Weekly posting (due 02.18): How humans acquire information changes as the forms of information change

Before talking about other forms of information, it is important to notice that daily conversations have been the most prominent form of information throughout the history. Secondary forms, other than communication between humans, have changed significantly over time. Before the development of computer technology, primary form of information was presented as a form of writing. Art and music definitely existed and some people might claim that they were forms of information as well, but the abstract definition of information makes it hard to judge if they count as forms of information. It is still not doubtable that writing was the most prominent form. After the development and wide spread of computer technology, most of the forms of information are acquired thru computer. However, it is still reasonable to assume that writing is the most popular form. It is evident by looking at the fact that majority of the students decide to post writing instead of drawing pictures or recording a movie when the assignment is posting ‘information.’

Since writing is still the greatest source of information, lots of concerns have been raised as computer technology develops and people started to read less. One of the assigned articles presented a study that showed people read less effectively with computers and the author concerns about the situation, calling it ‘national crisis.’ I do not think this is something we have to panic about. We are accessible to many different types of information on-line and reading is not the only way to collect information anymore. For example, you can go to youtube and find a college lecture if you want to learn more about a particular subject. Therefore, I feel that it is natural for humans to be less invested in reading than they used to be before the development of computer technology. Forms of information have changed throughout the history and humans who have natural desires to collect and process information have also adjusted to the types of information they are accessible to.