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The world is full of imagination, and the imagination will never stop; however, imagines can bring human beings into both authentic and inauthentic life. People imagine things through technology and counterfactual thinking. Counterfactual thinking makes people consider the possibilities and predict outcomes for the future, which brings human beings into authentic lives. Technologies have made people’s lives become much easier, which also make the humans’ relationships become more distant from each other, and create environments for the inauthentic life. This concept can be seen in both “Alone Together”, by Sherry Turkle, and “Possible Worlds: Why Do Children Pretend?” by Alison Gopnik. In “Alone Together”, Turkle addresses the ideas of the …show more content…
Inauthentic life is created by over-relying on technology, but authentic life still exists because of people have the knowledge to make the imagination come true. Technologies are shown everywhere in human beings’ lives, for example, robots, cell phones, computers, etc. From the article “Alone Together”, Turkle introduces the idea of authenticity by “ the ability to put oneself in the place of another, to relate to the other because of a shared store of human experiences” (Turkle, P267), and the intimacy is the exact opposite of the authenticity. Then, Turkle introduces the story of a graduate student Anne, who wants to have a boyfriend with caring behaviors, “she [Anne] confided that she would trade in her boyfriend ‘for a sophisticated Japanese robot’ if the robot would produce what she called ‘caring behavior.’ She [Anne] told me that she relied on a ‘felling of civility in the house’. She did not want to be alone” (Turkle P269). This relationship between Anne and her “boyfriend”-robot will be guaranteed. At least for Anne, Robot boyfriend will never leave or cheat on her, and she will not feel alone anymore. By having a boyfriend or
A. Introductory statement: A research article by Sherry Turkle titled, The Documented Life, discusses how modern technology has caused us to put our lives on hold.
Are technology and the media shedding the very fabric of the existence we have known? As technology and the media spread their influence, the debate over the inherent advantages and disadvantages intensifies. Although opinions vary widely on the subject, two writers offer similar views: Professor Sherry Turkle, director of the MIT Initiative on Technology and Self, in her article “Can You Hear Me Now” and Naomi Rockler-Gladen, who formerly taught media studies at Colorado State University, with her article “Me Against the Media: From the Trenches of a Media Lit Class.” Turkle asserts that technology has changed how people develop and view themselves, while at the same time affecting their concepts of time management and focus (270). Similarly, Rockler-Gladen believes media and its inherent advertising have had a profound effect on the values and thinking of the public (284). I could not agree more with Professor Turkle and Ms. Rockler-Gladen; the effects technology and media have worried and annoyed me for quite so time. The benefits of technology and media are undeniable, but so then are the flaws. People are beginning to shift their focus away from the physical world to the virtual world as they find it easier and more comfortable. The intended purpose of technology and media was to be a tool to improve the quality of life, not shackles to tie people to their devices. I no longer recognize this changed world and long for the simple world of my youth.
The complex human mind is a powerful weapon that lies within the arsenal of every individual in society. However, how useful the human mind can be depends on how the individual who possesses the mind uses it to his or her advantage. Malcolm Gladwell’s essay “The Power of Context” illustrates that an individual’s behavior is based on his or her social context. Oliver Sacks in his essay ventures into how experiences come to exist within a person. Susan Blackmore in her essay “Strange Creatures” explains the imitative nature of human behavior through memes. We shape our ideas and behaviors through our perceptions and our perceptions through our behaviors and ideas based on what we use our mind to allow us to see.
Mercer comments on a typical scene in today’s world: how people often struggle to engage in a conversation when they become preoccupied with their phone. Since technology plays a huge role in Mae’s life and career, she often perceives the events on her phone to be superior in terms of importance when compared to conversing with the people in her environment. Furthermore, Alan’s dad shares the flaws of digitally dependent jobs while expressing his concerns for Alan’s new occupation, he insists,“ ‘We've become a nation of indoor cats,’ he said. ‘A nation of doubters, worriers, overthinkers, thank God these weren't the kind of Americans who settled this country”(A Hologram For The King 84). Dave Eggers’ utilizes Alan’s father to address how society’s fixation on their screens has resulted in a pessimistic outlook on one’s self-worth.
The perception of reality varies for each individual throughout space and time. In Alison Gopnik’s short story, “Possible Worlds: Why Do Children Pretend?” she elaborately discusses the importance of counterfactual thinking and imagination. Gopnik explains how the ability to pretend influences decision making and the development of modern technology. Sherry Turkle’s story, “Alone Together,” is an in depth example of how advances in technology are shaping society. The exposure to modern technology and new knowledge of the technology creates a barrier between individuals. This barrier is not only between generations, but between people who have experienced technology in different ways. What is considered normal or a reality, for those who have
People all around agree that technology is changing how we think, but is it changing us for the better? Clive Thompson definitely thinks so and this book is his collection of why that is. As an avid fiction reader I wasn’t sure this book would captivate me, but the 352 pages seemingly flew past me. The book is a whirlwind of interesting ideas, captivating people, and fascinating thoughts on how technology is changing how we work and think.
Ray Bradbury thinks the presence of technology creates lifestyle with too much stimulation that makes people do not want to think. Technology distract us from people living a life in nature. Clarisse describes to Montag of what her uncle said to her about his ol' days. " not front porches my uncle says. There used to be front porches. And people sat their sometimes at night, talking when they did want to talk and not talking when they didn't want to talk. Sometimes they just sat there and thought about things over." (Bradbury 63) Clarisse goes on to tell Montag that, "The archiets got rid of the front porches because they didn't look well. But my uncle says that was merely rationalization it; the real reason hidden underneath might be they didn't want people the wrong kind of social life. People talked too much. And they had time to think. So they ran off with porches." (Bradbury 63) this explain how in...
The novel, Alone Together: Why We Expect More From Technology and Less From Each Other (2011) written by Sherry Turkle, presents many controversial views, and demonstrating numerous examples of how technology is replacing complex pieces and relationships in our life. The book is slightly divided into two parts with the first focused on social robots and their relationships with people. The second half is much different, focusing on the online world and it’s presence in society. Overall, Turkle makes many personally agreeable and disagreeable points in the book that bring it together as a whole.
In summary, both the article and the novel critique the public’s reliance on technology. This topic is relevant today because Feed because it may be how frightening the future society may look like.
Advances in technology have complicated the way in which people are connecting with others around them and how it separates people from reality. In “Virtual Love” by Meghan Daum, she illustrates through the narrator 's point of view how a virtual relationship of communicating through emails and text messages can mislead a person into thinking that they actually have a bond with a person whom they have stuck their ideals onto and how the physical worlds stands as an obstacle in front of their relationship when the couple finally meets. In comparison, the article … While Daum and X discuss that technology pushes us apart and disconnects us from the physical world, they evoke a new light into explaining how technology creates the illusion of making
“Technology is supposed to make our lives easier, allowing us to do things more quickly and efficiently. But too often it seems to make things harder, leaving us with fifty-button remote controls, digital cameras with hundreds of mysterious features.” (James Surowiecki) Whether or not is known, technology has become too heavily relied on. It is replacing important social factors such as, life skills and communication skills. While technology is created to be beneficial, there must be a point in time where we draw the line. Once face-to-face conversations begin to extinguish, this means that there is too much focus on the “screen culture”. In her writing, “Alone Together”, Sherry Turkle talks
To love is to experience the interactions of emotions between two beings. Artificial intelligence beings lack the capability to love; they cannot feel, as humans cannot program emotions into their software. Many argue that artificial intelligence respond in a manner similar to that of humans, resulting in a spark of love from the subsequent conversations. However, these responses are merely chosen from a predetermined databank. Therefore, the love felt by the human and machine cannot be considered real love. “Love, as you’ll see, is not lasting” (Fredrickson 108), it must be renewed to further the continuation of relationships, and thus, emotionless AIs cannot make strides towards the betterment of their relationship with a human being. This oversteps the ethical boundaries regarding love because technology is essentially consuming the love lives of others. Those who are romantically involved with machines lose the ability to create and maintain relationships with other human beings, as they are being conditioned to believe love between a machine and a human is more worthwhile. As a result of the lack of connections between technophiles and the rest of humanity, many technophiles turn to artificial intelligence since they are more convenient, easier to interact with, and generate less painful experiences. This results in the personification of AIs as a means for technophiles to mimic human relationships without actually being involved in a human-to-human
In this essay, I aim to discuss the issue whether imagination is more important than knowledge. “For knowledge is limited to all we now know and understand, while imagination embraces the entire world, and all there will ever be to know and understand” (Albert Einstein).
As I was always told, it is better to live on your own then it is with a roommate. These are reasons why.one. When you are living, alone you have the responsibility to take care of everything and not have to worry about other people getting in your way. Living on your own offers a great deal of freedom to act how you want and live the way you want. If you want to lie on the couch for days on end, watching there is no one there to complain about your behavior. You can listen to your music as loud as you can want or any kind of music for that matter because you do not have anyone nagging about what you are doing.