Tuesday, January 4, 2011
Technology, through the eyes of Henry David Thoreau
What was Henry David Thoreau's view of technology? What would Thoreau think of our technology today (include one piece of modern technology in your analysis)? FOR BOTH QUESTIONS, PLEASE DO NOT HAVE A SUPERFLUOUS POST AND USE AT LEAST TWO DIRECT QUOTES FROM THE PASSAGES.
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Thoreau thought technology was unimportant. That it got in the way of a full experience of life.
ReplyDelete"Why should we live with such hurry and waste of life?" -Where I Lived and What I Lived For (18)
"We must learn to reawaken and keep ourselves awake, not by mechanical aids, but by an infinite expectation of the dawn, which does not forsake us in our soundest sleep" -Where I Lived and What I Lived For (15)
Thoreau would problibly think were all lazy because of the technology now a days. For instance the food processor. It does everything a knife can do and yet people still use them.
Juan (johnny) Castillo
ReplyDelete1) I believe his view was that he found it unnecesary and that it took away from the simpler pleasures in life. @ "I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to teach, and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived." - Walden
2) I think he would find it useless and disgusting because even in his time he thought that communication was quite pointless. @ " For my part, I could easily do without the post-office. I think that there are very few important communications made through it" - Walden
Thoreau would still reject the advancement of man today? he feels that technology is just something we have just to get it. "We must learn to reawaken and keep ourselves awake, not by mechanical aids, but by an infinite expectation of the dawn, which does not forsake us in our soundest sleep." He feels that we rely on technology to much now and we are being lazy."I know of no more encouraging fact than the unquestionable ability of man to elevate his life by a conscious endeavor." quotes from Henry David Thoreaus Where I Lived, and What I Lived For
ReplyDelete- Quentin Allen
Henry David Thoreau believed that at points technology is unnecessary. This is shown when he said, "There is an illusion to them; there is not always a positive advance."(Walden) I believe Thoreau would not approve of modern day technology. For example, he said, "Our inventions are wont to eb pretty toys, which distract our attention from serious things."(Walden) Comparing that statement with an electronic like that of an Ipod or Video Game I can confer with my statement because these sort of material objects distract people easily.
ReplyDeleteHenry David Thoreau viewed it as a way to stretch time but waste life. He says "we must learn to reawaken ourselves and keep ourselves up, not by the use of mechanical machines but by infinite expectation of the dawn", thus meaning we should be able to wake up on our own not by a machine telling us to. This is in harmony with his statement "we are determined to be starved before we are hungry". This meaning that we are so eager to speed up time but speeding up time only means we lose the signifigance.
ReplyDeleteCALYNN M lAWRENCE
HDT's view of technology was that much of it was a waste of time because what it was used for was meaningless ("Our inventions are wont to be pretty toys, which distract our attention from serious things")
ReplyDeleteI think his view of technology today would be much the same. think of the kindle- you could use books and do the exact same thing, the only difference is that a kindle is small and more convenient than carrying a library of books around. ("Simplicity, simplicity, simplicity!")
rubyroberts,
These are two quotes that Henry David Thoreau stated: "Why should we live with such hurry and waste of life?" (paragraph 18) and "For my part, I could easily do without the post-office. I think that there are very few important communications made through it." (paragraph 19). From these quotes I can make an analysis that Henry David Thoreau's view of technology was, in many cases, superfluous rather than beneficial. Thoreau would probably think of our technology today as being exactly that because we are constantly getting new technology that it becomes useless for what is really new (i.e. the constant releases of newer cell phones).
ReplyDeleteI think that a piece of technology that Thoreau would have a commentary on would be the iPhone. I think he was ask why we needed this new thing, when the old one had worked perfectly well. Or perhaps, "When we are unhurried and wise, we perceive that only great and worthy things have any permanent and absolute existence". Another idea he might offer is that while the advance of technology is inevitable, we should try to keep it essential, with little excess. "Why should we live with such hurry and waste of life? We are determined to be starved before we are hungry."
ReplyDeleteHenry David Thoreau believed that at points technology is unnecessary. This is shown when he said, "There is an illusion to them; there is not always a positive advance."(Walden) I believe Thoreau would not approve of modern day technology. For example, he said, "Our inventions are wont to be pretty toys, which distract our attention from serious things."(Walden) Comparing that statement with an electronic like that of an Ipod or Video Game I can confer with my statement because these sort of material objects distract people easily.
ReplyDeleteHenry David Thoreau believed that technology is a waste, that we dont need any of the things that were made and could live better without them.
ReplyDelete"For my part, I could easily do without the post-office. I think that there are very few important communications made through it."
"We must learn to reawaken and keep ourselves awake, not by mechanical aids, but by an infinite expectation of the dawn, which does not forsake us in our soundest sleep."
A car for example is a modern technology that thoreau would disagree with, it would be useless in the eyes of thoreau because people can walk no need for a car.
"It is something to be able to paint a particular picture, or to carve a statue, and so to make a few objects beautiful; but it is far more glorious to carve and paint the very atmosphere and medium through which we look, which morally we can do."
We must learn to reawaken and keep ourselves awake, not by mechanical aids, but by an infinite expectation of the dawn, which does not forsake us in our soundest sleep.
Quotes from "Where I live, and what I live for"
http://thoreau.eserver.org/walden02.html
Thoreau didn't really like technology. He might think the technology we use today, such as e-mailing and newspapers is unnecessary. He said,
ReplyDelete"For my part, I could easily do without the post-office. I think that there are very few important communications made through it, " and
"To a philosopher all news, as it is called, is gossip, and they who edit and read it are old women over their tea."
source: http://thoreau.eserver.org/walden02.html
I think that Henry David Thoreau thought technology wasn't really necessary. I think that he would think that television or the internet sometimes aren't needed. I think he would want people to enjoy the smaller things in life such as nature and not to watch tv all day or suft the web. Henry David Thoreau said, "I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life.." He also thought you should enjoy your life and focus on making life beautiful. "It is something to be able to paint a particular picture, or to carve a statue, and so to make a few objects beautiful; but it is far more glorious to carve and paint the very atmosphere and medium through which we look.."
ReplyDeleteHe would think we were wasting life and rushing to the grave. We have so much technology to make things easier and quicker or more efficeint but we miss out on the experience of doing these things ourselves.For example, we have phones that can send messages, call people, gps track, go online and much more. However, by us having this it takes away time from our family and friends because we're so occupied with our phones. This is what he'd think.
ReplyDeleteJoseph Nacionales says that Davids thoreau view on technology was that we think that we need all of this cool tech stuff but to him he believes that it is all very much so uneccesary except for the exceptions of some of the very simplest of our technology. I think that what david thoreau would think of our new technology today like The [ps3 and x-box 360]/video games is that they are useless and will just rot the minds of todays youth.
ReplyDeleteIt appears Thoreau viewed advanced technology as unneccesary. Thoreau states,"Why should we live in such hurry and waste of life?" He is reffering to technology and how it is futile to spend life enhancing technology. Thoreau also says," If we read of one man murdered,or killed,or injured.....we never need to read another," This leads me to think he would disslike the television. Television is very repetitive in it's shows and movies. He would say if you've seen one show you never need to watch again. I think he would view t.v.as a waste of time.
ReplyDeleteThoreau’s views on technology were those of discontent. Thoreau believes it is a waste of time to create such devices, where only frivolous messages will be transferred to one-another. He often discusses the unimportance of media through technology, as stated “Our inventions are wont to be pretty toys, which distract our attention from serious things.”(Economy, part D) Thoreau thinks that technology is created purely for the idle enjoyment of man, which was taken from the quote, “To a philosopher all news, as it is called, is gossip, and they who edit and read it are old women over their tea”.(Where I Lived, and What I Lived For)
ReplyDeleteIf Thoreau was alive today, he would stare in disgust at the world we have created today. The internet is one of the most important pieces of technology today, with millions of users. However, many people only use the internet for personal enjoyment, and not for means of learning about important subjects. Thoreau would most likely agree that the internet is a waste, and has turned people into mindless creatures, “We must learn to reawaken and keep ourselves awake, not by mechanical aids, but by an infinite expectation of the dawn, which does not forsake us in our soundest sleep.” (Where I Lived, and What I Lived For.) Thoreau also stated that, “Why should we live with such hurry and waste of life?” (Where I lived, and What I lived for) This means that since the internet is often used for frivolous activities, he would most likely view it as a waste of life.
blah, blah
ReplyDeleteHenry David Thoreau was very much against the use of technology. He believed that the use of technology was frivilous and unnecessary and it was merely an act of human greed and boredom. He said that technologies"are but improved means to an unimproved end, an end which it was already but too easy to arrive at...". (Walden)He said that once technoloies have been made, people would't have anything useful to do with them. An example of these unneeded mprovents is a cross-country telegraph: "We are in great haste to construct a magnetic telegraph from Maine to Texas; but Maine and Texas, it may be, have nothing important to communicate." (Walden)
ReplyDeleteOne techology of today is the internet. Thoreau would dissaprove of the use of this technology. The rescources on the internet can easily be found in a public library or an encyclopedia and Thoreau would most likely cite this as a reason to speak against the internet. Also, the internet makes communication between people easier and as Thoreau said, "the man whose horse trots a mile in a minute does not carry the most important messages". (Walden)
Henry David Thoreau's didn't really like technology that much. He thought that instead of making things more complicated with our new inventions, we should lead more simple lives. He moved into the woods because he, "wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life." (Where I Lived, and What I lived For). His idea of living simply was to "reduce it [life] to its lowest terms." (Where I Lived, and What I lived For). Technology has come so far today, and he probably wouldn't like it that much. Especially the cell phone. He did not even think the post office, saying, "I could easily do without the post-office"(Where I Lived, and What I lived For). He wouldn't like all the communications and how we are learning of everybody else's business "What do you care for a myriad instances and applications?" (Where I Lived, and What I lived For).
ReplyDeleteHenry David Thoreau disliked technology because he liked the simplicity of things and thought it was meaningless. "For my part, I could easily do without the post-office" he once said (What i lived and what i lived for, section 19). His point of view of the post office was that it charged man for their thoughts which wasn't fair. Henry David Thoreau would have thought the ipod was absurd. "Simplicity, simplicity, simplicity!"(Henry David Thoreau). According to him we should live with patience and without waste. For example, he said " We are determined to be starved before we are hungry" (walden, section 18). Meaning we want the newest thing as fast as we can get it. The ipod would have been one of those things. Henry David Thoreau would have thought of it as eager man trying to get quick entertainment anywhere instead going out to listen to live music.
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ReplyDeleteDavid Thoreau's view of technology was that he felt it was a waste of time. It just keeps us away from nature and life. Technology was a distraction to us. This is why he choose to live his life in the woods, to endure life and get away from technology. Here is on equote that i found that basically says we have to learn to live life without tchnology.
ReplyDelete"We must learn to reawaken and keep ourselves awake, not by mechanical aids, but by an infinite expectation of the dawn, which does not forsake us in our soundest sleep."
"I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to teach, and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived."
David Thoreau would not like the invention of the television. He would feel that it would keep us from experiencing the outside world.
"Why should we live with such hurry and waste of life? We are determined to be starved before we are hungry."
"For my part, I could easily do without the post-office. I think that there are very few important communications made through it."
I feel that Henry David Thoreau viewed Technology as a distraction or a waste of life maybe even time from the natural way of life, because in parragraph 15 of the article "Where I Lived, and What I Lived" for it stated "We must learn to reawaken and keep ourselves awake, not by mechanical aids, but by an infinite expectation of the dawn, which does not forsake us in our soundest sleep." If Mr.Henry was to see our technology of today as in a computer i think he wouldn't like it at all. I feel he'd think it was just another way of distraction from a bigger view of life. Technology to us today can be addictive, useful, and very signifigant. In Henry's mind Technolgy would be jut a distraction of high tech toys.
ReplyDeleteMr.thoreau views on technology were as they advance we so commonly look at them as a way to enhance our lifes and make them better but he believes that advances arent always for the better. As stated in Walden Chapter 1- D (http://thoreau.eserver.org/walden1d.html)" As with our colleges, so with a hundred "modern improvements"; there is an illusion about them; there is not always a positive advance". I think that Mr.Thoreau would think that our technology today is useless and only takes away from the true essences of life.Mr.Thoreau would definitely disagree with computers and feel that they distract us from living our lives.As stated in a quote he says " But if we stay at home and mind our business, who will want railroads? We do not ride on the railroad; it rides upon us"("http://thoreau.eserver.org/walden02.html).He saying that if we live lives than we wont need to rely on technology, and allow it to take over us.
ReplyDeleteHe believed technology was not a necessity, that man could live learn and function in its absence. "I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to teach, and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived. I did not wish to live what was not life, living is so dear; nor did I wish to practise resignation, unless it was quite necessary."-Henry David Thoreau(Walden) If Henry David Thoreau ever saw an automobile he waould probably think it unnecessary, takiing detail in pointing out the connection with the world made by wallking and subtly insult the fact people today rush from one destination to another. Henry David Thoraeu once said "An early-morning walk is a blessing for the whole day"(braineyquotes). this showed his appreciation for walking and enjoyment of simplicity. Sean Appel
ReplyDeletebenny hernandez says....
ReplyDeleteI believe Henry David Thoreau thinks technology is a waste of time. That is why he moved to the woods, so he could live life to its fullist and get the most experience out of it. He wanted to live almost in mid-evil times. "to live so sturdily and Spartan-like as to put to rout all that was not life, to cut a broad swath and shave close, to drive life into a corner". That is a quote from the Walden website by Henry David Thoreau. He would not enjoy OUR time, rather he would hate it. People nowadays forget about the important things in life and they are seperated from nature and other things. Especially children, we are blinded by video games and computers. Some kids barely play outside anymore. Adults are always in a rush. Going to work, handling thier children. They never have time to stop and look at nature and other nice things in life. "Why should we live with such hurry and waste of life? We are determined to be starved before we are hungry."
-Henry David Thoreau
Henry David Thoreau thought that technology was unimportant and a waste of time. We should Do things ourselves and without technological aid.
ReplyDelete"We must learn to reawaken and keep ourselves awake, not by mechanical aids, but by an infinite expectation of the dawn, which does not forsake us in our soundest sleep." Thoreau, Where I Lived and What I Live For (15)
Thoreau wouldn't like the television or computers. He would proably say that why watch it on a screen when you can experience yourself.
"I did not wish to live what was not life, living is so dear; nor did I wish to practise resignation, unless it was quite necessary" Thoreau, Where I Lived and What I Lived For (16)
Henry David Thoreau did not like technology. He thought it was pointless and kept us from experienceing the essentials of life. "I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to teach, and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived." He also thought we could do just fine without technology."For my part, I could easily do without the post-office." I dont think he would like computers now. He would probably think they were useless and made us lazy instead of using a book and just experiencing literature at its best. Instead now peoplpe head straight to the computer and knowledge from important literature is lowering with each new creation. "I know of no more encouraging fact than the unquestionable ability of man to elevate his life by a conscious endeavor."
ReplyDeleteHenry David Thoreau's view on technology was that it was not always such an improvement and that most of the time it was just something to distract us from more serious and important things that require our attention and amazement more.
ReplyDelete" A hundred "modern improvements"; there is an illusion about them; there is not always a positive improvement" Walden- Chapter 1-D.
"Our inventions are wont to be pretty toys, which distract our attention from serious things" Walden- Chapter 1-D.
He would think that a lot of today's technology is very useless and pointless and most of it creates more work and more of a hassle. For example, texting, I feel that he would think of so many reasons to why texting is such a pointless activity and waste of time. He would probably say that texting has no need because it wastes time when you could make a shorter call instead, important messages are not always sent with it and it's simply just writing a letter. He would think texting is one of our "pretty toy" distracting us from the more important matters today.
"I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life" Walden- Chapter 2.
"Why should we live with such hurry and waste of life?" Walden- Chapter 2.
in Henry David thoreaus view of life, technology was an improved means for an unimproved end. technology for him was a waste of time."I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to teach, and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived." Henry David Thoreau.
ReplyDelete"We must learn to reawaken and keep ourselves awake, not by mechanical aids, but by an infinite expectation of the dawn, which does not forsake us in our soundest sleep." Henry David Thoreau,
Henry David Thoreau would look down apown us and frown he would say...god what have we become, mindless blobs that wouldnt be able to survive with out technology
SUPERFLUOUS POST office
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