Technology Writing Reading

          Our first assignment in class was to read about Technology Writing, (Introduction to The Best Technology Writing 2010 By Dibbell, Julian, Introduction Best Technology Writing of 2009 by Johnson, Steven, and Inventing the Medium by Murray, H. Janet). The two introductory readings brought many great thoughts and knowledge that I contemplated. Inventing the Medium by Murray, H Janet, however was a little more difficult to grasp at first. I had to re-read phrases that I did not fully understand in order to get the gist of it, however, Janet’s piece became very interesting once I did understand what she was trying to convey to me.
          Julian Dibbell’s Introduction to The Best Technology Writing 2010 dips into the argument of whether or not Technology Writing is a good development of technology for humanity. Julian Dibbell starts off her introduction by comparing famous philosophers such as Socrates, Thamus, and Theuth’s argument over the technology of written language, and how these philosophers argued if written language was detrimental or positive to humanity, and how it is basically the same argument in this day and age over technology writing. Dibbell also talks about the innate nature of humans to use tools as a mechanism for survival and evolution, and how that is tied in together with our affection towards technology. Dibbell concludes with some positive insight on blogs, and compares Socrates’s philosophy of “true knowledge” to blogs.
          In Introduction the Best Technology Writing of 2009 by Steven Johnson, Johnson gave me an insight on how technology writing has changed us and how it has changed the style of writing online. He introduced me to the differences in how we read today compared to decades ago. He also brought about the topic of how new technology writing is changing the way we read and what we read. In addition, he compared the way we read today, to how we read decades ago by comparing it to rural areas as to a city.
          Janet H. Murray’s Inventing the Medium portrayed a good history of how computer and technology writing came about but more importantly made me critically think about two hypothetical theories on developing technologies to improve the human condition. Humanists and Engineers are the two conflicting viewpoints that the author talks about, Humanists contemplate the very thought of systematic thinking so they are very weary of new emerging technologies, whereas the engineers are controlled by rationale and a straight forward “finding the problem and creating a solution” thinking.