The Name of the Rose: What We Do in the Name of Information
In our last discussion, we talked about cheating in the academic environment – especially plagiarism. Most agreed that, while we could see reasons that might lead someone to use another’s ideas as one’s own, ultimately such a choice robbed each party of an opportunity to express her or his unique intellectual work. What makes plagiarism especially disappointing is how it belittles what very well may be a person’s most valuable possession: his or her own thoughts. In Umberto Eco’s The Name of the Rose, we see even further how important the connection is between people and their information, how critical it is we treat ideas with care.
The lead character in The Name of the Rose is the Franciscan monk, William of Baskerville. His very name – a reference to Sherlock Holmes and to William of Ockham – underscores just how much Eco’s historical medieval novel is a work of engaging philosophy and an embroiling whodunit. What holds these genres together is a focus on the drive to know. Even the architecture in both novel and movie reflects this concern – since the action takes place in a medieval Italian monastery with a secret library at its heart. In The Name of the Rose what and how we know can be a matter of life and death.
Even though the story is set centuries ago, the novel was written in 1980 and the movie was released in 1986. The author Umberto Eco surely felt the story was relevant in a number of ways for our time. First of all, it might be helpful to recognize that, in Western culture, the university and the monastery have an overlapping past — due to the fact that medieval monasteries preserved so many scholarly writings and therefore became important sites of scholarship. If in the Middle Ages, information was copied by hand and kept by monks who served as early librarians, in later years, university and public librarians would still collect important books printed at presses and organized with the help of elaborate card catalog systems. And today, even if many think the book is disappearing during the age of the Internet, information is still just as carefully maintained and sought after in the digital environment, as evidenced by the importance of search engines and databases.
The following questions are intended to help draw parallels between the ways information was treated in the medieval setting of The Name of the Rose and in our own times. In general, think about how information is valued, kept, and accessed — and whether there are consequences related to how we interact with information.
- The library in the movie is not accessible to everyone; only the librarians can go into the tower where the books are kept. Although we may be used to libraries with open stacks (where anyone can browse the bookshelves freely), not all libraries in the world today allow such open access to their materials. Similarly, in the age of Google, we think we are free to find any information we need on the Internet. Is this true? Can you think of any ways that access to information today is restricted? Or can you think of certain kinds of information that are guarded from free public knowledge?
- As we saw in the movie, even when William and Adso do gain access to the tower library, using it to find what they need is not easy; the books are housed in a frustrating labyrinth and the contents are all booby-trapped with collapsing floors and poisoned pages. Can you think of ways that information today is 1) presented in a way that is confusing or frustrating for the seeker or 2) constructed so that accessing or spreading it comes with some kind of negative consequence?
- One of the debates within the movie involves whether there is some kind of information that is “spiritually dangerous,” whether the public should be protected from some sorts of knowledge. Obviously, the head librarian thinks some information should be kept from public eyes. Specifically, he believes that humor is a problem, stating that laughing twists the human face to look like a monkey’s and that laughter kills the fear that is necessary to make us fear the Devil. 1) Do you think the public should be sheltered from some kinds of dangerous information, and if so, what kinds? 2) Do you think that “light” (humorous, personal, popular) information is as important as “heavy” (serious, scholarly) information? Why or why not?
- The Name of the Rose makes us remember that the ways we publish, keep, access, and use information has changed throughout history. For example, our common notion of the library is no longer primarily religious, and bound books are less and less the favored form for packaging information. Imagine our society one century into the future. What do you think will be different about our treatment of information then as opposed to today?
- Another debate highlighted in the movie is between the Franciscan monks and the richly dressed Vatican clergy: Should the church possess material wealth or not? The Franciscans made the argument that Christ was poor and priests should likewise be poor; the papal representatives argued that while Christ might have been poor, the church should not be, stressing especially that religious architecture and holy relics – as earthly representatives of godliness – should be in the watchful possession of the church. It could be argued, for example, that the physical books of the monastery library – containing a great wealth of rare insights – were a valuable possession. Do you think information today can be thought of as a kind of wealth? Are there people with much information that we can call the information rich and those with such little access to information that we can call them information poor? Explain why or why not.
- When William and Adso arrive at the monastery, one death has already taken place, and the monks are all convinced that the supernatural Devil is loose behind the abbey walls. William resists interpreting anything as supernatural while a natural and logical explanation possibly exists. The movie supports his view by showing how the Inquisitor Bernardo Gui is quick to cry heresy and witchcraft. Even though the young, poor girl is after the black chicken for food, Gui cries the animal is Satanic, and in order to find what is “true,” he doesn’t use observation or logic but forces truth with torture, his political power, and religiously based fear. The result of this abuse of information is tragic, useless death. Are there any issues today with which you think our society is inclined to treat with superstition and fear, rather than patient observation and logical thought? Explain.
#3
I do think that the public should be sheltered from certain types of dangerous information, because some people can take the dangerous information and bring harm to themselves and others as well. Such as the information on meth labs, it is so easy to get information on the ingredients, the equipment, and basically step by step instructions on how to make meth. This is absolutely terrifying just knowing that your next door neighbor could be doing such things just by getting the information on the internet. however, i do think that it is very important to discuss the effects of such things, and how to be aware of something of that nature going on. i just completely disagree with the “how to make” information.
I think “light” information is just as important as “heavy” information. Sometimes you need something “light” just to get you through the day, to fill your boredom. Have you ever heard the saying, “An apple a day, will keep the doctor away”? Well, my father use to tell me, ” A laugh a day, will keep the pain away.” I think it is important to laugh, to take it easy, with the “light” information; just as it is important to learn with the “heavy” information.
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tsesslinger Reply:
September 26th, 2009 at 5:41 pm
Censorship is wrong. Everybody has the right to learn anything they want. People in general know right from wrong I don’t think that anyone has the right to stop or ban a book of any kind.I don’t feel that the government or a school has the right to hold back any book, pamphlet,scroll in any way.
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djkidd Reply:
October 10th, 2009 at 4:24 pm
yes most people know right from wrong, but that doesnt mean that they are always going to do the right thing. i think some things should be kept sheltered, lik the “how to” stuff. if you grant anybody access to anything, then it’s not always going to be okay. people are crazy and not everyone should just be able to look up anything they want.
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Robert Thomas Reply:
October 23rd, 2009 at 10:40 am
I agree that censorship is wrong. It is my philosophy that everybody should be given both sides of the line before they decide which side to walk on. I disagree, however, that people generally know right from wrong. I also disagree that “most” people know the difference, nor do i believe that the should be trusted with all information. People are vile creatures. They are dumb, and panicky beings who come out f the womb kicking and screaming and most leave the world in the same matter, but nevertheless, regardless of my rather cynical observations of the nature of man, I do not think that we should hide information from them. It is not a government’s place to assume intention, it is the individual’s.
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TabathaG Reply:
October 27th, 2009 at 12:19 pm
i agree that censorship is wrong.cause i do think that people should have the right to learn whatever they want to learn whenever they want to learn. If the person knows its so wrong they shouldnt be doing it anyways.
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behunt Reply:
September 27th, 2009 at 3:39 pm
I agree that dangerous “how to make” information should not be public. Someone can learn how to make a bomb online from step-by-step instructions, I don’t think people should know how to do that unless they work at a bomb plant. I also agree that “light” information is just as important as “heavy” information. I think it’s important to laugh almost everyday because if we didn’t life would be miserable.
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ceroberts Reply:
September 28th, 2009 at 9:35 am
I would feel compelled to agree that if all information was available , it would be slightly disturbing.However I don’ t know where one would draw the line, because this day in time even certain precautions that are meant for a specific issue are often blown out of proportion. It would be dangerous to have a limit put on the kind information you were allowed it view, because what would happen if they ban someone from accessing information about religion. They could possibly state that a certain religion was dangerous and in return ban information on it.
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RM Curtis Reply:
September 30th, 2009 at 9:33 am
#1
I believe the secret books kept hidden in the library are just like secrets in the government. The books were said to be harmful to ones mind and soul so they kept them hidden in a confusing library. They went so far that they poisoned the pages of the books. Now I’m not saying the government has killed to keep secrets, but they do try to keep secrets. When they are asked questions or given answers that contradicts what they state to be true they tend to blow off the questions. They may answer the question but in ways that no one can understand. Or they might say I can answer that right now then they try to switch to another question. The only people who know what is going on in the government is the crucial members of the government.
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Kelley McKeehan Reply:
October 12th, 2009 at 9:36 pm
I agree that the goverment keeps information from the American audience. In some cases secrets may need to be left to only a few persons to safeguard the population at large. There are many persons which would like to cause harm and ill fate to gain more power. As far as keeping knowledge, which could help enrich others lives, such as cures for many of the deadly diseases which plague our world or resources to help save our enviroment because of greed or stupidity is ludacris. I feel that all information should be shared. Let each person make thier own informed decision. God gave knowledge to us to allow us to grow and learn, not to supress us and make us feel binded to one thought or one way of life.
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gncupp Reply:
October 13th, 2009 at 5:05 pm
I agree that their avoidance of not revealing information is true, but that it is due to their awareness that the public would agree with what truly goes on in our government’s inner workings.
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RM Curtis Reply:
September 30th, 2009 at 9:48 am
I belive what you say about some information should be kept seceret. Like the information on how to make bombs. But some heavy
information is also can be useful. Not everyone is crazy and are lookin to kill. Maybe that can use that information on how to make bombs for report papers. Also how can you go about restricting things don’t you think it would violating peoples rights. I believe that people
should be able to read anything they like it’s just what they do with the information thats the problem.
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mjcanfield Reply:
October 9th, 2009 at 9:19 am
I disagree to your statement; I believe all information should be accessible to all that seek it.
It matters not that the information on how to make “meth labs” is on the internet because if a person truly wanted to know how to make a substance such as “meth,” that person could go to a public library and check out a chemistry book, a pharmacy book about medications and how they affect the human body. They then could study these books and teach themselves what they need to know in order to make the substance you refer to as “meth.”
If you are to deny the release of knowledge than you suggest that the books in the public library should be restricted. This means that anybody that would like to better themselves in the knowledge of medicine and chemistry to have a decent understanding of the subjects for a professional future shall be denied. This also means that we shall be subjugated to those that do have access to the books and to follow what they say as fact because we do not have the resources’ to prove them incorrect.
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Michelle Jones Reply:
October 10th, 2009 at 7:46 am
I agree to your statement; know matter what the information is about someone going to find ways of making bombs or meth labs
if they what the information bad enough they are going to find away.
We all need information in order to make are life better.But some people abuse it. I like to have the information to help myself learn
about taking care of sick and find out different experinces other people has had in their life. So, I don’t think that information should
be restriced. We all need information to further our education.
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Danessa Fore Reply:
October 14th, 2009 at 11:30 am
I also agree to your statement that no matter what if someone wants to know something they are going to find it out no matter what!
Information is so important! Doctors need information to help the sick and teachers need information to teach! What if the information they needed was restricted from them what would the world do then!
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srwoods Reply:
October 12th, 2009 at 7:48 pm
I completely agree. Knowledge about how to make meth shouldn’t be available to everyone. The public shouldn’t be able to access such dangerous information. Yes, information furthers education, but some people abuse information. And light information is just as important as heavy information. You’re right, sometimes you need something light to get you through the day.
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3.
The question asks if there is some information that needs to be protected and hidden from the public, and in my opinion we should not hide information from the public. Ignorance can only breed more ignorance, so when you hide valuable information from the public people can live sheltered lives not knowing some information, and although there are harmful information out there such as harmful things posted on the internet there is no such way to secure this information to make sure that it does not reach anyone else. It is better that people know about this information up front and how to prevent these harmful things from happening to you because, again, there is no way to hide this information completely. Information in all of its different forms is just as important as any other.
It is important to realize that a good education can take you far in life and that the “heavy” information can take you very far, but on the other hand you must find time to enjoy the “light” information and be able to smile every once in a while. Life is a balancing act and until you learn to balance the “light” and “heavy” and until you know how to use all types of information, all types of information can be considered “dangerous.”
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ndlambert Reply:
September 28th, 2009 at 11:40 am
i agree with you about ignorance can only bring more ignorance, but when the ignorant figure out how to make such harmful things it hurts the entire society in some way. Yes, i would be difficult to hide this information for the wrong people but maybe that is something that can be taking in to consideration, instead of how to make it, it should be how to prevent! But of course it all depends on who thinks it is dangerous and who doesn’t.
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rakeast Reply:
October 14th, 2009 at 11:05 pm
i agree that information should be open to the public up to a certain point. i like how ndlambert said that “ignoracne only breeds more ignorance” and i think its a good reason to keep educating the public about current situations and advances in society.
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i completly agree. the how to make information should be solicited to just recipes of eadible foods. the how to make or how to grow instructions are the major problems we face today. when people are giving out this information they never stop to think about the effect it will or might have on their fellow man.
as for the light verses heavy information… i think that they are both equally important. the light information helps to keep everyone in good spirits. whereas, the heavy keeps everyone in america safe and on alert if need be.
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I think that 100 years from now everything will be kept on discs. I think everything will be gotten to by computer,it’s not far from it now.I think that book will be accessed in your home,libraries will be come a thing of the past.
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mjcanfield Reply:
October 12th, 2009 at 11:07 am
I disagree with your statement. Many civilized places on Earth are yet to have a computer in every home. Further more, text books for schools will still be depended upon in places that lack the funding for electronic books.
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#1
I believe that we are not able to find any information that we would like to know. Most of the things that are kept extremely confidential from the publics knowledge are things that the government does not want us to know. Most of that information is only know by the president, and a few higher up people. Also, someone cannot just walk into a hospital and ask for a patients information. You have to be that patients doctor, nurse, or family member (sometimes you can barely get the information being a family member). Another example is at a bank, you have to have an account number to get access to information about that one account, you cant see just anyone’s information. There is a large number of amount of information that is guarded in many ways, just like how the library in The name Of the Rose was guarded by the librarian and the assistant.
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ndlambert Reply:
September 28th, 2009 at 11:53 am
That is so true, there is so much information that is hard for the average person to find. But in many cases that information can and does slip out to the wrong people. I think every time we figure a way to hide certain information, some person is out there figuring out how to steal that information. Look at all the people that have had their bank accounts broken into so to speak, it’s not like they have just handed out their bank account number and said here go have fun. some body has figured out how to break the barrier that tries to hide our information. however, it is good to know that there is protection covering our information. But it is also important to know that there is always a chance in this personal information can slip into the wrong hands and can damage your life forever.
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JTWalker Reply:
September 28th, 2009 at 12:35 pm
I definitely agree with this. There is tons of information that we are not meant to have access to. Many people can find a way to get passed the security, but most people cannot. Without this security there would be no privacy in people’s lives.
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mjcanfield Reply:
October 12th, 2009 at 11:09 am
All a person needs to steal an identity is a last name, mothers maiden name, and their birth date.
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I most definily think that information can be thought of as a wealth! It provides great opportunities for people to grow. I think that the amount of information someone has access to determines the type of opportunities they have. For example, if someone goes to college to learn more information about computers or health care they are much more likely to flourish in the world. They have more chances of getting a good job, and making more money. On the other side if someone does not have an opportunity to get an education, in this day in time it is hard for them to keep a job, and they usually have a lower pay. In a way this displays the idea of information rich and information poor. The church might have thought that the readings would educate the people too much, causing them to run from the “truth” that they taught. They wanted them to be information poor so they would only become rich in what the church taught.
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ltcooper Reply:
October 12th, 2009 at 10:42 am
I agree with these statments, some things, like doctor records, are meant to be kept private. Those are things that have ne effect on anybody if they are kept secert. If something the the records is life threating, most of the time someone is contacted and the probalem is taken care of.
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mjcanfield Reply:
October 12th, 2009 at 11:15 am
I partially agree with what you stated about the church being wealthy and keeping the common folk ignorant so they can be easily controlled.
Knowledge is power; the same as money is power; the same as gunpowder is power.
If one has enough assets and will they can conquer almost anything they attempt. That is why information is withheld and secrets are kept.
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#1
Everyone has the impression that anything that you want can be found on the internet. However, certain things are kept secret such as: credit history, goverment entail, and information about the war. not everything can be sought after and found. Most things that have to do with the government are kept hush hush simply because what goes on behind those closed doors is not common knowledge.
When it comes down to the war overseas that information is definetely restricted. The government is not just going to release the info that says they have just brutally beat a prisoner of war. they not going to say that a very dangerous criminal has just escaped. they are also not going to say that they have no idea where osama bin laden is hiding.
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RK Hairell Reply:
September 29th, 2009 at 12:32 am
I agree with you that not everything can be found on the internet because as we all know it can’t, but some of the things that you mentioned are not as protected as you think. One person can leak out top and then that word gets passed down and so on and so forth and then you will find someone that has heard this information try and put up an internet source claiming to be true, but most of the time that information that was passed down like a game of “telephone” is usually manipulated in some way. The same thing happens with credit history, all it takes is one person to hack into your files or hack into your account and look up your whole history. Again, I agree with you that not everything is open to the general public on the internet, but all it takes is one person and all of that can change.
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Sm Maynard Reply:
September 29th, 2009 at 10:28 pm
This is very true and in one way sad… Does anyone occually think about how our government is hiding information and telling us a “sugar coated” story to make us not revolt. Ummm…. Kinda like Hitler but not to such extremes. Your point about “The government is not just going to release the info that says they have just brutally beat a prisoner of war. they not going to say that a very dangerous criminal has just escaped. ” makes an excellant point!
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#4
I agree with tsesslinger that all our information will be turned into some sort of technology in the furture. Computers have already started to take over a lot of what people could do before computers were invented. I think that the more technology makes its advances the more information will be kept from the public. The government already has kept so many things from the public that may be hard to say and hear but also maybe it should be said and heard. I also agree with rkhairell that ignorance is sure to only breed more ignorance. I think there are a lot of people in the world who are very sheltered and do not know much about the world and what is going on in it. I feel that this ignorance leads to most of the worlds problems and destruction. Also, like behunt said it is sad to know how hard it is just to get the crucial information we need in our own lives, like a family member in a hospital. I am really interested but also scared to see where things go and what ends up happening in the future.
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TD Littlejohn Reply:
September 29th, 2009 at 6:47 pm
I completely agree with this comment. I am also scared to see what will happen in the near future with the technology.
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SBCollins Reply:
October 10th, 2009 at 10:45 pm
Although I do agree that technology is becoming more and more popular, I do not believe that one day our society will rely on technological devices alone. One reason is I believe this is because Authors and book writers do not support online book reading. The authors do not want people illegally reading their books, just as music artists and movie producers do not want their work to be illegally downloaded. The authors believe in protecting their work as well as being paid for it. Another reason why I do not believe all information will one day be found through technological devices is because of the inconvenience. If someone is taking a long flight how are they supposed to read? All cell phones and laptops are required to be turned off during air time. The other constant struggle would be having to find a plug or a power source. Then there is also the size matter. A computer is twice to three times the size of a book. So why would I lug a heavy computer when I could carry a light weight book?
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wbhopper Reply:
October 14th, 2009 at 9:13 pm
I agree. I think that there will always be books because there will always be people that want to read and find information that way.
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mjcanfield Reply:
October 12th, 2009 at 11:20 am
Ignorance is a disease. If a person has a misinterpretation of actual knowledge then they could spread superstitions to other people, which will in turn become accepted as fact. Such ignorance would be having the belief that the American Holocaust never existed.
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4. Over the past several years how we access information has changed, and has continued to involve more and more technology. I think that information in libraries will continue to become more electronic. Eventually information will only be on computers, disks, or some other kind of electronic storage system. Later on in the future, farther than a century, I think library buildings will no longer exist because they will be all digital storage. I also think information will be accessible almost anywhere, much like how we are able to access many things on Google today. The main difference will be that we will be able to access actual books. The online library will still have the same purpose, to allow us access to all kinds of information; it will just do this in a different way.
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jlthompson Reply:
September 29th, 2009 at 6:48 pm
jtwalker, I totally agree with you. It is definitely easier to access a wider variety of information these days in time. With technology becoming more popular, and more people using the computers and internet, there is more information that can be accessed online. And I also agree with you in believing that one day there will be full online libraries where you can digitally read books and do research. However, I still believe there will be public libraries that are still going to be up and running because there are still many people today that do not have computers at home or have any access to computers or internet source other that the library. So I believe they will remain for those people. Libraries will also remain useful to readers that often check out book for the fun of reading novels or maybe scientific journals.
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#2
Information today is also confusing and frustrating at times for the seeker. With the internet now, you never know what information is reliable and what is not. There are many different internet sources and it can be frustrating go through Google searches, page after page to try to find exactly what it is your looking for. Another thing that can be frustrating is going into a library and just being completely overwhelmed with all the books, magazines, newspapers, computers, files, etc. Where would I even begin? Then some articles and files and other information are very hard to access. A lot of things are private and not for the public’s use, and if you are caught with any of that information today, there could be some bad consequences.
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CMPoore Reply:
October 13th, 2009 at 6:27 pm
I agree. It can take hours just to try and find one source you need for a paper or whatever you are looking for, and you never know if it is correct or not because anyone can change it and put it into their own words and you could get it wrong because it wasn’t right. It is very frustrating to sit on a computer for hours.
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#1
Question number one asks do we think there is any information that is kept from us. I believe there are many things kept from us, for example, we don’t have easy passage to any type of governmental documents.
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# 4.
Yes i believe that information today SHOULD be thought as a kind of wealth. I think the problem lies with us not making it completely acessible to the whole world. Although we have the internet and libraries there are still people that are unable to use these as sources of information be it due to lack of money etc. Until we can produce a way to make all of the wealthy information acessible to everyone in the world I do not believe that I can say anyone is informational rich or poor. Think of it like this… If a grown man touched a hot stove that was glowing red he is seen as stupid. Simply because he should of known better. But if a young child touches a hot stove is he stupid? No he is not because he did not know any different. So how can generalize anything as information wealthy or poor unless everyone has the information??
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#2
I believe that people become confused and kind of scared of info due to the government. The government keeps info that is needed to know from people and why they do this I have no idea. Negative consequences can come from opening this kind of info to the public are purgery, death, and possibly torture. It can also cost you your career and such. This type of negative info being released can also cause an uproar amongst people maybe resulting in possibly a civil war.
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PaFraga Reply:
October 10th, 2009 at 11:21 pm
If the government shared all it’s information with everyone including us, then they might as well send the passwords of our defense mainframe to the leaders of our enemies! If it was meant for everyone to know our top secrets I believe that it would seriously jeopardize our future as free people. Be glad that so much is done to ensure that our defenses are not breached, thus allowing us to live in the greatest place on our planet.
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R Jones Reply:
October 11th, 2009 at 2:37 pm
I think that people have the right to know what is going on in the world today. But they are some things that should be kept secret, because some people take it the wrong way, then it gets way out of hand. Some info should be open to the public, but not all.
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Question #2
*Part 1
Information today, similar to “The name of the Rose”, is confusing and frustrating for the seekers. Not so far as to have booby-traps and collapsing floors, but still made difficult to find. Many say that “anything can be found on google”, and for the most part it can be, but what many don’t think about is that anyone with a computer, who has access to the internet can post anything they’d like, for everyone to see. In a situation where your doing some research on the internet, you look through hundreds of pages of words, trying to find a specific piece of information, you’ll probably get very aggervated with all the many different opinions that you run across during your search. You’ll probably get frustrated and just use one of the opinions with ever going deep enough to find the answer. That is a major problem with todays internet resources. It takes so long for us to find exactly what were looking for, when keywords bring up everything else you can think of.
Another difficulty that many elderly people come across is that they dont understand completely about computers and the internet. They need to know information about things as well as younger people. Then they are forced to seek books, magazines, encyclopedias from libraries for their answer. This causes a similar problem because in a library your forced to go through book after book, and shelf after shelf, and still probably have to seek assistance from a librarian. Then once you find the book you supposedly are looking for then you have to read it once or twice to grasp the answer.
*Part 2
Another problem with technology and accessing information is that sometimes there are negative consequences. The first one that comes to mind would be viruses. Some websites are linked with viruses and all you have to do is access the page and boom, your computer is infected. Computer geeks can put viruses on anything they want and if they dont want you to have knowledge that is on specific site, then you wont. Then the negative side is that your forced to buy a new computer or do without!
Also if you acess a site for a research paper or something your also faced with plagerism. You have to be very careful about that because if your not you can word something like someone else and come to find that your in prison somewhere with a major offense. That would be a big negative consequence because that information that you were seeking just got you sent off to the slammer.
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IN REPLY TO: N.D. Arden
I agree with this comment, where would any of us been if any kind of important personal information was posted on websites. Anyone with internet access would know everything there is to know about us, no matter how hard we try to keeep it a secret. That would be a catastrophe. We would have people at jobs working there but off to earn a living and then we’d have the lazy, no good people sittin at the house, drawing welfare, getting on the computer stealing there personal information and stealing their money. We couldn’t ever let that happen.
Your also right when saying that the government has good reasons to keep what they do secret. You want america to work hard to try and invent a bomb (so to speek) then some blabber mouth running over to another country, giving away our plans. If this was to happen then we’d be more or less getting blown to kingdom come with our own invention. That would be stupid if you ask me. So yes some information needs to be KEPT A SECRET!
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Question #4.
I believe that information will become more dependent on technology; however, it will not completely over take the current form (books). This is because people are greedy and would prefer a material object in their hands rather than a computer screen. In addition to that some people like to read outside, in their beds, and in a lobby waiting to see somebody such as a doctor for an appointment. No doubt though, books and magazines will be more prolific on the internet.
An example of dependence of using the internet for information is this webpage… we are all using this to discuss a movie/book yet we are none of us speaking out loud to one another. This is a form of antisocialism. We are communicating, yet we are not all together in one place for a social event. Despite the fact that we are not together in one place speaking with one another, we are still communicating in one place (this web page) thus we are participating a social event. This meta-paradox that we are living is one of the first steps to how we will be experiencing the display of information and its accessibility.
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kaepperson Reply:
October 9th, 2009 at 11:39 am
mjcanfield
I completely agree with you example.What great way to explain dependence of the internet by pointing out how this assignment is a form of that dependence.
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The internet may infact one day restrict information. Right now information is easily researched and found on the internet. What happens when librarys are no longer needed. All information is kept on the web, and librarys are closed. The government could easily monitor the web and limit access of information. In the movie librarys were only accessable to certain individuals. Information this is on a web based system could easily be restricted in this same way.
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A.S. Phillips Reply:
October 16th, 2009 at 10:05 pm
I agree. I think that one day there will be restrictions on what can be acessed online for the publice.
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# 3.
I do believe that some information should not be accessible to everyone. For example, directions on how to make explosives should not be made accessible to the public. It is unsafe, and ridiculous that kind of information can be used to make things like pipe bombs at home in tghe basement or garage. As a parent I also feel that certain information should be age appropraitely accessible. I think that”light’ information is just as important as “heavy” information. As the movie shows not everything is the way it first appears. Debating the issues or comparing / contrasting solutions or results can not happed if information is one sided.
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BJBrown Reply:
October 11th, 2009 at 4:37 pm
I think you are exactly right on this issue =) I know that many teenagers want to tamper in things that shouldn’t be tampered with. Ex… Explosives as you say =) I remember those days and they weren’t so long ago lol. Life would be really chaotic living from day to day. Children rigging your car with explosives “talking about a screaming metal death trap”
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tnengland Reply:
October 15th, 2009 at 12:32 pm
I agree with your side completely but the truth is that information that should be restricted, like how to make explosives or create certain drugs, will always be available on the internet. Movies also contain material that is definately not suited for children but you can get on youtube and type in the movie of choice and see about any part of the movie you want. Those these things should be restricted and not allowed on the internet for anyone to see, there will always be someone out there who feels they need to put it on the internet, rather it is true or not. I
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LEHillhouse Reply:
October 24th, 2009 at 3:55 pm
I agree as well. Some things should not be known because we don’t want something dangerous happening for the sake of not being censored.
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Today there are many areas in which superstition and fear rule. In this month of October it would be the perfect time to bring it up……how about fear of the dead? There are those that believe spirits can come back to haunt or harm you. To each there own with this belief. My thought is it is the living that can hurt you, not the dead. I would rather walk through a cemetary at night than walk downtown New York or Belize for that matter. The dead are exactly that….dead, gone, obsolete, extinct, expired. Allowing logic to come into play, are people fearful when a pet dies? When goldfish are flushed, is any one afraid Goldie will swim back up through the toilet and eat someone’s face while they sleep??? Not really, whether it is a dog, cat, monkey, or human, dead means exactly that. Death is the opposite of life.
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I think, that to much information should be keep hush hush, do to the safty of the USA. But then the old saying is that ignorants is bliss. So with this information all you will do is worry and get gray hair and ulcrs. So they sould let us have our own choice whether we want the information or not.
There are too many people that don’t have acsess to the internet or books still to day so they go to the libary to do resurch so i don’t think there will be closing of libarys any time soon.
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Leah Allen Reply:
October 12th, 2009 at 10:24 am
Amen sista!!! IGNORANCE is bliss!! I quit watching the news because it is too depressing. Then there is the saying,”What you don’t know can’t hurt you,” I disagree, what you don’t know can not only hurt you, it can be detrimental. I think I will pass on the gray hair and ulcers, I love laughter and fun!!!!
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#3
i think that certain things should be kept from the public. yes if somone wanted to know how tp make a bomb or meth bad enough, then they could probably find it out,but why make things like that so easy to find on the internet. the public doesnt need to know everything. it keeps things alot more peaceful. if everyone knew everything that was going on in the government or with wars, then im sure this country would be a pretty hectic place.
i think that “light” information is just as important as “heavy”. if there were no humor in the world, it would be so depressing, and im sure noone really wants that.
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1
Part 1
In the movie The Name of the Rose, only a few of the monks were allowed to access the library. I do believe that in today’s society information is also kept restricted. The best example would be The Bible. The roman catholic church itself has confessed to the removal of some of the books in the bible. Although the church has confessed, they still have not released those books to the public. What is contained in those books that prevents the church from releasing them?
Part 2
In the case of finding anything we want on Google, I believe that nearly all information can be found, but it does take a lot of searching. When you type a word or phrase into the Google search engine an unlimited amount of web sties will appear. A fraction of those web sites are valid, useful sources. Unfortunately, while there are valid sites found on Google, there are also other sites that could be completely unrelated, or in the case of Wikipedia altogether unreliable. I believe that Google is a tool that can be used for obtaining information, but there is always that risk of unknowingly using false statements and information.
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#5 I believe that the church should have a financial stronghold in our society. The church may seem rich, however the money it collects from parishioners and other donations is mostly for running the church and it’s many non-profit organizations it supports. Without the churches help, many of the poor could nor receive the help it needs. The church maintains it’s information secret so that it does not fall into the hands of those who wish to distort the message fro the church to its followers. I believe the clergy do deserve some nice things because they devote their lives to helping others, and they give up things like marriage and sex, that most take for granted.
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dooverton Reply:
October 12th, 2009 at 1:02 pm
I could agree with this, but if the leaders of the church are doing their job for the right reason they won’t expect nice things and nice things won’t matter to them. I believe that church leaders are very admirable but God will bless them, and the problem we face is that some leaders don’t like to wait on God’s blessings so they bless themselves at everyone else’s expense. But if a church as a whole is wealthy then all the better because then it can do its one and only job and thats reach out to the lost and raise up the righteous.
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ltdeangelis Reply:
October 13th, 2009 at 10:22 pm
I agree completely that the church does need money to mantain itself. That money is used for all kinds of important necessary things, such as for the poor, the homeless, and the sick and needy.
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Leah Allen Reply:
October 14th, 2009 at 9:25 pm
I completely disagree. I find it idisgusting that churches make money. It goes against all the teachings of Christianity. Jesus took no money for the work he did, and he was God’s son. He said, “Birds have nests, foxes have dens, I have no place to lay my head.” He also said, “You receive free, you give free.” I think it is appropriate to donate toward the upkeep of the building, the bills such as phone, electric, water, etc. I do not think it is good for religious organizations to own hospitals and convalescent homes. It goes virtually tax free and that is money that could be used to get the US out of the “red.” What reason would a church have to own expensive artwork and property? I was under the impression people went to church to learn about doctrinal teachings and how to live a good life. I am curious, which message would be distorted? Impressed with your comment although I disagree.
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Why does everyone want all this information? Yes I do believe that some information should not be made available. I do not want my children having access to some of the smut that is available. I do not want to see animals or children being abused on the internet. Maybe information should have a rating system in place, such as movies do. I need to know if its G, PG, PG18, R, RR. In my opinion Yorgie in “The Name of the Rose” was an extremist. However, if you believed in something; I mean truely believed in something. How far may you go to protect it?
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#4
Today we have more access to information, then they had back then. Today the internet gives us more information then we need sometimes. Back then they didn’t have technology like we do today. Many places had one master that they was to listen to. The master was the only one able to access the information.
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Question 1,
I think we are restricted to knowledge, because Knowledge is power. There’s so much knowledge to know I doubt anyone could comprehend it all. I can think of several places that are heavily guarded. A perfect example is the Presidential library. Nobody of the public vicinity would be allowed to read any of those books without proper clearance. Many of our forefathers laid a foundation to our country that is still a mystery to many, because of conspiracy theories etc… wow this is totally scattered but all very broad perspectives. In accordance to the library, I think if people had access to these libraries would all of man’s answers be solved? Would it actually satisfy our thirst for more knowledge? Knowledge stems from one thing and that is Experience and having the knowledge to write it down into a book; for us to learn without having to experience it. It comes down to deciding whether or not we want to experience the knowledge we have just obtained. a good example is: Benjamin Franklin “The Kite and The Key” Our president were the greatest trial and error people of their time, but they definetely do not get enough justice. They get all the ridicule and then later on we realize that, ” Oh wait what they did wasn’t so bad.”
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Question #3
1. I do think that certain information should be kept from the public. I think if we knew everything that people would tend to turn to pure panic and pandemonium.
2. Light information is just as important is heavy information. Information is information, and I guess “heavy” or “light” is in the eye of the beholder.
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Information is most certainly a kind of wealth. It is an asset that can be used to gain many things. We should keep in mind, however, that information is not intelligence. A person has to be thoughtful about the information they encounter and use it wisely for it to become a kind of wealth. Unless you go on a game show or something, in which case you really just have to spit out trivia and get rewarded for it.
We would like to be able to say that, at least in our country, all people have equal access to information. I don’t know if we do or if we don’t. Are there “information rich” and “information poor”? I think there may be. I have no concrete explanation as to why there may be that divide. I guess you could argue economic status or environment or whatever. If we all have access to libraries, and a way to get to them (and the time to spend in them), and/or other reliable resources, i suppose the only thing to say is that those PEOPLE WHO WANT TO KNOW WILL FIND WHAT THEY SEEK. People who have no desire or no need to know “things” beyond what’s relative to their everyday lives, won’t find what they don’t seek. In remaining ignorant, you never know what opportunities pass you by or what you stand to gain or lose. For those who are “information rich”, information, combined with the desire to explore it, can bring many good things, including money. We could probably say that in cases having a “wealth of information” leads to literal wealth, and that lack of it does not.
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1.The library in the movie is not accessible to everyone; only the librarians can go into the tower where the books are kept. Although we may be used to libraries with open stacks (where anyone can browse the bookshelves freely), not all libraries in the world today allow such open access to their materials. Similarly, in the age of Google, we think we are free to find any information we need on the Internet. Is this true? Can you think of any ways that access to information today is restricted? Or can you think of certain kinds of information that are guarded from free public knowledge?
I think you can find most information on about common instests the internet, but you cant find everthing on the internet. Government information is not displayed on the internet and medical records. Hacking i guess is a way to get information that is restricted of the internet, but you would have to be very skilled to get some information. Like I already said medical records and government information is kept restricted or just kept off the internet in general.
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grcopeland Reply:
October 14th, 2009 at 1:20 pm
I agree that medical records and government information should be kept off the internet. Hacking is a way to get this information but that will be very few people who will have the knowledge of skills to complete these tasks.
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ejrudy Reply:
October 14th, 2009 at 2:26 pm
I agree that it is a good idea to keep these two types of information off the internet. This is simply because even though a few have the skills to hack onto blocked websites, they can still do the dirty work for others who do not have the skills to do such.
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Question 6
Prior to the late 1800’s it was believed that spontaneous generation was a known fact, however, with deductive reasoning and testing it was discovered that this was a false theory sprouted from superstition and lack of logic.
This can be seen today in this discussion with our peer’s belief that all books will be reduced only to technological means in the near future without considering the global populous (the future can not be foreseen, only patience will reveal the truth).
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ZWConkey Reply:
October 15th, 2009 at 2:54 pm
In today’s society many people are looked down on for not having a college education or not being overall educated. Knowledge is definitely a key to success and wealth.
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question number 5
rich in information leads to better jobs.
poor in information leads to struggle in life.
so yes some information today can be thought of as a kind wealth
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Question 5,
Information is without a doubt a type of wealth. To be able to learn allows every individual to be just that, an “individual.” Without available information we would have to base every decision in our lives off of someone else’s ideas. Knowledge available through information is the only thing that can equalize everybody. Not everyone will be rich, not everyone will be super smart, but everyone who is willing has the ability to be just as informed as the next guy. However, i do believe there is an exception to this rule. Such as our government, they have access to information that not only does the common man/woman not know, but probably dont need to know. I doubt that we could even win another long-lasting war because with media telling the public everything they can about what the governments doing, the government already cant make the necessary decisions because some momma is afraid that her baby is gonna get hurt. So yes there is an information poor and wealthy. Even though the governments higher ability to have information is slowly diminishing they still have access to things that the common folk shouldn’t know. But as far as each “common” man is concerned i believe we have relatively the same ability to have information. Whether we get this information is up to us.
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DKTatsch Reply:
October 26th, 2009 at 11:16 am
I agree with your point of view on knowledge. However, our government could do a much better job of keeping us out of war if they would only look at the few people responsible instead of a whole country. The number one problem in our country is apathy, but who really cares?
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6. An example would be the iraq war, which I think was based on superstition and fear of weapons of mass destruction.
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strent: question 3
I agree, to much information could cause major chaos.
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6. When it comes to the point of punishment to gain truth from the result of torture, I consider it to be wrongful. There is honestly no point in today’s society to whip someone or drown someone until they beg for no more pain or air and clarify to claim to tell the “truth”. Honestly, I think it would get to the point that they would become so uncomfortable people would begin to lie. Especially if they knew nothing of the matter to begin with. With today’s technology it is easier anyway to find clues, etc. that lead up to the perpetrator. In a since it is also hypocritical for the movie and them to be Christians to instead not turn the other cheek!
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dooverton
I agree with the fact we need information from other to know information period. But honestly I believe that the way life is now would become the way it is later. It all started with an Aristotle like someone somewhere.
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Question 3.
I think that the public should be sheltered from certain kinds of information. For example, if the government was aware of some dangerous universal conspiracy, I think they should hold that information so widespread panic wouldn’t ensue. Some information is best kept at a minimum, or a need to know basis. Parents also have the right to withhold information from their children until they become old enough to fully comprehend. Also, I believe that light information is just as important as heavy information. A delicate balance needs to be present. If you only concentrate on heavy, serious information, then you would possess a glum outlook all of the time. On the other hand, if only light information were available, it would be difficult to take anything seriously.
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Question 4:
Currently, libraries are still a major way to access information but not in the sense that they once were. Now, many people can access a library electronically. Technology keeps changing and advancing day by day. I think society in the the future will publish, access, and preserve knowledge and important information in an electronic device, whether it be computers or some similar electronic device. Many schools already have students do a major portion of their work electronically, therefore the use of electronic devices for information will keep increasing as time progresses.
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To strent concerning question 3
I agree, certain information should be kept secret. Some information is private and should stay that way such as medical files and government documents. Certain information is said to be secret for a reason and most of the time it is for the safety of people.
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Question #3
I believe that some information should be left unknown because if such dangerous information got, there would be massive choas. People would be in a panic and some would even be uncontrolable. It would be a dark time when no one would trust each other. There would no longer be any order or calm.
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4. The way technology has developed over the years is amazing, and i think in the future it will be even greater. Today, you can get most of the information you need from the library while sitting at a computer someplace. I believe that all libraries will become electronic in the future. However, I do not think books will go away completly, because many people perfer holding a book while reading it instead of sitting at a computer screen. I believe it will be harder to get books in the future, but they will still be somewhere for people to read.
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jwhensley Reply:
October 13th, 2009 at 1:01 pm
i agree that the computer is taking over and books are leaving, but i hope that does not really happen till after i am gone. i hate being on the computer.
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MB Mike Reply:
October 13th, 2009 at 7:35 pm
I disagree, i think that the world is going to be completely electronic. I think they may store some of the really important books some where, but get rid of the others. The would just be useless so what would be the point in keeping them. All the information you needed you could get some other way than from the book itself.
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4. with the way everything is going, there probably will not be many books left. most everything is going to the internet. as technology increases the old way of doing stuff fades.
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dustin craig Reply:
October 28th, 2009 at 6:19 pm
I completely agree with these statements. However, I also believe that internet can only grow so large without crashing.
I think our world will advance to the point where the internet will run out of space. All the public libraries will result to transfering all the books to online.
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3. yes, somethings should be kept away from the public so wide spread pandimonium dosent occur or something. and children dont need to now everything at such young ages its best to keep alot away from them. and i believe that “heavy” information is just as important as “light” because if everything you learn or read is “heavy” information then you will be to serious and if everything you read or learn is “light” information then you never take anything seriously.
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3.) The “Spiritual Danger” of information is often still incorporated into today’s world with the same intent from the church. Consider their outbreaks of anger toward certain books such as “The Da Vinci Code” and “The Golden Compass.” They express the same anger as they did centuries ago regarding “The Divine Comedy,” but fortunately don’t have the same rights to punish people as they did then. I believe one century from now, their influence will (hopefully) be even less in the area of both fiction and non-fiction writings, so that the public will be more capable of keeping an open mind toward literature.
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#3.
The public should be kept from some things like if the Government knew the end of the world was coming they don’t want the people in a world-wide panic because it would be pointless, and kids neet to be kept from some information til they are ready to hear it.
“Light” and “heavy” information need to be equal, so people know when you’re serious or just being funny.
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njrudy Reply:
October 14th, 2009 at 2:39 pm
Yes i agree that younger children need to not be exposed to information that they are not ready to hear. If the Government let out that the end of the world was coming in 2 years, it would either make people go crazy and become over protective or cause to people not to care about life anymore. Some things are better left not knowing because they could effect people way before they intend to.
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#2
I feel that our society today is so use to information being at their fingertip that when it comes to actually going to a library and finding information it seem difficult. We like to just go to google and type what we are looking for in and an answer immediately popping up. This is not true for the library. It takes time and effort. There is a order in which you can find things and to those who dont know the order it feels like a daunting task which is why i feel that our generation is missing out on a great fountain of knowledge. I feel that it would be much easier these days for vital information to be hidden. If it is written down most people may never look at it, but if you were to be put it on the internet then it could be found by millions of people with in a matter of seconds.
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#3
I think that some information must be restricted from the public atleast in situations of violence such as how to make and obtain weaponry. Age restrictions should also exist on certain information because not all information is appropriate for everyone. also some information may be in the possession of private companies and organizations and it is not fair to them if anyone can get said information. “Light” information is equally important or even more important than humor and comedy is important for developing one’s personality and opinions, scholarly information is the same for everyone and does not create individuality.
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ejrudy Reply:
October 14th, 2009 at 2:20 pm
I agree with you. There’s a good chance that Information in the wrong hands will lead to negative situations. No matter if the information is light or heavy, there are still reasons why the information is kept private.
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#1
Information today is available from many different sources. Some types of information should be retricted from the public though. Personal bank account information, medical records, and governemental information are all types that should be kept a secret. People can gain accedd to this information though through illegal actions. Bank information can be recieved by simply getting a credit card from someone. Medical records are available through doctors. They are not suppose to tell this information but some doctors do. Governmental information may be some of the toughest restricted information to get with all the secrity techniques that are used. All of this information should be kept secret to keep the safety of the individual this information surrounds. The government information should be kept a secret to protect the citizens of the country.
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#2
In today’s time, instead of having labyrinths and poisoned pages and such, there are blocked websites that prevent certain people from viewing the contents. These people are not permitted to see the information either due to age or authority. These websites are not easily hacked onto by the average, curious human. Either the websites require an account that you may have to pay for; or they ask for a certain code that only the authorized know. If found to have intruded the blocked websites, various negative reprocussions may result. The violator may experience a virus that comes onto his or her computer that is put to action by suspicious actions done on the website. If the information from the website is sent to another user, there is a possibility of a virus being attached to the e-mail as protection. It is best to not try to crack the code with websites that are blocked for intentional reasons.
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#4
A century into the future, I believe that libraries will go electronic. They have already invented electronic books and i believe they will become more popular. Although the electronic route would be more expensive compared to checking out books in the public library, it would be more efficient and quick to use. People could sit at their computer desk and get the information they need or the book they want to read. It saves them from driving to the library when all they want is to stay home and read a good or do research. In the future, there will still be access to old-school libraries because there’s always a chance that technology doesn’t allow certain books to be checked out. Technology would make information in books much easier to access.
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Question 4:
Technology has increased tremendously in the past few years. Libraries are being used less, and most people are not even able to look up a book in the library. About a decade ago, the only way to access information was to research in a library. I believe that a century from now, the internet will be the only access to information. Libraries will be a thing of the past, and just a place to collect books. By then, the internet will contain every reference you need, the only concern is which site to trust.
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In response to srwoods:
I agree. Information does further education, but most people do abuse it. A lot of information should not be accessible. I don’t think they should go as far as restricting it though. This would make people want to know it even more, causing more trouble. Like with the Library of Congress, you have to be a member. This isn’t exactly restricting it, but it makes it harder to access.
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#3 Yes, in some case I think that information should not be shared. For example, things like national security information should not be shared. I think that some information is more important than other, but I think that anything anyone has to say is important.
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1. Yes, certain information is restricted to the public. An example of this is password protected areas on websites such as lmunet. People are given their own personal password to access information that is private to them such as grades and a financial aid summary. This is reminiscent to the note found by William of Baskerville on the greek translators’ desk. The note was written in greek which was in effect the “password” as it was written in lemon juice and described directions to the book in the library.
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#6. I believe that people in our society do react with superstition and fear rather than patient observation in certain situations. For example, a long time ago people would explain strang experiences by claiming it was witchcraft and accusing innocent people of being responsible of such occurances; today we may not burn witches at the stake, but we do jump to conclusions and make irrational decisions based on assumption. Now we may run from a cough yelling swine flu, but I think we’ve come a long way in learning to explore all options before deciding explanations.
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#3 I believe that all information should be available to anyone that want to learn. There is no reason for there to be “hidden” information. Everyone should have the right to seek and find any information they want. There is no reason to disreguard humor just because it contorts the face with laughter. So many topics are useless without humor. For example, If you were in a class situation where the professor had no sense of humor and just talked about the same subject in a monotone voice for and hour, you wouldn’t learn much. Now, if your professor will crack jokes with you at spontaneous moments and have fun teaching the material, you will be more interested in the material at hand. There is a certain speed at which things move along when there is laughter or humor involved. I tend to think that the world would be a very sad place without a bit of humor and fun thrown into the mix.
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Question #4
I believe that a century from now, books will still exist in our society. Books are too important today to just disappear in a hundred years. The gradual change from books to the internet will have greatly changed and I am sure nearly all books will be able to be found and checked out online.There will be many libraries that are online and only carry books online. I do think that the libraries with actual books will also still be here. The two could merge together and if you are reading a book online and decide that you rather have the book you would be able to go to the library and check the book out. In the future, I do believe that books could disappear but that would have to happen over several centuries, not just one.
As for the information that will be shared in a century, I do believe that not all information will be shared with the public but all writings will be able to be obtained. Anything on the internet can be opened up if a smart enough person is wanting to see it. The only way a book could not be shared with the public is if the copies of the books were stored in a private, secure place and never placed online. As books do begin to disappear, the books that have few copies will be placed where the public cannot handle them but there will be copies on the internet for the public to refer to.
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Question #4
Information has helps us become what we all are today. Such as doctors,teachers,lawyers and ext. There are some kinds information that the government don’t want us to know, they are afraid of how people may react to this kind of information. People are using the computers more than a book to look up information that their looking for. So, it is vital to have information to make it world today.
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#1
In today’s word with all of the technology and information being so easy to access many people think that you can find whatever information you need and nothing is kept secret. Though there are not as many secret libraries today, information is hidden in other ways. The government takes great caution in some information not leaking to the general public, such as; Witness protection, blueprints for new projects, and even Area 51. All information is not safe for everyone to know about.
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ANThomas Reply:
October 15th, 2009 at 9:06 pm
I agree that there are things that society should not know about. However, we do need to be aware of what is going on in our surroundings and whether or not it will affect our future. Most people do not take in consideration what is truly happening and if some websites were unblocked there would be more worry on the world than what there already is.
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mark greene Reply:
October 25th, 2009 at 11:28 pm
I would have to agree, there is a time and place for certain information to be revealed.
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Question number 4
I think that people use the internet to access a library now and days. Libraries were the only source of information back then, but now people can get access to information and books online. Technology is a highly improved source these days, and it will improve more throughout the years. I think that one day they will not preserve information in books, but preserve them in a way that we have them on some kind of technology system. Although, we can get just about any information on the internet, there are still some sources that cannot be reached online. As the years pass, technology improves and one day technology may take over.
Comment on krcovington
I agree with you because we both think that technology will become a bigger part in our lives. Technology plays a big part in our lives now, but one day I believe that we will not be able to go anywhere without some kind of technology.
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3.
In the world today there is much information that is unknown to the public. The president and government are dealing with concerns in their own hands and we are left on the back burner with no clue. Some information such as on the war is known to us but do we truly know everything that is happening? Society today cannot be too sure on what to believe. People can say one thing and do another easily without us knowing or being apart of many decisions. The moods of situations are lightened through the untelling of the whole truth and easing of the problem. The subject of the important matters try to be changed and the world seems to forget that there is much still wrong with today’s time.
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Do i think information should be censored? In very very limited cases.
When it pretains to the safety of a person or people then ,yes, i do believe censorship is a good thing. In no way do i think the secret service should hand out their secrets. Also i do believe that if it is a very valuable peice of history it should not be on a shelf ready to be checked out by some greasy fingered slob. For instance, I dont believe that some of the original books by Hippocrates like The Law or The Oath writen in 400 BC should be laying around on a shelf. No, it should be preserved. But, unlike the book of poetics in the movie, I think it most certainly should be replicated for public knowledge.
The internet is a vast place to learn many new things. The government isn’t omniscient and cant have its eye on every page out there. Things will leak and it is ok. Life will go on if that one methie finds out how to make meth- chances are he will find out another way if not by the internet. Should he do it? Well no but thats his moral, conscience decision. If the government comes across a page such as how to make meth, yes, they should get rid of it because the act is illegal. But should they actively be out there searching for these sites? Not in my opinion. I’d much rather them be doing something more productive.
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I feel that the library of bound books will be obselete in the future. With all the technology of today and the availability that database resources offer along with world wide web,bing, google, and blog we are finding very little need for actual bound books. Technology is only going to advance therefore, the bound books collectively found in libraries today will be dust collectors in the future.
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#3
I personally do not think that people should be sheltered from information that is considered dangerous. One reason for this is that what one person considers dangerous another person might think of it is as nothing. In today’s society I think that some are to sheltered. We do not live in a perfect world, so people should not think that we do. Humorous readings are just as important as serious readings. Everyone needs to laugh every once in a while, because being serious all the time can be extremely stressful. Laughing is a simple way to kind of lay back and relax a little. Serious readings are also important because no one should laugh all the time. There should be an equal medium where these two are balanced out.
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josh rawls Reply:
November 5th, 2009 at 11:08 am
I agree people should not be sheltered from information.
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#4.
I think 100 years from now most books will be accessed electronically. It is already happening, and is evident especially when looking at universities. Most university libraries are online, as well as most assignments. I do not believe books will become obselete, I just think that the main way to access a book will be online. I would like to hope books will remain the same, because personally, I would much prefer to read a book than strain my eyes reading the computer screen.
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to: mjcanfield
#4
I totally agree that the way books are accessed will change in 100 hundreds years and that, that change will be towards online books. However, it will take a lot longer than a century for books to be completely and totally online.
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1. No , we can not find any information that we want to find on Google or any other Internet search engine. Any information that is restricted to the public except for certain people would have to be password protected in order to get into the site. Information that can be deemed as private nad that no one should be able to look at would be information containing financial records, social securtity numbers, credit card numbers and thing that could result in a persons identity being stolen. Some information is better left unknown to the public to either pprotect us or to keep us calm. Serious terrorist attacks or chemical warfare (anthrax outbreak) are better left unsaid this way people do not result in a widespread panic.
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Question 4 In one hundred years i think that librarys will be museums. I think that some will still read from books but only for the nostalgia
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Question 1.
I don’t agree that we are free to find any information we need on general search engines such as Google. Technology has taken over so much in today’s world that we sometimes forget about the other ways to look up information. Also, when was the last time someone looking up a term or subject in an encyclopedia, dictionary, or journal had to worry about the reliability of the material they were reading?
The information that I feel is most guarded from public knowledge is things that the government does. Granted, I understand that there are some things that must be kept from the general public, but there are many secretive things that go on in our government system that should not be a secret. Are they purposefully keeping us ignorant of things going on that we have the right to know? After all, we can’t very well stand up and protest things going on that we don’t even know exist until it is far too late.
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#4.
The way we find and access information has greatly evolved. In modern times books are not used nearly as often, and more and more frequently the internet is being used as the primary source of information, instead of a fallback. I think that in the future books will become mostly obsolete and everything will be accessed somehow through the internet. More and more opinion will be taken as fact, and not researched or supported with information.
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Technology makes everything easier to gather information. It helps further education because it gives a great deal of information to students world wide. I think that information should be shared with everyone because it is very useful, with the exception of some government documents that helps keep this country safe.
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4. To start off, I do not think that our society will be that far advanced in 100 years that we become completely dependent on computers. One day, yes, I am sure we will be living in a society in which computers are part of our everyday lives more so than they are now. Even when we do live our lives around computers and their data bases, there will still be the paper books. Two good reasons why I feel this way: for one, there are far too many books to just get rid of them all, and two, they are going to be sought after. I am sure, however, that books will be harder to get a hand on and possibly protected like many of our important documents are today. All in all, I do not think books will ever fully disappear and most definitely not only within one century.
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I think there is some information that should be shelters from the public. But it should still be able to be access through some kind of database or information center. There should never be a reason to keep information from people that want to learn the material, it is just keep the world from learning.
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4.
Technology has greatly advanced the way information is sought out. In the future books will not be used as often. Every book will be copied and be made available online rather than on the shelves. However, I believe that the books that are private now will remain in the private libraries. The internet will progress to something of the priceless value.
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#1
I feel like in today’s society, almost all information can be gathered off of the internet. Information that should not be shared. Just by knowing someones first and last name you can find out there phone number and a map to their house without even trying. It is so simple yet scary. I feel like the government tries to hide some information to keep the public safe such as social security numbers because identity theft has became so major within the past few years. I think that it is scary that gathering this much information about a stranger on the internet is scary, especially with todays crime rate.
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3.
A) Yes, there definitely are some kinds of information that should be kept from people. Information that could cause harm to the individual or others as well such as personal information that people want to keep to themselves, information about harmful, illegal substances- like how to grow, make or produce- information about bombs, guns, or other harmful weapons that could be used in the wrong way if in the hands of an unstable person. Also, as some have already mentioned, there are certain things that I realize the government must keep from people. There is a fine line between what can be harmful to us and what can be helpful to us. The problem arises when people take it too far and censor information that society needs to know about.
B) I personally believe light information is very important to our mental health. Everyone can’t constantly think about serious things; it is unhealthy. It is a burden. Sure there are probably some people that can handle it, but there are others that would die under the pressure of constant seriousness. Everyone must learn and think about some things in a serious way, but there should be a healthy balance of both light and heavy information. Withough both, life would either always be childish or always be boring.
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I think all libraries will be electronic in the future. All books will be online. Even today there are libraries there are libraries selling all of their books. We will lose a lot of books if they are all put online if no one keeps the sites up.
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# 3
I believe that public schools should censor harmful information from getting to students. If some students were able to get ahold of information on how to make a bomb, they would probably do it. Therefore, I strongly agree that there should be censorship in our public schools.
Secondly, I believe that humor is important in our daily lives. Without it, our days would be full of boredom.
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