The Terminal Man Sparknotes

689 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Theme of insanity in literature

Sara Santistevan
Ms. Leuthold
Biology
Period 3
30 May 2014
The Terminal Man
The Terminal Man is a science fiction book written by Michael Crichton. Michael Crichton is an author who wrote many science fiction books, but he was also a doctor who graduated and received his MD from Harvard Medical School. He died on November 4, 2008, “after a courageous and private battle against cancer” (In Memoriam). The Terminal Man focuses on Harry Benson, a man who suffers from a severe personality disorder which causes him to believe that machines will take over the world. He also suffers from ADL syndrome, also referred to as acute disinhibitory lesion syndrome (a fictional mental disorder similar to temporal lobe epilepsy), which causes him to have dangerous seizures. During these seizures, he acts violently and brutally harms people, but he doesn’t remember doing so. It turns out that Benson is a prime candidate for a procedure known as stage three, in which electrodes are placed in Benson’s brain to soothe him before a seizure takes place. The operations is successful until Benson learns how to overpower the electrodes and control them on his own. He escapes the hospital and goes on a murderous rampage.
Although The Terminal Man is science fiction, the science behind the fictional concepts is still presented accurately. ADL syndrome is a fictional mental disease, but the effects and symptoms are very similar to what a person with temporal lobe epilepsy would experience. For example, if Harry Benson starts to smell something bad or feel funny (Crichton, 39), this could be a sign that he will have a seizure. He also has no memory of what happens during these seizures, and sometimes doesn’t even remember having said seizures. People with tem...

... middle of paper ...

...s well as to show the dangers of mind control. Crichton didn’t show bias, as he stated both the dangers of mind control and how people need mind control, otherwise we’d be “hopelessly lost without it” (Crichton, 227). He also shows both positive and negative views on technology and computers through his characters. Through Harry Benson, who believes machines will take over the world, shows how harmful certain scenarios could be if we tamper with technology too much; on the other hand, through characters like Gerhard and Richards, who love working with computers, show how beneficial computers are to humans. Gerhard makes a statement that computers never made mistakes, and that “they were never wrong...it always turned out, in the end, to be a human error” (Crichton, 97-98). I really like that Michael Crichton wasn’t biased, and how he showed both sides of the story.

Show More
Related

  • Is Google Is Making USupid? By Nicholas Carr

    1328 Words  | 3 Pages

    Together they work together as a whole in order to persuade his audience of those involved in technology. Carr uses these strategies in order to back up his information and validate his point. Carr begins by using pathos by stating an anecdote from the movie A Space Odyssey, then he uses logos by stating factual evidence and statistics, lastly Carr uses ethos by stating appropriate vocabulary and conceding to opposition. Throughout the article Carr compares the past and present and how the Internet has changed not only himself, but also people. In order to show his credibility, Carr uses research and examples of other credible writers who have the same beliefs as he does on the Internet. Due to the article being lengthy in text we are able to assume that Carr does that on purpose in order to validate his point that the Internet is affecting our mind as it shortens our attention span and ability to think creatively. The purpose of the excerpt is to persuade his audience of those involved in technology that people in the society today are unable to have complete focus on a longer text due to the Internet causing us to artificial intelligence. For this purpose, Carr develops an influential tone for his audience

    Read More

  • Tuesdays With Morrie by Mitch Albom

    706 Words  | 2 Pages

    contracted a life destroying disease, ALS. However, for this old timer, he saw it rather as

    Read More

  • Analysis Of The Wrong Man By Alan Berlow

    934 Words  | 2 Pages

    “The prospect that innocent people will be executed in America is horrifyingly likely.” In Alan Berlow’s article, “The Wrong Man”, Alan gives an unsparing report on the criminal-justice system and the death penalty. Although many believe the execution of an innocent person is impossible and many advocate that it is so, Alan gives a detailed look at the death penalty and how possible it is. The purpose of this article is to show the flaws in our criminal justice system and how common an innocent can be sentenced to death.

    Read More

  • Persuasive Essay On The Shallows

    551 Words  | 2 Pages

    From communicating with one another to researching for an essay, these high-tech gadgets are constantly being used. Unfortunately this is slowly becoming a danger to the human mind and an individual's ability to carry out simple tasks. This can be shown through the examples in Carr’s novel. He states multiple times that technology is damaging the brain and is struggling to do the simple tasks it should be able to do. Through his multiple examples, it is clear that technology is hurting us because we can no longer contemplate, concentrate, remember certain details, and more. Although, we cannot avoid using technology, we should be mindful of how often we use

    Read More

  • Analysis Of Nicholas Carr's Article Is Google Making USupid?

    777 Words  | 2 Pages

    “With every new innovation, cultural prophets bickered over whether we were facing a technological apocalypse or a utopia” (Thompson 9). This quote states that with every significant break-through with technology, people contemplate whether it will have a positive or negative effect on mankind. Technology allows for external memory sources, connections to databases, and it allow easy communication between people. Thompson then directly counters Carr’s hypothesis and states that “[c]ertainly, if we are intellectually lazy or prone to cheating and shortcuts, or if we simply don’t pay much attention to how our tools affect the way we work, then yes - we become… over reliant” (Thompson 18). In his opinion, “[s]o yes, when we’re augmenting ourselves, we can be smarter… But our digital tools can also leave us smarter even when we’re not actively using them” (Thompson

    Read More

  • Harrison Bergeron: A Dystopian Society

    799 Words  | 2 Pages

    Never would I thought that we have a dystopian-like society in our world. Don’t know what a dystopia is? It is a society set in the future, typically portrayed in movies and books in, which everything is unpleasant. The novel Harrison Bergeron by Kurt Vonnegut is a dystopian story of a fourteen-year-old boy named Harrison who grows up in a society that limits people’s individuality. When he is taken away from his parents, because of his strong idiosyncrasy, his parents do not even recall his presence because of the “mental handicaps” that the government forces onto them. Harrison eventually escapes from his imprisonment and tries to show others that they can get rid of the handicaps and be free. Though the government official, or Handicapper

    Read More

  • Small Change By Malcolm Gladwell Analysis

    1567 Words  | 4 Pages

    He is concerned that humans will lose their individuality and lose who they are. He also fears that humans will lose the ability to think deeper than the surface. Technology has a huge impact on the human race according to Gladwell and Carr; they argue that technology is supposed to be a positive thing to this generation, and even the future, but technology is actually impacting us in a negative way. We have lost so many things due to the advancements in technology that we have made over the years. These losses include the ability to use technology efficiently and the loss of human connection. They also provide recommendations about what they think their peers can do to fix this mess they believe in.

    Read More

  • Smarter than You Think: How Technology Is Changing Our Minds for the Better by Clive Thompson

    625 Words  | 2 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Is Google Making USupid

    1263 Words  | 3 Pages

    Carr starts off his argument by referencing a “2001 a space odyssey” released in 1968 about a computer named HAL that tries to kill the astronauts that are on the spaceship that HAL controls. Carr uses an excerpt from this movie to incite fear into his readers and fear clouds judgement and causes irrational ideas to be formed. This movie is an over exaggerated sci-fi thriller and not a realistic representation of what computers are becoming. At the conclusion of his argument Carr does not forget to leave his readers the way he greeted them, Carr quotes 2001: a space odyssey “i can feel it. I’m afraid” (Carr 328). Although emotions are a strong way to engage with a reader, strong emotions also distract readers from the actual argument and encourage the reader to make a decision based on their feeling rather than their actual brain. The fact that Carr uses emotion to convince his readers is quite ironic, considering he is arguing that new technology is limiting our ability to use our brains. In contrast Thompson’s article uses logic and reason to make his argument. At the same time Thompson’s article still engages readers and is just as interesting to read as Carr’s essay. Thompson’s article starts off pondering whether computers or humans are better at chess. To answer this

    Read More

  • Rhetorical Analysis Of 'Is Google Making USupid?'

    915 Words  | 2 Pages

    Carr captures his audience's attention by using an allusion from “Stanley Kubrick’s movie 2001, A Space Odyssey”. He stated the essay with “Dave, stop will you?” and the Supercomputer HAL plead. Any reader who has watch A Space Odyssey or interested in supercomputers to read his article. He highlights the fact that a computer could think for you. The states, “I’ve had an uncomfortable sense that someone, or something, has been tinkering with my brain(Is google making us stupid? By Carr page 2)”. He made a point that the more people are found of the internet the more we lose ability to deep think.

    Read More

  • The Machine Stops

    1355 Words  | 3 Pages

    In this book, Forster is able to portray a reality that could become true if we, human beings, keep depending on technology for survival. Although it is very distressing that people became dependable to the Machine to the extent where they loose their humanity and become like a machine as well, with no mind of their own. It is incredible how people were not able to survive when the Machine stopped working; it is understandable that people nowadays will also have a hard time surviving without technology since we were born into a technological world. But the World will be well when people like Kuno remind humans what is really important in life.

    Read More

  • How Does Computers Change The Way We Think Essay

    1144 Words  | 3 Pages

    “It encourages affirmation or rejection of our feelings” (Rosen). “The tools we use to think change the way in which we think” (Turkle). This point that Sherry Turkle made in her article is true, in a way. Computers do things for us and for us, that is also true. Some people like to blame technology for a lot of things and they could be in the right or in the wrong for it.

    Read More

  • Annotated Bibliography: Artificial Intelligence As A Threat

    1942 Words  | 4 Pages

    I will use this article’s arguments and logic in the counter argument section of my essay. I will address the arguments Boden utilizes and will mention the additional fears that are mentioned in the article. While dehumanizing aspects of artificial intelligence are not a great threat given artificial intelligence’s limitations, artificial intelligence will continue to advance. Meanwhile, the issue of humans depending too heavily on inaccurate information is a concern. Artificial intelligence cannot know everything, so decisions may not be as thought-out as humans. This article is unbiased, as it uses strong logical arguments without employing logical fallacies. The article also addresses other fears, instead of claiming that artificial intelligence is a flawless concept. This article is limited, as it doesn 't discuss two of my arguments in my essay

    Read More

  • Dementia

    3248 Words  | 7 Pages

    The clinical picture in dementia is very similar to delirium, except for the course. Delirium is an acute transitory disorder. By contrast Dementia is a long term progressive disorder (with the exception of the reversible dementias). The course of AD can range anywhere from 1.5 to 15 years with an average of about 8.1 years (Terry , 1988). AD is usually divided into three stages mild, moderate, and severe. Throughout these stages a specific sequence of cognitive deterioration is observed (Lezak, 1993). The mild stage begins with memory, attention, speed dependent activities, and abstract reasoning dysfunction. Also mild language impairments begin to surface. In the moderate stage, language deficits such as aphasia and apraxia become prominent. Dysfluency, paraphasias, and bizzare word combinations are common midstage speech defects. In the severe stage the patient is gradually reduced to a vegetative state. Speech becomes nonfluent, repetitive, and largely non-communicative. Auditory comprehension is exceedingly limited, with many patients displaying partial or complete mutism. Late in the course of the disease many neuropsychological functions can no longer be measured. Also primitive reflexes such as grasp and suck emerge. Death usually results from a disease such as pneumonia which overwhelms the limited vegetative functions of the patient.

    Read More

  • Human and Inventions: The Computer Evolution

    700 Words  | 2 Pages

    Our minds have created many remarkable things, however the best invention we ever created is the computer. The computer has helped us in many ways by saving time, giving accurate and precise results, also in many other things. but that does not mean that we should rely on the computer to do everything we can work with the computer to help us improve and at the same time improve the computer too. A lot of people believe that robots will behave like humans someday and will be walking on the earth just like us. There should be a limit for everything so that our world would remain peaceful and stable. At the end, we control the computers and they should not control us.

    Read More

More about The Terminal Man Sparknotes

Open Document