Topic: Computers Are Reducing Our Ability To Think
Thinking is the process and ability to consider a topic carefully in the hope that it will connect with other information that a person already knows, or, information they have already obtained. With the invention computers along with the popular world wide web, our ability to perform routine tasks like mathematical calculations, storing information, searching and retrieving information, artistic painting and many more fields which usually require years of study and training, are much easier to perform with a few simple clicks on the mouse and keyboard and the answers are immediately available without any real hard work or deep thought. This essay is going to address two main topics, how computers affect our ability to think in a broader scope and how computers are removing the need to learn the fundamentals of art and illustrations.
The term illustration means “a visual representation (a picture or diagram) that is used to make a subject or topic more pleasing or easier to understand” (WordNet Search). The topic that the artist is trying to visualize and showcase to an audience is not a simple task of drawing and coloring, it requires the artist to first understand the topic and also have the ability to represent the topic visually. The process of learning how to do a good illustration can take years of practice where an artist must learn shading, color composition, anatomy and perspective. Leonardo Da Vinci, one of the fathers of art, instructs students “with philosophical and sublte speculation consider all manner of forms: Sea, land, trees, animals, plants, flowers, all of which are enveloped in light and shade. Truly this is science, the legitimate daughter of nature, because painting is born of nature.”(Whiting, 2001) All artists know of Leonardo Da Vinci and how incredible not only was his works of art, but also his creative mind. Every illustration has a meaning to convey, it also needs to be represent mood which in it’s self is a form of science. Computer software programs have the capacity to perform many tasks that an artist had to learn by studying and practice, but now with a few simple points and clicks, this can be now done for them.
The years of artistic practice and study can be achieved by nearly any body with the aid of computer programs, which allow for automatic lighting lenses, flares, import images, preset brush marks, straight lines without rulers just to name a few of the features. The main feature that really separates traditional illustrations and art from using the computer is the ability to “undo” if you make a mistake, this feature removes the need to use an eraser and even improvise on how to fit in the surroundings of the mistake by critical thinking. Young artists are asking questions to popular art magazines like” how can I make a light shafts quickly and easily” and the professional digital artists reply is, hold down shift key for the straight line and duplicate layer and a couple of other simple computer processes during the professional reply. (Howlett, 2009, p41) Usually creating light shafts is difficult and Rebekah Lynn, a talented artists says” Shading is really hard for a lot of artists. Yah, sure, the sun can create shadows with the most masterful ease, but when it's time for the artist to pick up a pencil and do the same thing....well, mastery doesn't come so easily.”(Lynn, 2003) The hard work of learning shading and even light shafts that cause the sorrounding environment to have shadows is being simplified by computers. Shading, which is light on a surface, is a vitally important concept in creating illustrations, this is because shading gives the illustration a three dimensional look, if we get computers to do the fundamentals of shading for us, than we will be unable to produce traditional illustrations because we don’t understand how shadow really reflects on a surface.
The creative mind is like a fire, it burns and rages until it is released, whether an artist believes in evolution or a divine creator why we are “built” to have this urge is beside the point, the artist needs to release there repressed drive of art and in the process discipline themselves in knowing what is beautiful and put it together in harmony.(Ehrenzweig, 1961) This desire needs to be nurtured, nourished and used through training, guidance and discipline. Computer art programs have the potential to weaken the artistic harmony and the beauty of art because it is no longer the human hand that is constructing it entirely, but the computer. Available art software has the ability to be used in conjunction with traditional art to add little touch up’s to an image that has been scanned in, like removing a pen line mistake, or computers can produce a piece of artwork from start to finish. With all this assistance is it really the artist doing most of it or the computer doing the majority of it? Will we be able to return back to the traditional process of illustrations and art which is usually not only a slower process, but also less involved?
Computers have many uses apart from art programs and one of them is access the world wide web. The World Wide Web offers text, videos, music, animations and graphics through hypertext transfer protocols.(WordNet Search) With the availability of information to nearly any question within seconds while on the World Wide Web, some internet users such as journalist Nicholas Carr (2008) who use to be a diligent reader of books admits that “my mind would get caught up in the narrative or the turns of the argument, and I’d spend hours strolling through long stretches of prose. That’s rarely the case anymore. Now my concentration often starts to drift after two or three pages. I get fidgety, lose the thread, begin looking for something else to do” . The use of computers is limiting our attention span and online blogger LoyaLover, whose real name is disclosed said this about his experience of using the world wide web. “Young adults like myself have taught ourselves to rely on the Internet. Its impact is evident in our everyday lives. We become so impatient and our attention span probably won’t last for anymore than minutes” (This is his story, 2008]. If we are unable to keep our focus on the matters at hand in our personal life while using computers, Research director of American Association of research Professors John W. Curtis believes it will overflow into our work life and “investment in technology is one of several factors responsible for the well documented loss of tenured positions in the past decade.” (Bugeja, 2006). Computers are continuing to advance , they will become more common in classrooms, art schools, offices, university where most assessments can only be submitted on the computer. Everyone is different, just as one person learns, loves and plays in a different way to the next person, we are all individuals and Alfred Bork puts forward one of the downfalls of using computers as a main source of education “One aspect of education that must be considered is that all students are DIFFERENT, with different backgrounds, knowledge, interests and learning styles. Each student should be treated individually.” (Bork, 1997). If computers are reducing our attention span and people will no longer be educated according to there learning style, than we may be discriminating against those who have learning difficulties using the computer but may excel in interacting with the world around them.
Every person is an individual and makes choices how to live there life. The individual make up formed by a persons genetics and spirit if you will, this is what separates one person from another. People are also shaped by family, friends, school teachers, mentors and the environmental world they live in. If people are no longer shaped by their surroundings, learning about discipline or understanding people the environment, will this cease to develop the individual characteristic of the person because most of their life is on computers? The physical environment we use to interact with is no longer the case, computers have a digital environment that we spend a lot of time interacting with. The digital environment is millions perfectly aligned pixels on a bright glowing screen, instead of touching and feeling the world around us, we tend to use computer software to perform a lot of our tasks like keeping a diary, writing notes, storing telephone numbers just to name a few. Computers are not just a new environment to interact with but is changing our biochemistry. Neuroscience is telling us that the human brain is plasticity and adaptation occurs not only with our thoughts, but biologically as well (Carr, 2008). Science now understands that learning makes connections between neurons and using computers is connecting our brains differently than traditional methods, whether or not this is a good thing for mankind will be revealed in the future.
The influence that computers are having on our ability to think is not only limited to browsing the world wide web or using computer programs, it is spreading out from there by influencing other media. “As people’s minds become attuned to the crazy quilt of Internet media, traditional media has to adapt to the audience’s new expectations. Television programs add text crawls and pop-up ads, and magazines and newspapers shorten their articles, introduce capsule summaries, and crowd their pages with easy-to-browse info-snippets.(Carr, 2008) The affect of computers are overflowing into the real world by either making traditional media obsolete or force them to keep up with what computers are doing to the way we think. This is going to put more strain on our ability to think because companies bombard people with their advertisement for products. How can the mind absorb everything that is thrown at us? It can’t, but what ever comes into eyes view will be processed, where we will deem it interesting or not, instead of it being focused on the things of character growth, it’s more about companies selling you their products and fighting for your thoughts rather than promoting a healthy body and mind.
This essay has discussed a few points that support the fact that computers have the ability to reduce our ability to think. Even though this essay was opposed to computers in our lives especially in the areas of art and our attention spans, it has offered a couple of points that are worth thinking about. If people continue to use computers without learning the fundamentals of producing works of art and been able to process information instead of computers thinking for us, we may lose the ability to do what may seem like simple mundane tasks but in fact are building blocks onto greater personal accomplishments.
REFERENCES
Bork , A. (1997). The Future of Computers and Learning. T H E Journal (Technological Horizons In Education), Vol. 24, 1997
Bugeja, M. (2006). Heads Up: Facing the Facebook. Retrieved December 10, 2009, from
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Carr, N. (2008). Is Google Making Us Stupid? Retrieved December 9, 2009, from http://www.theatlantic.com/doc/200807/google
Ehrenzweig, A. (1961). The Hidden Order of Art. The British Journal of Aesthetics 1961 1(3):121-133; doi:10.1093/bjaesthetics/1.3.121
Howlett, C. (Ed.). (2009). ImagineFX May 2009: How to do lights shafts quickly and easily? (pp. 41). United Kingdom: Midway
Lynn, R. (2003). Shading tutorial: Understanding the art of shading. Retrieved December 9, 2009, from
http://www.rebekahlynn.com/free/tutorial/shading_tutorial.html
This is His Story: Technology? (2008). Retrieved December 9, 2009, from
http://loyalover.wordpress.com/
Whiting, R. (2001). The art of Leonardo Da Vinci A portrait of the renaissance man.
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