Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2015/03/30
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]Mark, you have missed my point entirely. Of course there is a wealth of information on the Internet. For those of us who are intellectually curious, it's "kid in a candy store" time. Which is wonderful. When I said "dumbing down," I was referring to the general decline of education, literacy, cultural literacy and critical thinking that I have witnessed in my lifetime, at least in the U.S. It seems to correlate with America's economic decline since about 1973, when the postwar boom came to an end. I can tell you honestly that many college graduates today know less and think less well than high school graduates "back then." I've observed it, I've read articles about it, and my friends who teach college confirm it. The very bright and the very hard-working still do well, but the averages have gone down. How many times have they had to "recalibrate" the SAT scoring curves since the 70s? We are reaping the social consequences of this decline today, big time. I also stand by my observation that the Internet has made it more difficult for writers, artists, photographers etc. to make a living from their work. Someone who is already well-established may have an easier time geting their work before a larger audience. But unless they're a superstar, they'll also get less money per piece. There's always some amateur with the DSLR or a copy of Microsoft Word who can create semi-adequate content, and that's "good enough" for many of our old outlets. Standards have been lowered, and there's a "race to the bottom" on payment. And if you're just starting out, you have to blog for free, accept that your work will be stolen and used without payment or attribution, and hope someone who will pay you notices. And you're not just competing with people your city, but with everyone in the world. Don't even get me started on the "information wants to be free" crowd. Or the Web entepreneurs for whom "content provider" means: "You're not important. Any 14-year-old with a computer could do what you do. For free. I don't have to pay you.". P.S. Several people have already encouraged me to start a blog. Of course, they aren't offering to pay me. :-) -Peter On Sunday, March 29, 2015, Mark Rabiner <mark at rabinergroup.com> wrote: > To me it seems pretty obvious but lets just say its my opinion that the > internet is a boom for culture. And I find it absurd the statement that > because of the internet " it impossible to do most creative things except > for free," I wonder who you could substantiate claim like that when the > evidence to the contrary is overwhelming. I would call the internet a boom > for culture. A boom for getting smart; Being tasteful, informed. Access > even > the most obscure information in seconds. My what a nightmare! > I pity the poor people who have to come up with an excuse for being stupid > and tasteless in today's world. > I'd keep typing but instead I'm going to Google/Wiki nineteenth century > cameras I'd heard the centers for making these camera were in Paris and > London but I wanted to find out when it hit the US and NY as in up state > NY. > I'm glad I don't have to be spending the day in the library not finding > much > of anything on it. The Dewy decimal system was never for me. > > I think in today's world its hard to come up with an excuse to be stupid. I > think it takes a rare talent to be out of the loop. > > On 3/29/15 2:24 PM, "George Lottermoser" <george.imagist at icloud.com > <javascript:;>> wrote: > > > I recommend caution when using catch all phrases like "dumbing down." > > > > I definitely see the the internet, and accompanying technology, making it > > easier than ever to Create; books; music; conceptual art across all > mediums > > and and including new mediums and media. > > > > The smart and intelligent have incredible resources for researching and > > finding information on virtually any subject: health, history, > literature, > > poetry, music, film, visual art of any sort, including photography. > > > > Certainly we can also point to a glut of dumb shit; but that has always > been > > the case. > > > > Thanks to the internet, and many on this very list, I was able to meet > with my > > urologist, for the first time, with a wide and deep knowledge of > terminology, > > tests, treatments, meanings of numbers, and all of the procedures > surrounding > > an Enlarged Prostate (BPH) and Prostate CA. I don't consider that a > > "coarsening and dumbing down of our culture." On the contrary I consider > it > > empowering. > > > > a note off the iPad, George > > > > On Mar 29, 2015, at 2:05 AM, Peter Klein <boulanger.croissant at > > gmail.com > <javascript:;>> > > wrote: > > > >> Thanks, George. I do wish the things I care about weren't go down the > drain > >> quite as fast as they seem to be sometimes. But between the Internet > making > >> it impossible to do most creative things except for free, and > >> the coarsening and general dumbing down of our culture > > > > _______________________________________________ > > Leica Users Group. > > See http://leica-users.org/mailman/listinfo/lug for more information > > > > > -- > Mark William Rabiner > Photographer > http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/lugalrabs/ > > > > _______________________________________________ > Leica Users Group. > See http://leica-users.org/mailman/listinfo/lug for more information >