Postman Chapters 4-6 Discussion

1. Discuss Postman's "social experiment." Given his view that technopoly means you have no foundation of disbelief, what do you think of Postman's use of inflammatory rhetoric?

As Postman performs his social experiments on his colleagues, I can definitely see the truth and humor in this situation, and have even seen sitcom episodes that deal with the, “Oh, yeah…..I did hear about that,” with the absent-minded nod and over-enthusiastic agreement about ridiculous “facts” that have been relayed to the unsuspecting victim of the experiment. However, I feel that in this situation, as described throughout his book, Postman is looking to blame yet another of society’s ills on this Technopoly that he sweepingly phrases our entire culture with. It is true that we are experiencing an overwhelming amount of information exposure, and I can confidently predict that this will become an even bigger problem as time goes on.

There are days where I can turn on the news and as soon as I hear the words, “When we come back, you won’t believe the results of a new study done that shows a significant…” I turn the channel or the television off entirely. I reluctantly agree with Postman here that with the amount of information that is currently available to us that a clever statistician can work numbers to say or claim almost any statement that you wish, which causes a problem when we are deciding what to believe or disbelieve. I do have to chuckle though at the quote Postman credits to H.L. Mencken when he says, “There is no idea so stupid that you cannot find a professor who will believe it.”

Postman states that “Information without regulation can be lethal,” which only presses the issue he seems to have with control over every aspect of life, and that without control, the human spirit cannot function. Again, Postman brings forth the disbelief that humans are more than mindless drones that simply bow to any higher power that evangelizes its awesomeness and simply lures us away from all that should be held sacred. I believe that any mature human being has the ability to discriminate among the boundless information that is made available, and has the power to disconnect from the massive amount of media that bombards us on a daily basis. One could easily become insulted from Postman’s inference that humans are not intelligent enough to comprehend the information that is being presented to us, nor self-disciplined enough to disconnect. Of course, I suppose that is where the “inflammatory rhetoric” comes from…..

2. Discuss Postman's assertion that an uncontrolled supply of information causes a breakdown in psychic tranquility and social purpose.

Postman says that “Technopoly flourishes when the defenses against information break down,” in which he almost declares war on the discovery and sharing of new information among society. He feels that without a control on the flow of information, we are in peril because we are defenseless against the overwhelming pressure of Technopoly to conform to the love of science, technology, and information. When in fact, information is like air….it surrounds us, and it is impossible to control. For example, my brain sees what I am typing, and is interpreting my thoughts as information, and when my son tells me he is hungry, this is also information. Now, whether I choose to post this and every other moment of my life on Facebook is entirely up to me, and others that choose to “friend” me will take in this information about my brain and my son’s stomach. The truth is, everything waking moment, we are processing information and that is impossible to stop. Does this constant flow of information cause us to have nervous breakdowns and lose sleep because our brain is constantly firing in a million directions every millisecond? Not usually, and most of us do not lose sleep at night because we found out the best way to fight belly fat is to eat fewer carbs. (Of course, there are those that choose to watch the news all day and freak themselves out to the point that they fear the end of the world every moment, and perhaps those are the people that Postman is referring to?)

Postman then delves into the development of those institutions we have created to control information and its’ flow into our lives’, beginning with bureaucracy, then moving to expertise, and finally technical machinery. Of course, we all are taught to hate the bureaucracy because they are a cold, calculated body of data and black and white decisions….sure they are, but there have to be some definable rules and regulations that prevent chaos, and although much of our bureaucracies in the United States are absolutely corrupt, that does not mean that there should not be some level of order that a bureaucracy can serve as a framework for. Then expertise is addressed, and Postman writes in a Technopoly that experts are ignorant of any other field that their area of specialty. My answer to this would be that that is what makes them experts! Just because a person is an expert does not carry with it a notion of a scholarly, culturally-informed person that could recite poetry, critique art, or debate social theories. My mechanic is an expert on carburetors; however, he does not know the difference between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. Does this make him less of a carburetor expert? In fact, I would rather he not know the difference between the oceans if it makes him more capable of repairing my vehicle. The same goes with my doctor….as long as he knows the ins and outs of viral meningitis (which I am actually recovering from….yuk!), then it doesn’t matter that he can’t tell you who painted the Mona Lisa.

One last argument from this chapter, where Postman writes that in today’s culture, it is impossible to control the flow of information into a family structure. I have to disagree here and say that this is entirely dependent on the parenting style and framework of the family unit. There are plenty of things that I do not want my son exposed to, so I am careful not to expose him to those things. Postman may be speaking about when we send our children to school or out into the world, and that is true, however, we can homeschool, and until they are age 18, we are free to keep them “contained,” but I disagree that this is a good practice. It takes VERY diligent parenting, and yes, even using technology to implement parental controls on the television and Internet to filter the range of things that he can be exposed to, but that is my choice as a parent, and as long as I am doing what I feel is best for him, I would argue with Postman that in today’s culture, there is an inability to control the exposure of my child to information that I do not want him exposed to. It takes a LOT of work, but that’s what parenting is about.

3. Postman uses the rise in import of medical technology as an example of the evils of technopoly. Discuss this. Do you think it's true? Is it the technology? Is it the culture? Is it something else?

Of the chapters I have read thus far, I feel this is the weakest of Postman’s arguments. I do agree that when we look at the number of unnecessary surgeries, diagnostic tests, and treatments that are performed each year, we are shocked and angered by such ignorance. However, Postman does bring about an excellent point that in today’s society, the fear of malpractice outweighs the argument that a doctor may have with a patient about the necessity of a particular treatment. With the invention of WebMD and other technological self-diagnosis tools, we live in a culture where you tell the doctor what is wrong with you, and they agree or disagree, then perform the proper tests or treatments that are requested by the patient. Is this because of technology? Not really, but instead because of the increased amount of malpractice suits and lawyers chomping at the bit to sue a health professional because of any reason that can be found. Medicine is a practice, which means that there is no specific all-knowing base of knowledge that will be the best for everyone. Postman contradicts himself where he states that medicine has fallen victim to the Technopoly where everything is black and white and is categorized, however, medicine must be applied subjectively to patients, and the Technopoly has no room for such practices.

With the information that we have now about the human body, and how it functions, I find it hard to swallow that technology has had a negative impact on the medical field. It is true that technology has changed the field, and now doctors are reliant on many technologies to diagnose and treat conditions. However, as a patient, I can say that if I’m not feeling well, I want to know what’s wrong, and if that requires an X-ray, CAT scan, or other test, then I should trust my doctor enough to order the correct tests and treatments for my condition. Obviously, not all doctors are going to be honest and do what is best for patients instead of what’s best for their bank accounts, however, that can be said of any profession or individual. What matters is that medical professionals are better equipped to treat patients, and that is a certainty….thanks to technology.