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bradams 
I can enter The Chamber
Joined: 03 Jan 2008
Posts: 61
Gender: 
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 Posted: Mon Jan 07, 2008 4:02 pm Post subject:
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| Meesh mentions a problem in the school systems, and that children are becoming ADD because of television. I really don't believe that to be true. I think primarily it comes back to parenting. Responsible parents ensure a good variety in a child's experience, and teaches them what they need to know in order to make good decisions. A lot of people are raised with TV and terrible schooling, and still manage to have the attention span longer than a commercial. I would agree raising a thinking child would be easier with better schools and less mindless TV. |
The issue here is one of correlation. You say "a lot of people are raised with tv and terrible schooling, and still manage to have the attention span longer than a commercial." Sure, and a lot of people smoke without getting lung cancer, but would you say that smoking doesn't cause lung cancer?
If you take a group of 100 smokers and 100 non-smokers many more smokers will die of lung cancer than non-smokers. If you take a group of 100 kids who watch a lot of tv and a group of 100 kids who don't watch much tv more of the kids who watch a lot will have attention problems.
There is a lot of psychological research out there to suggest that this is the case. One main problem with such research is lack of a control group. It's extremely hard to find participants who don't watch any tv at all! |
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Ophelia
Beyond Awesome
Fiction Moderator
Book Discussion Leader
Joined: 25 Nov 2007
Posts: 1192
Gender: 
Location: France
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| Posted: Mon Jan 07, 2008 4:24 pm Post subject:
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Bradams wrote:
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One main problem with such research is lack of a control group. It's extremely hard to find participants who don't watch any tv at all!
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So true. When I was a student (some 30 years ago) and when I started teaching I knew quite a few people of the intellectual/ teaching persuasion who did not buy TV sets because they didn't want their kids to watch TV. Over the years, they've had to give up, because their kids spent their lives watching TV at their friends' homes! |
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Theomanic
I can enter The Chamber
Bronze Contributor
Joined: 04 Jan 2008
Posts: 57
Gender:
Location: Toronto, ON
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| Posted: Mon Jan 07, 2008 4:29 pm Post subject:
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| I see what you're saying. I guess what I would say is, while TV can make kids more prone to ADD, I don't think it's fair to blame television in of itself. It's just a tool. I don't blame cigarette companies for lung cancer either (barring the whole not telling people they cause cancer business). I blame the people who smoked the cigarettes, just as I would blame the parents who used the TV as a babysitter. I think it's a very "Guns don't kill people, people kill people" sort of issue. Guns DO, in fact, kill people. However, they're just a tool, and the real fault lies in the person pulling the trigger. |
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WildCityWoman
Senior
Joined: 13 Jan 2008
Posts: 350
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| Posted: Fri Feb 01, 2008 8:05 pm Post subject: Depressing but compelling . . .
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I read Fahrenheit for a lit course I got involved in a few years ago - it's depressing, but a compelling read.
There's a lot to think about. If you like to get into analyzing books for symbolism, etc., that's a good choice of books. |
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daisylily
Newbie
Joined: 23 May 2008
Posts: 2
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| Posted: Fri May 23, 2008 2:34 pm Post subject: makes you think
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I read this book a few months ago, and the one thing that struck my was the reasoning behind the book burning. It wasn't government, but society that dictated what should be censored. It started out so simple, and grew to where you couldn't write anything without offending somebody.
A compelling book that makes you think about society today, and if it could ever go this far. |
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Robert Tulip
Freshman
Joined: 04 Oct 2005
Posts: 249
Gender: 
Location: Canberra
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| Posted: Fri May 23, 2008 4:05 pm Post subject: Re: makes you think
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| daisylily wrote: |
| I read this book a few months ago, and the one thing that struck my was the reasoning behind the book burning. It wasn't government, but society that dictated what should be censored. It started out so simple, and grew to where you couldn't write anything without offending somebody. A compelling book that makes you think about society today, and if it could ever go this far. |
Hi Daisy, welcome, I think Fahrenheit 451 would be a good book to discuss here. It is highly prophetic of our modern Matrix-style technological culture. Large scale movements in culture proceed in a sort of subterranean way, with slow changes to the public mood suddenly erupting with new ways of thought that have been hidden. For example, the anti-intellectualism inherent in popular television is subtly changing public discussion, and creating taboos and assumptions that we barely understand or see. |
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coffeeaddict
Eligible to vote!
Joined: 22 Jun 2008
Posts: 12
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| Posted: Sun Jun 22, 2008 5:57 am Post subject:
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| I've had this book on my amazon wishlist for a year now. Your comments are making me want to whip out the credit card and buy it! I might have to refrain for a few weeks though--I'm on a strict budget! Looking forward to discussing it with you once I have read it though! |
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Chris OConnor
Rhodes Scholar
BookTalk.org Owner
Joined: 20 Oct 2000
Posts: 6849
Gender:
Location: Florida
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| Posted: Mon Jun 30, 2008 12:37 am Post subject:
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You'll notice that I put an image of this book in the forum description. Hopefully this draws even more attention to this discussion.  |
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Constance963
Intern
Joined: 20 Nov 2007
Posts: 165
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| Posted: Mon Jun 30, 2008 12:55 pm Post subject:
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| It drew my attention! Good idea Chris! |
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BabyBlues
I can enter The Chamber
Joined: 29 Jun 2008
Posts: 57
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| Posted: Fri Jul 04, 2008 9:52 am Post subject: Another Suggestion
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Meesh,
If you like novels about a dystopia, like Fahrenheit 451, Brave New World and 1984, you may also like Atwood's The Handmaid's Tale which depicts another future-gone-wrong and a free-thinker who questions it. |
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