James Baldwin wrote in his brilliant long essay concerning racial disharmony in America The Fire Next Time of how if relatively conscious whites and relatively conscious blacks insist on creating the right sort in consciousness of others, and do not falter in their duty, the racial nightmare in our country might be abated. In other words, Continue reading →
Now that so many of us are staying at home in the midst of the coronavirus, the nature of personal contact has been changed dramatically, at least temporarily. Not only are people no longer shaking hands with each other, and keeping their six foot distance from them, but likewise something else is taking place which Continue reading →
Although the issue may be one that is on few people’s radar screens these days amidst the widening web of excitement that the appearance of the latest digital devices are bringing to all of us, and amidst the obvious fact that our world is becoming very much a cyber one, the nature of intelligence itself Continue reading →
When I’ve found myself lately discussing the potential negative influences of the Internet with people, I often hear others make the case that television has the same adverse effects on us that the World Wide Web tends to perpetuate. That is, others suggest that the Internet is conditioning us in much the same way that Continue reading →
Recently, Taylor Lorenz, internet culture reporter for the New York Times, was interviewed concerning what social media accounts she uses in order to be sure that she is keeping her fingers on the pulse of how young people are using modern technology. Ms. Lorenz responded by saying that she is on Twitter pretty much consistently throughout the Continue reading →
As we search the Web these days looking for information, often using large search engines such as Google to guide our search, most of us are probably still under the impression that we are still freely in control of where our search is taking us. That is, we believe that we are simply using advanced technology Continue reading →
This past Sunday 60 Minutes reporter Lesley Stahl sat down with Susan Wojcicki, Ceo of YouTube in order to question her about some of the controversial videos that have been allowed on the site as of late. Of particular concern to 60 Minutes was content that users of the site had been able to upload in the past that was either Continue reading →
Now that personal connection in our new digital age takes place largely through the iPhone or the PC, this means that the keyboard itself may be rapidly replacing the human voice as the primary means of human communication. And because this is a significant sea change in how people are relating to one another, it Continue reading →
As many of us already realize, the reality in which we live today is often based on empirical representations of it. How many Facebook friends or Twitter followers does one have? Who are the top billionaires on the Forbes list? What are the standardized test scores representing how well students are learning or how well their Continue reading →
In the Polish filmmaker Krzysztof Kieslowski’s mesmerizing 1994 movie Red, which stars a young Irene Jacob and an older Jean-Louis Tritignant, the subject of how much right we have as human beings to judge others was explored in ways which were not only striking, but were likewise seamlessly interwoven into an entirely offbeat love story. Jacob plays the Continue reading →