In Amusing Ourselves to Life, Julian Sanchez discusses Steven Johnson’s theory that new media (like TV and videogames) make us smarter:
I’m generally sympathetic to the thesis, and not a hardcore skeptic about IQ or ‘general intelligence,’ but I think it’s worth bearing in mind that at least part of the way new media make us ‘smarter’ is by shaping our concept of intelligence at the same time as they train us in the skills and behaviors that match that concept.Neal [sic] Postman used to like to cite the example of Solomon (I think it was Solomon, anyway; I’m too lazy to check right now), who was considered wise in part because he had memorized some huge number of maxims. Now, having such a huge maxim-cache might today be considered impressive in a parlor-trick sort of way, but because pervasive external information-storage makes that sort of thing unnecessary, we’d hardly consider it a crucial test of intelligence. We’re more apt to be impressed now with someone who can quickly navigate and apply all that stored information. New media inculcate the kind of on-the-spot problem solving intelligence Johnson talks about; they may not do much to develop the different kind of intelligence exercised by, say, reading and thinking about Socratic dialogues or doing a close reading of Proust or Joyce.
That’s not to say we ought to buy into Postman-style luddite alarmism. If new media restructure our concept of intelligence, it’s in part because they provide us real benefits and make the skills required to navigate them genuinely valuable.
I only recently became aware of Neil Postman and his work. I came to his Building a Bridge to the 18th Century : How the Past Can Improve Our Future more than sympathetic to his thesis that we could learn a lot from the Enlightenment. Then I read the book. Or the first half, really. I couldn’t finish it.
That said, there’s certainly a kernel of something in there, because Arnold Kling was able to bring it out in Building a Bridge to Neil Postman:
In his climactic chapter on education, which is worth the price of the entire book, he advocates five habits (falling two short of the magic number).1. Ask questions. Postman says that “question-asking is the most significant tool human beings have.” I agree. In fact, when I used to interview job candidates for positions of financial analyst or programmer, I would give a one-minute job description and then ask, “What questions do you have?” My hiring decision was based primarily on the quality of the questions asked by the applicant.
2. Respect language. Postman argues that people need to learn the differences between clear, meaningful language and manipulative gobbledygook. It was in that spirit that when I found that my 14-year-old was going to be assigned a “Seven Habits” book in school, I immediately ordered for her a copy of Wendy Kaminer’s “I’m Dysfunctional, You’re Dysfunctional.” Kaminer’s work contains a brutal dissection of the (lack of) meaning of Covey’s “synergy” Habit. Incidentally, Kaminer’s book is out of print. I was able to locate a copy at Powells’ Used Books, 3000 miles away, and have it shipped to me. For those of you keeping score, I believe that is one point for the Internet.
3. Think scientifically. Postman says that we should not want children to accept Darwinian or Copernican theory only because we drill it in to them on tests. Rather, they should develop the ability to evaluate these theories against their competitors. In our company, I chose the title “chief scientist” because I, too, prefer to evaluate Internet business hypotheses for myself rather than accept the opinion of experts.
4. Honor history. Postman says that there is value in understanding ideas in the historical context under which they were developed. My high school chemistry teacher, Frank Quiring, took exactly that approach. We followed the progression of the science of chemistry from the formulation of the gas laws through the development of the atomic theory to the discovery of neutrons, protons, and electrons, and on to quantum theory. We learned chemistry by putting ourselves in the position of scientists as they thought in their time. We saw how each new empirical discovery led to theoretical attempts to explain it. At the time, I took it for granted that this was how chemistry was taught. In retrospect, it must have taken tremendous effort by Mr. Quiring to structure the subject in this way. I despair of my daughters ever having such a course taught to them.
The fifth habit that Postman advocates is the teaching of comparative religion in school. As far as that suggestion is concerned, I am relatively agnostic.
I guess I should have skipped to the last chapter.