Monday, March 14, 2011

Man vs. Machine

author's note: this is a response to the short story "The Fun They Had," and how some technology can be good, but can be bad if taken too far. 

Imagine a world with nothing but technology. The books are on screens instead of paper. The teachers are robots instead of people. Well, this world is real, in the story "The Fun They Had." In the story, they find a real book, and are amazed that it is printed with ink on paper. Such a thing is unheard of in the year 2157. Technology can be a good thing, but in some cases it can be taken too far.

At a glance, it would seem amazing, not having books, not having teachers, not having school. But I think in reality, it wouldn't be so. Technology can enhance learning, I believe that. But when they start replacing teachers with robots, it is taking things too far. They could only give you the information, they couldn't actually communicate with you or give you advice. It is also my opinion that school should remain as it is, with a physical teacher there to teach you. Learning is more than memorizing facts, it's learning how to think, draw conclusions,  and make inferences. A robot cannot teach you how to do those things, only present the facts.

In the year 2157, not only are the teachers robots, but there are no schools. All the kids have their own robots to teach them. The kids have heard of a time when the children from a whole neighborhood all went to the same school together, and all had the same teachers. This seems like it would be incredibly fun to them, and if you think about it, it makes sense. At school, you can talk and be with your friends. If there wasn't any school, a lot of social time would be lost. Technology can be a good thing, but if it's taking away our time with friends and teachers, then maybe it's not so great anymore.

Communication with other people is a necessity. When Technology starts to isolate us from real experiences, it is no longer a tool. It is starting to rule over us, keeping us from real life and friends. Some technology is good, for enhancing learning and fun, but it can be taken too far. We should be able to draw the line between technology and the real world, getting some of each. If we were unable to communicate with anybody in person, it wouldn't be good. Technology is good for some things, but we need to experience other things in person.

3 comments:

  1. That is a very good reflection.

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  2. I agree with your response. You had a good thesis and had good supporting details to support your thesis. This piece also had good vocabulary, like necessity, and had good sentence fluency.

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  3. I liked how you explained everything in your body paragraphs and I like your thesis. I also liked how in the first paragraph, you didn't go into a summary, but instead explained that they didn't have school, etc. This is a good response.

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