Tag Archives: think

B.F. Skinner quote | thought + modernday ‘new media’ ::..

“The real problem is not whether machines think
but whether men do.”
B.F. Skinner

i found this quote above to be of extreme interest due to some of the DMI readings and the topics from last night’s conversation … Design Seminar 1 readings for this week brought us to the Turing Test ::..

Turing asks us: Can we create a machine with interaction capabilities that would trick us into thinking it is, in fact, human? ::..

yesterday, in class, we discussed new media, technology, social networks, collapse of the Western financial world, lots of good stuff … but in the end we began to identify what exactly we are rewarded for in modern societymachines, computers specifically, allow us to interact without any sense of time or place … we can contribute with immediate expression … anything that comes to mind … little if no filtering involved … no editors { sometimes a moderator }, little-to-no financial deterrents … unmediated thought assault ::..

quality of thought seems to depend upon the actual community or website involved … the plus and minus of free speech … feel the sting … it keeps coming + coming + coming … so many people contributing to the noise or music of this modernday symphony of information ::..

Laura pointed out that its a bit overwhelming … all the people … friends on Facebook, how can you have 200+ ‘friends’? or does it mean something else entirely to be a ‘friend’ in the social media sphere? ::..

so, with computers, in this machine age, we are given speed, ease-of-use, access to more information than ever before … we have the means to communicate at such a rapid pace that the quantity outweighs the quality ::..

the point that i am trying to return to here … one that we settled on in class … is that with this quickened pace + access, the ease with which we can click, contribute, purchase, communicate … with all of our progress … we are encouraged to skip thought, to skip thinking? when asked the question, you cannot blink, just say ‘yes’ … make that decision { click } … buy that product { click } … add your opinion { click } … divert your attention { click } from what might just be something huge + scary + vitally important ::..

click here to think