Within the four groups of knowledge we studied, mentally I divide them into two groups. The hard line falls between oral knowledge and written knowledge. The more prehistoric units of knowledge always seemed to overlap, and I had trouble drawing a fine line between what I would definitively call folk and what I would call oral. The more modern conventions, on the other hand, have a finite definition; written knowledge no longer includes using vocal chords, and print includes using a type face. While important in antiquity,these later conventions of knowledge are teetering on the edge of going obsolete because of the new conventions that the digital age is thrusting upon us.
Writing and print no doubt have a spot in the annals of history. They allowed humanity to keep volumes of knowledge that would last for ages, and served to standardize the canon of knowledge that had begun to develop. Even today, we see writing and print as a form of storing knowledge.
As the digital age develops, we are beginning to see just how big of a change the Internet is going to bring about on the storing and passing on of knowledge. It is possible to foresee what could be the ful lend of writing and print. As computers keep on getting smaller and ways to communicate solely over the internet become more widespread, systems of physical writing and print could eventually fall to the wayside. They will be replaced by more oral- and folk-based forms of communication over the Internet. Already we are seeing this shift in focus with popular social conventions lik einternet-based forums, social networking sites, and even the blogs that we have been using this semester to relay ideas and get feedback quickly and efficiently. Sites such as You Tube clearly fall under the category of folk knowledge; it is there you find the essence of culture in today’s society: a staple of folk knowledge.
Earlier this semester, I wrote a post about a connection I had made between Orson Scott Card and the way knowledge is preserved over society. I would contend that the Internet is a center nation. Internet culture centers such as Wikipedia, 4chan, Facebook, Twitter, You Tube,and numerous other communities control a large section of popular culture and so it is through them that our current histories will be written. It is through these mediums, not peer-reviewed, published essays by college professors, that we will be remembered. It is through these mediums that by leaps and bounds we are constantly changing the way people think.
When writing and printing systems were developed, they revolutionized the way people were able to approach knowledge. Some people were averse to change yet others sought out the changes in society, such as the examples in Ancient Greece in Alyssa’s post. The premise of oral knowledge, as stated by my salon group, was an “easy-in, easy-out” philosophy. The pros and cons of switching to a concrete system of preserving knowledge – being able to actually preserve knowledge without a “telephone” effect over the years versus being able to adapt what you believe and say if new knowledge is obtained – are definitely important to note. Even in a society today without the Internet, knowledge would still move at unprecedented rates through telephones and faster modes of transportation. When the Internet is added into the mix, it only makes sense that a quicker flow in society would lead to a stronger weight on the oral way of thinking by most of society.
Is this enough to render written knowledge and print completely useless? Practically, no, because it's still so ingrained into our education and other learning systems. Change comes at a cost, and the cost for many, as discussed by Dr. Burton on our last day of class, is just too high to take a gamble on. Even so, the wonders of the digital age are giving us a glimpse into what and how society and its knowledge systems will function for the next couple generations – or at least, that is, until a new idea comes around…
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It's been fun working with you all. Merry Christmas and a happy New Year!
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