1) What was the general theme or argument of the book?
I chose to read and discuss Clay Shriky's "Cognitive Surplus". In this book he is channeling in on exactly what Americans are doing (or not doing) with their free time.
2) How did the book, in your opinion, connect with and enhance what you are learning in ENT 3003?
Shirky wasn't interested in previous accounts of what watching TV is doing to us, because for the first time since the creation of television, young people are steering away from it. They are picking up their smart phones and computers instead and putting a rest to the television remote. I think that this shows us that we can't always assume, we must take closer looks and dive deeper to make sure that previous accounts of what we thought are true still hold true, and if they do not, to seek out the truth.
3) If you had to design an exercise for this class, based on the book you read, what would that exercise involve?
Taking something you thought you knew a lot about, and doing some research until you find something that surprised you.
4) What was your biggest surprise or 'aha' moment when reading the book? In other words, what did you learn that differed most from your expectations?
He says that Americans collectively watch about 200 billion hours of TV each year. Shirky talks a lot about what we could all do if we joined together for 200 billion hours to do something good rather than sit in front of a television screen.
Hi Nicole,
ReplyDeleteYour reading reflection was really interesting. I have never read the book "Cognitive Surplus" but the description seems very cool. I think the exercise you would do for the class I believe would be really good and I believe id learn a lot from it.
Hello Nicole. Great post. I am going to have to give this book a read. I was starting to observe how it does seem like more Americans are steering away from watching TV and spending more time on their phones. I wonder if we could start creating a culture of producing educational content on social media if that would expand a lot of people's knowledge? Having such knowledge at our finger tips can be positive and negative. If Americans spent 200 billion hours of TV to do something good rather than waste it, our society would be a lot better off.
ReplyDeleteHey Nicole,
ReplyDeleteThat statistic you added was astonishing to me. 200 billion hours of TV every year is a lot more screen time then I realized. Imagine that combined with cell phone screen time. Anyways, it seems interesting and ironic that this book is about what American's do in their free time when this book was probably written in someone's free time. It seems very relevant to ENT3003 since it shows us what people would do with themselves and how they either choose to increase their knowledge or stay stagnant.