To be honest, I was a little nervous to read the article. As soon as I picked up the book I knew I'd be in for some heavy reading. :)
Like a few of my fellow bloggers, I too thought it began a little dry but as soon as I got into it I found it to be a good read. To start I found it pretty fascinating that Joseph Care Robnett Licklider had a background in engineering and behavioral science. I mean, who better to lead the program than someone who understood both the interworkings of a computer and of a human being. Reading the article was interesting in that there were all of these predictions for the future that are now things of the past! I found his quote, "In a few years, men will be able to communicate more effectively through a machine than face to face" especially true to that. I can't imagine his what his reaction would be to all of the different technological outlets humans have to communicate with via the computer, especially since his article with Robert W. Taylor hinted at the possibility of cyber romance and that's something that is so prominent now!
Another quote that got me thinking was "The hope is that, in not too many years, human brains and computing machines will be coupled together very tightly, and that the resulting partnership will think as no human brain has ever though and process data in a way not approached by the information-handling machines we know today". To me, that thought is a little terrifying. As human beings we can only predict what would happen if we began to reply too much on technology and it never seems that it's a good thing!
Hello my dear sweet Veggie Delite :)
ReplyDeleteI agree, as I started in my blog, I thought the reading was pretty dry until I got into it. His background made it a pretty interesting read. I really liked the quotes you put into your blog. They were some that stuck out to me as well; they seem to be big parts of the article.
How did I know you'd talk about the cyber romances? Ha-ha, I thought it was really interested that it was hinted at. Could someone really think that one day through computers two people could form a relationship like that? It's crazy to think about.
Maybe we should direct people to your brother's romance scam website...Are you embarassed? I would be. Are we still going to your parentals for Labor Day? Give me and Tofu whatever the heck he named himself a ride or I'll tap your window in the night.
ReplyDeleteThat was also my inital reaction but I think it may not be such a bad thing as long as humans still control the rationale part of it. There are certain things that computers can do better. For example, they can calculate things quicker. If they can find a way to combine this computer characteristic with human rationale then it may work. I also fear putting machines in too much control of our lives but in a world that depends on technology it makes sense that peopel are considering that. Now it's becoming more about getting things done quicker and easier. I also fear the consequences that this type of thinkng will bring.
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