Christian Sandvig wrote:
Charles Ess wrote:
Of course, the classic reference is Plato's dialogue, Phaedrus, in which Socrates tells a myth regarding the
Neil Postman did a great job with the memory question, Phaedrus, and modern communication technology in his very accessible first chapter of _Technopoly_. It still works with the Internet in mind even though it was written in 1993. Even if you don't agree with Postman's argument, it is a great chapter.
Christian
Let me second Christian's recommendation of Postman on this subject, not only in the first chapter of _Technopoly_ (1992), but also in Chapter II, "The Information Environment," of Postman's _Teaching as a Conserving Activity_, Dell, 1979 (pp. 33-48, esp. pp. 35-39 re Plto/memory/writing). (BTW, this earlier chapter of Postman's also provides one of the best introductions to the media ecology perspective, by one of its founding figures.) Janet Sternberg