Just how great is the Internet?
Here's one answer. I was reading an interesting book called De Vere as Shakespeare, by William Farina, when I came across a reference to the obscure Elizabethan play Arden of Feversham. Some people think this play may be an early work of Shakespeare.
Intrigued, I decided I would like to read this play. But in the old days, I would have had little hope of tracking it down. Maybe if I trekked to the nearest university library I might be able to find a copy, but I wouldn't count on it.
Nowadays it's a different story. I simply went to Google, typed in the search terms Arden and Feversham, and scrolled through the results.
Within a few seconds I found the complete text of this play, with modernized spelling. I downloaded it to my PC and transfered it to my handheld computer for easy reading.
I mean, seriously. How great is that?
The internet seems to play the role of a nervous system for the evolving collective organism of humanity.
I'm not sure where we're all going, but we're sure headed there in a hurry!
Posted by: Matthew Cromer | February 12, 2006 at 02:55 PM
It may be replacing the need for a memory! (Until the whole system crashes, that is.) In the meantime, it's no longer necessary to remember things - we can just Google whatever we need to know!
Posted by: Michael Prescott | February 12, 2006 at 03:31 PM
it's no longer necessary to remember things - we can just Google whatever we need to know!
Calculators don't replace knowledge of math, Google does not replace knowledge of the subject. But it certainly makes traditional erudition outdated.
As for Shakespeare, IMO, Shakespeare Goes To the Dogs together with Sparknotes is much more interesting than alternative Shakespeare theories.
Posted by: Henry James | February 13, 2006 at 12:05 AM
As a Mom I love the internet. I never have to say to my overly curious 5 year old "I don't know." I now just say "let's look it up!" You can find the answer to anything by googling it and I feel it teaches our children to use resources available to them for learning. When I was in middle or high school and we didn't know the answer to a question we trekked over to the library and sometimes spent hours researching a subject. I see the internet as simply an easier way of researching the same things. If you research something in a library you still have to retain it. Simply because it is more easily accessible doesn't mean you no longer have a need to remember what you've learned.
Posted by: Shannon | February 20, 2006 at 10:25 AM