Neil Postman vs. Jared Diamond

In chapter one Neil Postman makes a reference to the invention of the clock. He writes, “Beginning in the fourteenth century, the clock made us into time-keepers, and then time savers, and now time-servers.” So we didn’t observe the time before the fourteenth century? Or maybe we didn’t find it absolutely necessary to be somewhere at exactly 10:05. The clock has shaped us into people who have become dependent on the clock. Postman’s idea reminded me of an idea from Jared Diamond’s book Guns, Germs and Steel. One of Diamond’s points is that invention is the mother of necessity. So that we invented something, maybe to make some small household task easier and it became a necessity rather than a luxury.

This idea definitely plays an active role in today’s society. Ten years ago we didn’t have internet in cell phones, but now having easily accessible internet is almost mandatory for anyone involved in the business world. A couple of years ago we didn’t have these massive social networking sites, and we still remained in contact with people, but now it seems almost impossible to get a hold of people who are not members of MySpace or Facebook. These advances in technology have created a mindset that is constantly asking the question “How did we survive before fill in with the name of an unnecessary luxury we take for granted today?”