The Realization of Fahrenheit 451 - USM Forum -- Message Board

Date: Mar 22, 2006

The Realization of Fahrenheit 451

Date: Mar 22, 2006

You are cookin Pei Mei! Nice observation. I wonder if the student or those you mention have any idea what fahrenheit 451 is. Sounds like a nightclub.

I had just read the book as a high school student when John Lennon made is "Jesus" comment which resulted in a local radio station sponsoring a Beatle Burning in Hattiesburg. It was off West Pine and the pile of albums and posters burning looked like a scene from the movie. I had on my Beatle boots.

Date: Mar 22, 2006

It could be worse, considering what other universities have initiated. Imagine if Shelboo and the Henchcrew begin to demand that faculty produce 'iPod-downloadable' versions of lectures. Just an extension of his 'university as a business' model, combined with the existing compressed-video 'course delivery' system.

Date: Mar 22, 2006

Pai Mei, what color are the trees in your world? I am sure the members of the music department will appreciate your view that an individual who listen to music is “drowning out any ambient noise and his own thoughts.” You in affect place the listing of music on par with the consumption of mind altering drugs or mass quantities of alcohol in that you believe it numbs the brain. While any one of us might find someone else’s choice of music as lacking in artistic quality or intellectual depth with regard to its composition, this ultimately comes down to a matter of personal choice, it does not however indicate that the person does not think.

You follow this with another truly great statement, “Our culture has shifted in a remarkable way. Humans must be constantly entertained. There can be no time for reflection or thought.” I was not aware that entertainment and reflection or thought were mutually exclusive. Beware faculty members, if your lectures are found in anyway entertaining then your students must not be thinking, so cut it out.

Alas, you out do yourself when you share with us your most profound thought, “There can be no classrooms without multimedia capability, internet access, and surround sound. Chalk is bad. Technology is good. We play into the hands of our enemies when we abandon real thought for the flash of the website and all the entertainment that it brings.” I guess in your world chalk is good and technology is bad. I was not aware that either was good or bad as I have always thought it depended to what use they were applied (unless one is allergic to chalk dust, then chalk is bad). I am not sure who your enemies are but if you do experience difficulty in thinking when looking at a website, might I suggest you visit a doctor. Do you also experience dizziness or blackouts? It may be a medical condition.

The world today is far from anything like that described by Bradbury in Fahrenheit 451 which is evidenced by, if nothing else, this very website. That you may experience difficulty in thinking when looking at a website however may go far to explain this posting of yours. If technology is so bad, why are you visiting this website and posting here?

P.S. farside, don’t let Pai Mei catch you drowning out any ambient noise and your own thoughts by listing to the Beatles. Pai Mei might think their music should be burned, after all it is entertaining. Who would be the Firemen then?

Date: Mar 22, 2006

Coast Resident wrote:

Pai Mei, what color are the trees in your world? I am sure the members of the music department will appreciate your view that an individual who listen to music is “drowning out any ambient noise and his own thoughts.” You in affect place the listing of music on par with the consumption of mind altering drugs or mass quantities of alcohol in that you believe it numbs the brain. While any one of us might find someone else’s choice of music as lacking in artistic quality or intellectual depth with regard to its composition, this ultimately comes down to a matter of personal choice, it does not however indicate that the person does not think.

You follow this with another truly great statement, “Our culture has shifted in a remarkable way. Humans must be constantly entertained. There can be no time for reflection or thought.” I was not aware that entertainment and reflection or thought were mutually exclusive. Beware faculty members, if your lectures are found in anyway entertaining then your students must not be thinking, so cut it out.

Alas, you out do yourself when you share with us your most profound thought, “There can be no classrooms without multimedia capability, internet access, and surround sound. Chalk is bad. Technology is good. We play into the hands of our enemies when we abandon real thought for the flash of the website and all the entertainment that it brings.” I guess in your world chalk is good and technology is bad. I was not aware that either was good or bad as I have always thought it depended to what use they were applied (unless one is allergic to chalk dust, then chalk is bad). I am not sure who your enemies are but if you do experience difficulty in thinking when looking at a website, might I suggest you visit a doctor. Do you also experience dizziness or blackouts? It may be a medical condition.

The world today is far from anything like that described by Bradbury in Fahrenheit 451 which is evidenced by, if nothing else, this very website. That you may experience difficulty in thinking when looking at a website however may go far to explain this posting of yours. If technology is so bad, why are you visiting this website and posting here?

P.S. farside, don’t let Pai Mei catch you drowning out any ambient noise and your own thoughts by listing to the Beatles. Pai Mei might think their music should be burned, after all it is entertaining. Who would be the Firemen then?

Your ignorance is showing, Coast Resident. I can only assume that you are a troll in disguise who has come to make trouble. I will dispatch you swiftly.

There is ample reserach into the cultural changes that have overtaken our society. One particular area is centered around the stated need for young people to be constantly entertained. You may read some basic research on this topic area here. From there, a Google search can help you. Reading is a dying art. You might find this site helpful in your investigation of the death of reading as hobby.

Can you now truly say that our youth are not faced with a general problem regarding short attention spans, failure of critical thinking skills, and a lack of cultural literacy? I believe there are medical studies and academic studies that support my claims. If you find reliable counterevidence, I will gladly consider it.

Date: Mar 22, 2006

Easy on people, I see plenty of merit in both of the above posts. In fact, it is precisely the kind of debate that should be going on at a university - now take deep breaths and be nice.

Date: Mar 22, 2006

Pai Mei wrote:

Your ignorance is showing, Coast Resident. I can only assume that you are a troll in disguise who has come to make trouble.

Pei Mei, Coast Resident is not a troll. If you had followed the board for the past months you would realize that. Coast Resident's posts are very variable. To paraphrase an old children's rhyme, "When he's good, he's very, very good. When he's bad . . . it's a pity."

Date: Mar 22, 2006

Perhaps he was listening to NPR on podcast?

Date: Mar 22, 2006

I would think it depends on the depth of the subject you are contemplating, Coast Resident. Not many can do a calculus problem while being entertained (distracted?).