Quote:
Originally Posted by Seltzer
The downside of having so much information readily available to us is that we might treat the internet as a second brain, as a sort of crutch to rely on if we cannot be bothered truly learning or even remembering what we have read. This lowers the urgency for reading and properly learning things - a lot of processed information will never reach the knowledge stage.
While being taught in class, there are students who ask their professors whether the material is assessable, as if something isn't worth learning unless it'll be directly assessed in the final exam, because if the student ever does actually need it, they can simply look it up on the net.
However, there are undoubtedly many positive points for having information so readily available to us and I don't think I really need to go into that territory. But I will point out that some professions have been shifting their focus such that the ability to learn is just as important as knowledge already acquired (the software industry for example). The availability of information facilitates the on-job learning required for projects.
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If we're saying that availability of information is lessening the motivation to learn, then we're not really commenting on the state of technology, but the state of humanity. Sure, we might think that the state of technology provides causation for this, but when you really think about it, you realize that regardless of the tools provided, the force behind those tools being put to use is dependent on the persons using them.
I beg to disagree that, for instance, an aspiring doctor in the 1500's had a more noble and relevant motivation than an aspiring doctor in our current time. The mode at which either people acquire the skills necessary to perform in their profession is irrelevant. They both end up saving lives.
What I want to say is that, if anything, we're MORE motivated to learn, specifically in professions, because of the availability of knowledge and the modes at which we are able to acquire it.
Compared to the past, we're much better equipped to make places for ourselves in a professional life than we ever were. We see more and more needs being met as a result of technological knowledge than we ever have.
We just have to look at this kind of thing in a broader spectrum.
Don't be discouraged by crapbags who never wish to accomplish anything. That has nothing to do with the options available to them.
People have been people for as long as they've existed.
No amount of cushion is going to change the basic desire to excel.
We're just focusing too much on all the people who don't.