Re: Salon articles

[Birgitte Jorgensen <bj@kemmunet.net.mt>]

Anne M. M., thanks for your clear-headed assessment of the Salon article, and of Salon's recent slide down the slippery slope of sensationalism. By way of redemption, they did publish a nice appreciation of Gould to mark the
release of the recent boxed collection of Bach:

http://www.salon.com/ent/music/review/2000/04/04/gould/index.html


Like you, I found the article "Can Talking Kill You?" based on a quick and casual piece of research from which sweeping generalizations were drawn, to be highly suspect.

> The article talks about how computers alienating people.
> In the Victorian era, people wrote passionate letters to
> each other without ever meeting. During the days of
> chivalry, knights wrote love poetry to women they would
> never dare touch. How come you never hear theories that
> those relationships led to heart trouble or alienation?
> Maybe because it's easier to blame electronic gadgets?

You've raised some interesting questions. I think the new mediums of the day are always misunderstood and subjected to suspicion.

> Some people interact better by talking one-on-one. Others
> interact better by writing letters, or by writing e-mail,
> or by using the phone.

And we've really not fully comprehended how much the Net is changing us and they way we interact. Only historical perspective can remove certain blind spots in the way we reflect on the culture we live in.

Birgitte Jorgensen