The Reality Behind America’s Media

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This condition of unintelligence is not hopeless, and perhaps turning to the base of wisdom and insight that has collected over our history, generally known as books, can turn around our capacity to simply think. A book has the astounding ability to give us a chance to peruse in between the lines, and provides for us the capacity to retain information a great deal more proficiently than this "skimming" we end up doing when confronting screens. We captivate our brains when perusing a book, and find new ideas in every story, novel, and sonnet. Perhaps all we need is to reawaken this astounding mental ability we have long neglected to utilize the data our technological innovations hands us to the best of our capacity.

Our mind recollects a beautiful gift to maintain colossal measures of data, and regardless of much learning we lack, we can simply cure this by settling down with a decent book. While our machines, telephones, and TV give a very nearly perpetual stream of untainted information to us, we must figure out how to properly use this data to the best of our advantage. We can choose to think legitimately with the information supplied to us, and to proceed with our development. The world can continue its improvements to enhance the lives of all that inhabit it, but only if individuals remain advancing.

William J. Perry, Jr. (1970) said it best in his article "Examsmanship and the Liberal Arts" when he characterized the words bull and cow. Bull is data that has applicable relationships yet have insignificant to no information to support it, and cow has information however no correlations. (Perry, 1970) Our technological innovations are brimming with cows, and our brains are overflowing with bull. When we can figure out how to unite these powers, we will never stop advancing. Perry (1970) summed the dangers of a lingering "cow", "As for cow, its complexities are not what need concern us. Unlike good bull, it does not represent partial knowledge at all. It belongs to a different theory of knowledge entirely. In our theories of knowledge it represents total ignorance, or worse yet, a knowledge downright inimical to understanding." (Perry pg. 8) Perry is arguing we should first become mindful of identifying cow, and to correct it upon first glance.

This demands we learn to learn, which implies we need to probe our brains by reading books and researching about other’s personal wisdom and knowledge. In only this technique would we be able to develop our own particular personalities and become mindful of cow, or bull, and show ourselves to think past what is given to us. We acquire how to analyze and experiment, and in this way we can advance into a healthier future – for ourselves, in addition to future generations.

Works Cited

Carr, Nicholas. "Is Google Making Us Stupid?" The Atlantic. Atlantic Monthy Group, 1 July 2008. Web. 12 Dec. 2014. .

Feynman, Richard P. "O Americano, Outra Vez." Southern Cross Review. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 Dec. 2014. .

McCullough, David. "The Love of Learning." Boston College. Boston. 19 May 2008. Address.

Perry, William G., Jr. "Examsmanship and the Liberal Arts: A Study in Educational Epistemology." Longwood. Harvard University, Mar. 1963. Web. 12 Dec. 2014. .

Postman, Neil. Amusing Ourselves to Death: The Public Discourse. 20th Anniversary ed. N.p.: Penguin Books, 2006. Print.

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