-Marshall Maclin book Understanding Media in 1960s

The internet is another medium being used to receive information

Important Phrase: “The medium is the message” celebrating the transformation of new technology to exchanger information

The content is more important than where it comes from, doesn’t matter which medium the information was pulled from

Popular mediums mold people’s brains and alter their opinions on matters

Tech is supposed d to be used as a tool but people are often controlled by their tech, though they think they are in control of their tech and can put it down at any time.

-we have changed the way we take in info

-Good quote “the internet has made me a less patient reader”

-instead of reading through the entire text we now skim read, look for hyperlinks, check for key terms (in bold or different font style), check subtitles etc.

-word processors make it harder for people to write using pen and paper, almost like the simple skills we were taught for writing has been forgotten and we now depend on the features of computers to read and write

-Its difficult to actually sit down and read through a book, is very time consuming for most people

I can relate to all of these points and I am guilty of rushing through text and picking out points I find to be important unless the content is something I am genuinely interested in. When I do really like the subject matter and approach of text it is most likely a lengthy article or a textbook that uses phrases I can understand and presents information in a way I can digest. After I finish reading the text I notice that a long period of time has passed and I feel like I could have gotten many other things done during that time but a part of me doesn’t care because most likely I will be able to put the knowledge I gained from the content in a situation in the future.

-The author Carr notes that the internet changed the way his brain worked and he often felt the need to be connected to the web

-the human brain is malleable (plastic like) can be changed by experiences, which is different from what has thought in the past that the human brain reaches maturity by mid-twenties and won’t change any further afterward but this theory has been challenged, Carr has cited multiple experts to defend both sides of the argument

-the repeated physical activity becomes embedded in a person’s brain

-A brain can also change when physiological occurrences continue it affects the anatomy of the brain as well (our thoughts can cause or change our brains physically)

-evolution of timekeeping, clock tech

Started with monks having to pray at set times

-clocks regulated society’s behavior through timing, when the clock was a ding on every hour it altered everyone and people adjusted their lives to live based on set schedules

-personal clocks became the timekeeper for people as a constant reminder of how much time was wasted (measurement tool for a time)

-our intellectual tech is the most important tool we have, promote new ways of thinking and intellectual ethic

-intellectual ethic: The medium or tool that translates intellect into mind or culture

-poetry made a splash shifted culture, but had its skeptics

-the change from oral communication to literacy through reading and writing works as people progressed (oral language blossomed into the written language)

-destructiveness is what we do to shift our attention to visual aspects that ketch our attention

-to read a book you have to train your brain for deep concentration to focus on the text and pay attention

-the miniaturization of books made books more accessible for people to read the text and made studying more convents

-the availability of books grew people’s interest in reading and letterpresses were everywhere to keep up with the demand

Gutenberg’s literature revolution of type printing (the explosion of books, more common and affordable)

“Loudness War”

This was an interesting article about the trend of people increasing the volume of music. The article discusses technical terms for audio but overall focuses on how the louder the music is the less quality it has. They do provide a history of the transformation of music consumption from vinyl to CDs to the digital format that is being used today.

“Loudness War and Peace”

The video breaks down the existence and reasoning for “loudness” and its start during the 1980s till recent years in the early 2000s. He calls the causes of “loudness” ‘accelerants’ and he describes what they are and why they made music sound so loud. He also discusses his experience with creating musical tracks for clients and disliking the “loudness” they the clients wanted. Though his commentary seems a bit like he is against whatever is ‘new’ in music he actually does go through the different genres of music and review how it used to sound before the “loudness war” started. I can appreciate his point of view since he does not discriminate against certain genres of music and he has been involved in the music industry for years.

“Has pop music lost its fun?”

This piece makes five majors claims regarding the “loudness war” which are sadder and slower, simpler and louder, antisocial and angry, just not as good as it used to be, and more repetitive. Before I could listen or read anything else I already had the thought that this article was going to be the perspective of someone who dislikes mainstream ‘pop’ music and is placing their opinions of what music has become into the “loudness war”. After reading more of the article I think the author can support a few of their claims with the studies they cited. I think they should have just stuck to those claims that have some sort of actual data to prove their point instead of making claims like ‘just not as good as it used to be’ to describe pop music because it makes them seem bias.