Amusing Ourselves to Death...with Niel Postman info!

Neil Postman suggests that society is going from the age of typography to the age of television. The concept of cloning humans was mentioned in his lecture. As he was discussing this topic he stressed the fact that itmade people believe that it was going to be a big deal. The cloning started with animals such as frogs and sheep. This let to the idea of human reproduction and that clones would be useful for extra body parts so that in case of emergency, a man will be able to improve his body. A prevailing view will be that clones will be considered subhuman. So the idea goes beyond the tool. Also in chapter one, Postman mentions a new tool containing a new idea that goes beyond the tool itself, which is the clock.  Back in the day, time was measured by the sun and seasons. Now, time is measured by a machine using minutes and seconds. This changed the metaphor for time changed how we view time itself. These scientific developments will changed how we view one another just as clock as changed how we view time. Both of these advancements have meddled with nature and can only result in humans grading what has value and worth. 

The second example of Postman's parallels is that people have become adapted to talking to machines more then people. He says that we will talk to machines more and even may prefer it in the future. This is closely related to what Postman says in his book when we have succumbed to the philosophy of time. We are so reliant on our watches and clocks that we base most of our decisions and plans on the time. This is similar because we are so dependent on the clock and other technology that we focus on it more then the people. We have created a new way of life with technology but it seems as if the technology controls us instead of us controlling it. This idea is very similar to the idea of Postman and how we talk to machines more then humans.