Generational Multi-tasking Aptitude

Ahhh, where to begin?! This week’s transition from focusing on gender to information was a very demanding one for me. Thinking about binaries, gender identity and their relationship with technology feels more natural to me compared to making abstract philosophical debates regarding the processing of information. Both class and the Rowe, Grobstein and Hayles readings have given me a headache. (in a good way)

 Rowe and Grobstein’s articles on the transmission of information has left me with question, does information exist, if no one hears or receives it? I like to think that the answer for this is yes, especially when I think about popular opinion back in the day about the world being flat. However, how can you be confident something is there when the aren't clues hinting to it?

And now, on to what it means to think critically, and what it means to read closely. In terms of Hayles definition of close, and hyper reading, I believe that both close and hyper reading can lead to critical thinking, however that is contingent upon the individual. I think this is also a generational issue that can be associated with how our brains are naturally wired and possibly being rewired as we adapt and become more dependent on different technology. However, regardless of generation and individuals, I think there are two sides to Distance reading because although text can be broken down without decoding all of the details, sometimes those little details make a huge difference in the grand scheme of information. Would a doctor or an attorney do a distance reading? I think not, so in certain fields, I think distance reading is unacceptable. But, when it comes to college, some professors do exaggerate the workload required of students. So it is understandable when students are forced to become skilled skimmers (depending on the circumstances), but then guilt is an inevitable emotion depending on the individual’s psychology.

In class, kelliott mentioned that even on our class webpage, Anne and Liz use bolded words, color-code titles, and bullet points, which may encourage hyper-reading. I think this represents the generational evolutional of learning contingent on new technology. We live in an age where we must meet consumer demand so if we can learn faster and efficiently, why not?