First Debate
Feb 4, 2010 1
While I found Carl’s points about the benefits of giving technology to rural areas interesting, I agree more with EJ’s statement that technology can advance our quality of life, but we can’t sustain ourselves purely on technology.
Unfortunately, Josh’s point about newspapers is true. A crisis is occurring in the publishing industry. Newspapers that served communities for hundreds of years, like the Rocky Mountain News, had to fold because subscriptions were dropping. More people are turning to technology and getting their news online instead of relying on the physical newspaper.
It is interesting that the New York Times will now be charging for its website. The NYT is one of the most popular online news sites (as a New Yorker, at least I think so) and people are used to being able to access it for free. I wonder what will happen to its site traffic if people have to pay to use it. Maybe people will go back to getting the morning paper?
Dave mentioned that having virtual experiences cannot compare to the real thing. Will this always be true? 3-D televisions have already been released, allowing for a more realistic viewing experience. By 2020, your television may allow you to smell and touch, immersing you even further into a virtual world (http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/9072/smellovision_courtesy_of_japan.html?cat=15). Going to a virtual event from the comfort of your home is more convenient than dealing with buying tickets, driving through tickets, waiting in line, etc. It seems that virtual reality is getting closer and closer to just reality.
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