An Assignment I've Already Done
Today's English assignment is on an article in the textbook I've already read and written about months ago, "The Loneliness of the Interconnected" by Charles Seife. This was when not everyone had textbooks and I was one of the lucky bastards who got hold of one, so I'm assuming this assignment is just being posted again now that everyone has a book. I'd rather not do the exact same assignment twice, so I'll just paste my previous post here to spare you the digging through my blog history.
In this article, Seife writes about the influence that the Internet exerts upon the opinions and beliefs that people have, as well as the effects this influences causes. He does this through several real world examples, such as the formation of an alien-worshiping cult and the spread of a fabricated illness. In each example, he delivers a brief synopsis of what happened, why, and how the outcome is relevant to his overarching subject. This repeating sequence of example, analysis, and argument gives his overall article an excellent structure, one that is varied and entertaining to read through, yet still cohesive, with each segment connecting to the next. His first segment on the alien cult, while not involving the Internet, is his way to point out that having other people believing the same thing you do helps to protect that belief from any contrary arguments or evidence. From here, Seife can lead into his proposition that the Internet, with its world-encompassing network, allows people to spread their beliefs across the masses, creating new supporters. Seife then is able to relate the Internet, a bastion of free speech, to Speaker's Corner, a physically present forum of free speech in London. From here he is able to transition to the importance of an audience,and from that, back to how the Internet provides one of millions of people. Seife's arguments flow naturally into each other, and make his article an entertaining and logical read. All in all, I feel that "The Loneliness of the Interconnected" was an educating read, one that I actually thoroughly enjoyed despite having to read it for class.
In this article, Seife writes about the influence that the Internet exerts upon the opinions and beliefs that people have, as well as the effects this influences causes. He does this through several real world examples, such as the formation of an alien-worshiping cult and the spread of a fabricated illness. In each example, he delivers a brief synopsis of what happened, why, and how the outcome is relevant to his overarching subject. This repeating sequence of example, analysis, and argument gives his overall article an excellent structure, one that is varied and entertaining to read through, yet still cohesive, with each segment connecting to the next. His first segment on the alien cult, while not involving the Internet, is his way to point out that having other people believing the same thing you do helps to protect that belief from any contrary arguments or evidence. From here, Seife can lead into his proposition that the Internet, with its world-encompassing network, allows people to spread their beliefs across the masses, creating new supporters. Seife then is able to relate the Internet, a bastion of free speech, to Speaker's Corner, a physically present forum of free speech in London. From here he is able to transition to the importance of an audience,and from that, back to how the Internet provides one of millions of people. Seife's arguments flow naturally into each other, and make his article an entertaining and logical read. All in all, I feel that "The Loneliness of the Interconnected" was an educating read, one that I actually thoroughly enjoyed despite having to read it for class.
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