I'm back

I don't know how regularly I will be writing, but for today -- I'm back. If you've missed me, sorry about that. If you haven't, well then a pox on you. I don't exactly know why I've stopped writing of late. I've been enjoying some down time this summer and I really haven't felt the urge to "share" anything. Today, though, I'm in the mood so what should I share?

Hmm ...

Has anyone else noticed that The Atlantic is a good magazine again? I knew they'd taken steps to beef up their web presence, but I was so impressed with the latest issue I ended up buying it from the newstand -- at a price of $5.95! I'm a big fan of magazines in general and I usually spend a good bit of time reading them at the library (I'm going to make a great old man), but this issue was so rich I knew I'd need my own copy to get through all the articles I was interested in.

First, there's a big story on rising crime rates in many American cities and a depressing (and politically taboo) correlation with a hugely popular anti-poverty measure. While reading the article I was impressed with the analysis -- a mixture of hard data and moving anecdotes -- but when I finished I was left with a great big letdown. In retrospect the conclusions don't seem to be that revolutionary. Still, I thought it was a well done piece.

The main reason I was interested in the issue, though, was an article questioning whether "googling" is making up stupid. I assumed (incorrectly) that it was going to be a screed about how the average American no longer knows the answer to questions such as, "What countries did the Allies fight in WWI?" Chiefly Germany and Austria-Hungary, with a dose of the Ottoman Empire thrown in for good measure. But does it mean we're "stupider" for not having that info available for instant recall. I'd say no. On the other hand, I do think Americans should know who won the Civil War and I'd even like them to know the (practical) end of the conflict was Lee's surrender to Grant at Appomattox Courthouse. The problem, in my opinion, is where to draw the line between useless trivia and essential civic knowledge? Similarly, I don't think being able to spell obscure words correctly earns someone the title of "smart." Of course I could be biased by my long history of choking in spelling bees, but I just don't find that a necessary or particularly useful skill.

Anyway, it turns out that was not the focus of the article. Interestingly, I found that my original issue (about how new technology meant no one "knew" facts any longer) was posed long ago by one Socrates:

Socrates bemoaned the development of writing. He feared that, as people came to rely on the written word as a substitute for the knowledge they used to carry inside their heads, they would, in the words of one of the dialogue’s characters, “cease to exercise their memory and become forgetful.”

Weird, huh?

No, the point of the article was that the instant information access of the Web may be changing the way we think and read. The author admits he may be a chicken little on the issue, but he does raise some serious questions. My favorite part was when he discussed the societal change ushered in by the advent of the mechanical clock. "In deciding when to eat, to work, to sleep, to rise, we stopped listening to our senses and started obeying the clock." If you think about it, that one little change surely led to massive changes in the very way society organized itself.

Good or bad, the article made me think. [Kind of proving the point of the article itself.] I found the magazine to be full of articles that affected me similarly. I won't say the writing is better than The New Yorker (my overall favorite magazine), but I've never been able to keep up with The New Yorker's insane weekly publication schedule. Hence, I'm thinking I may give a subscription to The Atlantic another try.

Okay, this magazine review has gotten too long already and I didn't even get to the articles on Murdoch's takeover of the WSJ or how American traffic regulations may make our roads less safe or ... Trust me, it's a good issue.

On a lighter note, Pujols is back in the lineup and the Cardinals keep winning more games than they should. The only problem is that the hated Cubs are winning even more! Sigh.