oops II

[Pete Hartman <bucc2!pwh@bradley.edu>]

ok, I also sent an empty message the first time I tried this.

PLEASE I hope >oug catches it....

>Anyways, I see the song "Deeper Understanding" as a conflict between 
>humanity and technology. "When the people her grow colder/ I turn to my
>computer." This is Real Scary because it implies (to me anyways) a few 
>things:
>
>- The advent of technology is having adverse effects on humanity. This
>  is not explicitly stated in the song, but I get the feeling that comp-
>  uters, etc. could very well be the reason for humanity to grow colder.
>  My mother summed this up nicely when she said, "All you students going
>  to technological schools are taught incredible things, but you never 
>  learn to communicate, to feel or to love!" Harsh and a bit stereotypical,
>  but in some cases very true.

My first reaction to this is *phah*.  My second reaction is to explain my
first:  I've known a few recent art students (the antithesis of engineering/
technical students, right?).  Perhaps they are good communicators, and perhaps
they feel deeply, but LOVE?  That's not *fashionable* these days.  Hate and
gloom and doom are the predominant emotions in the art department around here.
Perhaps not typical of the nation as a whole, but you wonder sometimes, what
with the stereotypes you get from hollywood (the mother in _Beetlejuice_ for
example).  And as I recall my engineering background, they always TRIED to put
a heavy emphasis on being able to communicate.  That's why the project
presentations were graded so seriously.....

>                                                     I highly doubt that
>someone who has developed an addiction to her personal conputer to the point
>where she "is lonely [and] lost without her little black box" would realize
>such.

As one who went through the wonderful experience of computer addiction
in my early adolescence, I can say that it's not that hard to realize.
It comes down to the realization (that I think comes naturally with
time) that people really ARE more interesting that a box of electronics.
There's only so much interest you can get from absolute power over a chunk
of silicon.


(oh yeah.  sorry about the novercia/novella thing.  My recall is a bit
spotty anymore.  I think it's creeping senility....)