Wendy AP Language

The phrase “ignorance is bliss” comes in handy when responding to this question.  Those who are not aware that “every handshake, every kiss, every birth, every word, will be repeated precisely” are able to live their lives through their triumphs and downfalls, taking everything for the moment.  They are able to cherish everything good that happens in their life, and feel good knowing that when they get through a hard time it will be over with.  On the other hand, there are those that know that time will be repeated in a circle, and that every single thing will happen over and over again in the exact same way.  They know that every little thing they do wrong to hurt another person will have to happen again.  They know that every death and loss they have experienced they will have to go through again.  And in the same way, every happy moment, those that we treasure in our hearts, will lose their uniqueness.  They will no longer be special, and will be taken for granted because of this.  For those who know about the true nature of time, mistakes are miserable.  They dwell on every mistake knowing they can’t change anything.  They are stuck in a loop of time, having the knowledge that every action they make has been done before and will happen again.  The nightmare will be repeated over and over again, and there is no escaping anything.  Every moment in time is familiar, but not so familiar that the pain and the nervousness will become numb.  Knowing they will have the same experiences again and again, those people are overcome with anxiety along with the lack of excitement in their lives.

With the arrival of anything new, there are always the pros and the cons.  Especially with something as revolutionary as the internet, there are bound to be huge accomplishments and some negative aspects that come along with it.  It’s almost like a new medicine or vaccine.  It comes out as a revolutionary new drug, but then after millions of people have used it, unexpected side affects begin to occur.  So, after people became enthralled in the wonders of the internet, we have started to realize the effects it is beginning to have on the human mind.

The state of reading in 2009 is different than ever before.  It’s not like we are reading any less- probably more- but the way we process information has changed.  I completely agree with Carr and his observations, because I can feel it myself.  From link to link, and website to website, no information is really absorbed.  The importance of deep, engaged reading, as described by Thoreau, is not completely gone, but it is slowly diminishing.  We are turning into “‘pancake people’- spread wide and thin as we connect with that vast netowrk of information accessed by the mere touch of a button.”  As the article showed, our “quiet spaces” are being filled up with brightly flashing ads and distracting pictures.  This makes it impossible to actually be able to concentrate and get through any sort of article.  Reading has become more difficult, and rather than pushing ourselves to really comprehend it, we let the internet world take over our minds, in a sense.  It is becoming harder and harder to focus, and everything around us is adapting to our sporatic thinking.  Reading as we knew it is not gone forever, but it has the potential to come to an end.  Our brains are constantly changing and adapting to our habits, so if they have changed this much because of the internet, they can go back to how they were before.  The state of reading is not fatal.  It still has a chance, but we have to act fast.

The contradictory ideas of having solitude and visitors seem to be an odd, and probably not very functional, combination.  How can one’s life of solitude be considered solitary if social situations are involved?  It may seem like an impossible combination, but the way the Thoreau describes it, it is actually very ideal.  He removes himself from everyday social situations, which are meaningless to him, and lives in the wilderness in a life of solitude.  He has less contact with other people that the average person does, but the contact he has is more real than the “Hello’s” and “How are you’s” of day-to-day small talk.  According to himself, he can be a very social person at times, but the only social life he involves himself in is real converstations where people can be themselves, and the rules of the society are left at the door.  In his world, no time is wasted for meaningless matters.  He does a lot of thinking to himself, and has conversations with others that mean something to him.  Thoreau was rather smart to realize that being “social” in everyday life- like at the post office or shopping mall- really isn’t very social at all.  You can get lost and lose yourself when you are surrounded by a hundred strangers talking about their jobs and money.  I don’t know how easy Thoreau’s situation would be to achieve, considering all of the complexities.  It is a very ideal social situation, and most of our lives would be a lot more difficult if we cut out all the social customs and rules.  However, I think simply keeping his ideas of a happy medium of “visitors” and “solitude” in mind would be beneficial to each individual, and in turn the society as a whole.