Comments on: Is Thinking Extinct?

By: krkbaker

krkbaker — Mon, 31 Mar 2008 02:55:01 +0000

Wow. That’s a lot to digest. When I wrote for the newspaper, I got that a lot too… writing on a sixth grade level. It offended me to be honest with you. It does sometimes feel that everything has been said (because it has) and everything that you could possibly think of writing about has been written (because it has). However, I think what we have to hold on to as writers is that each of us is unique in our own right. You and I may think of the same idea but there is no way that we could tell a story or write something in the same exact way. What we bring to the table is our individuality, our own life experiences. That is what makes a story interesting and computers, robots, etc. no matter how capable they are of performing human tasks, they will never have the ability to think, or feel, and react to life in the same way that we writers do. We are a different breed, we really are, and I think we spend most of our lives wandering around lost until we find other writers. It is then and only then that we realize that we belong to something special, that we are a part of something special. It’s that idea that you have to hold on to because trust me Annie, you’re something special. And you shouldn’t let anyone, especially not some ibot stand in the way of your dreams. There is no one like you. Never forget that.
PS. I received your email tonight and I’ll work on getting it to you this week.
kim

Hey Kimmie!
Wow, thanks for saying that. I don’t know if it’s true, but I’d sure like to believe that it is. I do think though, that any writer (or any artist for that matter) strives to make a difference somehow and do so by using their own voice or vision. And you’re right, no computer program will be able to do that.
Annie

By: -30-

-30- — Sat, 29 Mar 2008 21:55:53 +0000

Hope I didn’t sound like I was dissing technology before. What it does now, and its potential, is exciting beyond words. Computers have made writing and publishing so much easier. I remember telling my boss, after I first saw a black-on-white Pagemaker page displayed on a Mac, that it was the “ultimate toy” for someone like me. I still feel that way. It’s a shame that so many people today seem to think the tool — the computer — is the creator. (It’s fun hanging around with people who know that ain’t so!)

Hey 30,
I didn’t think you were dissing technology at all. I agree, it has made writing and publishing unbelievably easy and accessible. But, it has also helped to create a lot of slackers in the world who think that the machines are the smart ones. Sad. Ditto on finding others who know they are smarter than the machine. Thinkers Unite!
WC

By: Lucid

Lucid — Sat, 29 Mar 2008 11:51:35 +0000

(((SIGH))) . . . My cousin makes her living working soley at home on the computer. She has struggled in many different ways…. I don’t know if I could ever do it full time. To me it seems a bit scary! It also seems that too many people are jumping to the internet to make money… I don’t see how people make tons of money in the cyber world…. A few years ago it may have been easier, now it seems that everyone has floaded in and the jobs & sites are diluted….

Good luck with your search!!! Though I don’t personally know too much about this form of career, I am sure if you are determined you will be guided.

Have a great weekend WC!!!

Lucid! How the heck are you?

I know what you mean - it seems that all roads lead to the internet. Yet, I have to say, the ability to telecommute all because of this cool invention does delight me. While there is an enormous amount of crap out there - there is also an enormous amount of intelligent, interesting and lively people out there - to whom I can connect and would otherwise never have had the opportunity to do so. So, depsite all its flaws and drawbacks, I still have to say, God bless the Internet.
WC