Amusing Ourselves to Death
Amusing Ourselves to Death is a prophetic look at what happens when politics, journalism, education, and even religion become subject to the demands of entertainment. It is also a blueprint for regaining control of our media, so that they can serve our highest goals.
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- I'm a big Neil Postman fanboy and he wrote two books. This conversation is in the intersection of the two.
Technopoly[0] on how society is now organized with technology as the end as well as the means. Technology giveth and taketh. There are winners and losers. Winners are those make use of the new technology. Losers are those that cannot. The more technology permeates our lives, the more this disparity will permeate society.
The End of Education[1] discusses the purpose of education and ways to pursue that end. The end of public education, in his view, is to create a public. A society with common goals and a common narrative.
What I appreciate about Postman's writing is his restraint in calling something "good" or "bad", but rather looking at tradeoffs. Posing the question of if the tradeoffs are acceptable for our ends. I walk away optimistic from his readings. Haidt is more gloomy and likes romanticizing his "past". He contrasts pressing images on glass in texting to the feeling of picking up the phone to call a friend, but ignores that the telephone itself had profound impacts on society.
Shout out to Amusing Ourselves to Death[2] which develops ideas around how visual mediums, ie video, carry different messages than say text. Dovetails nicely into the social media conversation. But it broadens your view of TV and its impact.
One day I'll get around to writing "Prompting Ourselves to Death" as an hommage.
[0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Technopoly
[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_End_of_Education
[2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amusing_Ourselves_to_Death
- This is in fact one of the primary points of TFA and the book it recommends: that the degradation of literacy, public discourse, and general intelligence that started with the television (and was well-described in Amusing Ourselves to Death, referenced in TFA, and which the title pays homage to) has only continued and, if anything, accelerated with the introduction of the smartphone and modern social media.
- I also think we underestimate the adverse side of changes we already live with. Would it really have been possible with a president (crypto)-scamming his voters in the 1950s or -60s US, or is that a result of televised media?
Read "Amusing ourselves to death" for exemple; written as a criticism of TV-media in the 80s but even more applicable on the short-form content of today.
Put Toqueville in a time-machine. Would he really regard the current state of society as something that should be aspired to?
Watch a televised primary or presidential debate from mid 20th century and you will be astounded at the quality of argument and focus of the discussion.
I think most people severely underestimate how far public discourse has fallen.
- Just finished reading Amusing ourselves to death : public discourse in the age of show business by Postman last night - and then seeing this... <laugh-cry>
Essential reading!
Can there be ANY doubt this "channel" will follow the Trump brand when he's no longer obliged to public service?
- Amusing Ourselves to Death by Neil Postman.
About halfway through- it’s really good so far. He makes a compelling case for how our culture has changed in many ways, often for the worse, with the introduction of television.
- I saw this: https://www.theguardian.com/media/2013/apr/12/news-is-bad-ro...
here on HN in 2013. I'd read "Amusing Ourselves to Death" so it particularly resonated with me at the time. I've watched the world get even more sucked in each passing year.
