Saturday, March 5, 2016

Our Message [version 1]

This concept card epitomizes our message
Communication is critical to civilization. It underpins it. It makes possible law, education, cooperation -- the very possibilities of consensus and collaboration.

A corollary to this is that as communication changes, so does civilization. New modes of communication do not merely continue our civilization; they alter and disrupt it, for better and worse. And for this reason, we need the perspectives of history to be equipped to manage the critical task of communication in the 21st century.

Things are not the same. However, the problem of change is not new. And so we turn a lens upon the past in order to understand the present as threshold moment in civilization's evolution.

Do you agree? What is the potential to improving civilization made possible by changing communications in the 21st century? What is at risk? What moments from history best illuminate the problems and changes of our current time? What is next?

18 comments:

  1. I agree that communication is critical to civilization. The biblical story of the Tower of Babel is a classic example of how the inability to communicate halted the progress of a large scale project, and caused a people to be scattered all over the world.

    Generally, new modes of communication are only adopted by society if it overcomes an existing problem - texting solved the problem of requiring the recipient of the message to be present when the message is delivered, for instance, and is now a staple in our world. I believe that whatever comes next needs to convince users that they need it.

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  2. I like the way that this is framed Dr. Burton. I particularly like how you said we must reflect on history to truly progress rather than just creating "new" stuff without much purpose. This will seem extremely generic for an answer, but I think that there are definitely pros and cons to the growth of technology and correlation to communication, but overall the cons outweigh the pros. The outcome of which I can see in my younger sister and her friends ... most conversations that I hear among them are about social media or words they've learned through hashtags on social media.

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  3. I also agree that communication is on of the things that makes up civilization, and is crucial to it. I do not think that civilization would be able to survive if there was no communication, in any type of form. People need to converse with each other, ideas need to be thought up and executed, and so on, and that is what builds a civilization and community.

    I really like your comment about evolution, and how civilization has evolved based on what happened in the past. My project is about this evolution of writing and books, and how that improved and declined communication in history, and how that was an outlet to how people are communicating now.

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  4. I also agree that communication is on of the things that makes up civilization, and is crucial to it. I do not think that civilization would be able to survive if there was no communication, in any type of form. People need to converse with each other, ideas need to be thought up and executed, and so on, and that is what builds a civilization and community.

    I really like your comment about evolution, and how civilization has evolved based on what happened in the past. My project is about this evolution of writing and books, and how that improved and declined communication in history, and how that was an outlet to how people are communicating now.

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  5. In a digital dialogue post, I made the argument that the increase in technological communication should theoretically not negatively impact younger generations. The reason I made this statement was because I think the key to progressing digitally to the fullest extent, will only come when older generations embrace it. Currently, kids and teenagers are often more advanced than their parents, but they mainly use their technological knowledge for social media and are unable to expand their talents at school in order to progress. If the older generations were better at utilizing media and technology, they could implement this in their classrooms and encourage students to use online communication maturely and to benefit their learning. If they did this, students would grow up collaborating with others and using their skills for progress rather than for wasting time.

    To address the history aspect of the posed question, I think that a good example was during William Tyndale's time when he was working to translate and mass produce the Bible to reveal corruption from Catholic priests in misrepresenting the Bible's contents. Until then, there was very little religious progress. Younger generations were not able to expand their knowledge because they had been taught by their elders whom believed what the priests told them. It wasn't until the older generations began to read the translated Bible themselves that the youth could really revolutionize religion and break away from the Catholic church if they wished to do so. In this way, I believe that older generations need to work to be one step ahead of the youth so that they can teach them how to safely and proficiently use the tools available to them.

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  7. I notice that the OP refers specifically to the "problem" of change clearly, but I would like to suggest there may be more: perhaps the "opportunity" of change, or even the "triumph" of change. I realize that talking about problems (and then proposing solutions) may be the most dramatic and naturally engaging approach, but what might we be missing if we don't allow ourselves to come at it from an angle of talking about what is going really well? Just a thought to mull over!

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  8. I agree that as communication changes civilization changes. We have seen such rapid change in communication during the 21st century. The internet has accelerated the speed of communication. New websites and apps have further facilitated communication globally. We have seen this communication completely change the way business is conducted. Never before have people had the opportunities they have now to start their own businesses with little to no experience or start-up money. Though communication changes the face of civilization, I believe that the underpinning of civilization remains constant.

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  9. "New modes of communication do not merely continue our civilization; they alter and disrupt it, for better and worse." I loved this line. Whether we like it or not, it appears that technology (and with it, new methods of communication) are marching forward. When we resist change, we also seem to resist growth. Think back to the 1800's, when the mid-west was being settled. The steel plow was invented here because the previously used wooden plows kept breaking in the harder, more densely packed soil. If the farmers had resisted change to the point that they refused to use the "newfangled" steel plow, what would have come of the farming industry?

    However, I don't believe that we are completely passive in the rise of technology. We can raise our voices and help determine the changes that are being made. I think that we have to find a balance between accepting the fact that there will always be change, and controlling HOW things change.

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  10. I agree that communication helps dictate where the world is going and how it is changing.

    The largest impediment I see with all of this though is the lack of nations wanting to be as interconnected as their forms of communication allow their citizens to be. Even though Facebook can make friends of a Russian and an American, there is still tension between them politically. Our world is as much tied to communication as it is to politics. If nations were to be more open to change and connectivity (which they can do without forcing/changing trade, commerce, and foreign policy), change will accelerate for the human race.

    This is like the use of the printing press. It was readily adapted. Societies embraced it and used it for their benefit. The people wanted it, and it became available to them. Because of this (mass-adaptation), society started changing rapidly.

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  11. Wow, I loved this idea of looking to the past to see if we are utalizing the present. As far as your questions at the end go I am sure that we can gain a lot of knowledge from history. For example history teaches us that we need to be patient with change. This is seen in the French Revolution, as well as the Civil War. There are so many exapmles of people wanted quick change. This is not bad nor imposible but it has always come with a high price. like getting a payday lone, it is fast and you may get what you want imediately but comes with a high price, a high interest rate. This can be seen digitaly. digitaly they don't release everything that they have come up with all at once they work on it a prefect it more before giving it to society.

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  12. I think it's a good thesis to build around, although I feel that some of the ethos may be lacking, since as far as I remember, I've communicated in a similar style all my life. Although this may be a confounding factor, I also think it gives us a new perspective. By and large, the ones who define a form of communication are the ones who use it the most. We are a generation who as at home on the internet, so in that particular fashion, we have great architectural power over the web of communication.

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  13. I enjoyed the part that talked about using the lens of the past. Focusing on something far away, like historical events and trends can help us avoid extreme reactions to current events. It helps you keep balance. Like when you are trying to balance on one leg it is easier to do if you are looking at a far off point. I think that looking at the historical can help understand the present. So often we overreact to every new trend and are eager to burn every new idea or way of communication at the stake. We need to recognize that digital communication does more good than harm.

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  14. I enjoyed the part that talked about using the lens of the past. Focusing on something far away, like historical events and trends can help us avoid extreme reactions to current events. It helps you keep balance. Like when you are trying to balance on one leg it is easier to do if you are looking at a far off point. I think that looking at the historical can help understand the present. So often we overreact to every new trend and are eager to burn every new idea or way of communication at the stake. We need to recognize that digital communication does more good than harm.

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  15. I like the idea of the argument. We'd need to find some way to make it credible though. Specific examples, sources and images would help.

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  16. Risks are certain to come about when communication disrupts civilization. Educators are particularly concerned with this disruption, feeling one major risk is a loss of classical epistemology. The way we learn is becoming more connected virtually and less connected in person through the web. This can have its drawbacks, like creating a disconnected generation that relies too heavily on technology.

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  17. I agree with the statement "the problem of change is not new". A great example of how society struggled with change was the Black Rights movement in the 60's. Older generations in particular have an anxiety about change, and younger generations, who are more revolutionary accept it. I think where we need communication is between generations: giving our grandparents iphones is a great way to start! Times are changing, and if the entire society understands modern technology and new ways to communicate, the transition into our future will be easier.

    Unfortunately, I also believe that how we communicate today (through social media, youtube followings, online friendships) there is a possibility we may lose face-to-face communication. Things can easily be misconstrued through text and email. I appreciate TV and youtube for maintaining the visual communication.

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