Sci-Fi and Role of Tech
Happy Thanksgiving everyone.
As I abhor watching parades in general, I switched my TV this morning to the 1966 movie adaptation of Fahrenheit 451. A pretty good movie in its own right, although the special effects definitely date the movie. The movie got me thinking about the science fiction genre in general. The characteristic I really love about science fiction is not all the high tech gadgetry (which is odd because I tend to be gadget obessed). I love how authors use the lens of the future to put our humanity on display. Ray Bradbury, Orson Scott Card, Philip K. Dick, H.G. Wells, all use the genre to display the best and worse of human nature. This struck a chord in my mind connected to a presentation David Warlick gave at MassCUE conference. David stated that education isn't about the technology, but information and communication. The book people in Fahrenheit 451 understand that information and the ability to communicate / understand it is at the core of our humanity. We need to be able to see and understand the experiences of other people.
Some worry about technology beating down our humanity. With millions of people with iPods plugged into their skulls, it may appear that that future is well on its way. While on the white (now black, red, green, and blue) face the iPods may look all alike, beneath the plastic and metal is content that is unique as its owner. This gives me hope.
As I abhor watching parades in general, I switched my TV this morning to the 1966 movie adaptation of Fahrenheit 451. A pretty good movie in its own right, although the special effects definitely date the movie. The movie got me thinking about the science fiction genre in general. The characteristic I really love about science fiction is not all the high tech gadgetry (which is odd because I tend to be gadget obessed). I love how authors use the lens of the future to put our humanity on display. Ray Bradbury, Orson Scott Card, Philip K. Dick, H.G. Wells, all use the genre to display the best and worse of human nature. This struck a chord in my mind connected to a presentation David Warlick gave at MassCUE conference. David stated that education isn't about the technology, but information and communication. The book people in Fahrenheit 451 understand that information and the ability to communicate / understand it is at the core of our humanity. We need to be able to see and understand the experiences of other people.
Some worry about technology beating down our humanity. With millions of people with iPods plugged into their skulls, it may appear that that future is well on its way. While on the white (now black, red, green, and blue) face the iPods may look all alike, beneath the plastic and metal is content that is unique as its owner. This gives me hope.