book can be when I was living on the streets and had severely limited computer access. Books were divine. For real. Incredibly. I read constantly and used the computer to write occasionally or search for jobs and stuff.
Thanks Ken, man. I appreciate your response.
I’m 24.
I’m used to be really connected to the internet for a little while in high school. I love computers/electronics and I’m gonna go to trade school for it soon.
But I noticed how much more useful a book can be when I was living on the streets and had severely limited computer access. Books were divine. For real. Incredibly. I read constantly and used the computer to write occasionally or search for jobs and stuff.