Final Exam

Response to Week 3 Entry

Borgmann's portrayal of information in the technological age is overly pessimistic. His definition of technological information as information as reality, while insightful, is exaggerated. After all, when I see a picture of a bird, I do not believe it is actually a bird. I understand that reading an article on a website about birds is not the same as walking out into my yard and looking at the birds in the trees outside my house. While the definition may be indicative of a current trend, it certainly cannot be said to be true in every instance. Borgmann expresses a fear that the movement from natural and cultural information to technological information is destroying the first two types of information and eroding man's connection to the worls around him. While there may be a grain of truth in this, I believe it is a very small one. Technological information does enhance cultural information, and natural information too. Modern technology makes works of cultural information, such as books and music, much more readily available. Technology can allow people to learn to interpret natural signs when they may not have the time to do so in the natural world. This makes it even more enjoyable when they finally do get the chance to experience nature. It is easier to readjust to being back in nature when you have at least been reading and thinking about nature while you couldn't experience it. I think that this aspect of technologcal information keeps people closer to nature, because when nature remains on your mind, there is a desire to experience it, to make time to get away. When thought of from this perspective, technology helps keep us in touch with nature by keeping alive the desire to experience it. I don't think anyone truly believes reading about nature is enough to take the place of experiencing nature.

Response to Week 2 Entry


Dreyfus's arguements against distance learning are based on the notion of internet classes through chat rooms, and possibly seeing a picture of classmates or a teacher on a computer screen. While the arguements against this type of distance learning are valid, Dreyfus simply dismisses the possibilites of distance learning through telepresence by saying that telepresence technology will never overcome the embodiment issues raised. However, as aws discussed in class, new virtual classroom technologies have solved many of the problems Dreyfus has with distance learning. From this new perspective of distance learning, the educational capabilities are much greater. While itm seems unlikely that true mastery could be gained through distance learninr, I would argue that true mastery is not gained through traditional education either. Most people will tell you that you don't stop learning when you leave school. Many doctors will tell you that they learned as much in their 3 year residency as they did in their 4 years of medical school. True mastery cannot be reached in a classroom setting of any kind. The question becomes: what stage of education is reached in school? The answer, of course, depends on the degree of schooling, but it would be hard to argue that anyone could become a true expert before leaving school. In fact, Dreyfus admits that progressing from competence to proficiency occurs mainly through accumulating experience. Experiences can be simulated in school, but now they can also be simulated virtually. From this point of view, much of education as we know it today could take place as distance learning in advanced virtual classrooms and simulations.