Reponse to "A point of view: Does more information mean we know less?"
10a2 Heewon Yang
Does more information mean we know less? The article answers "no". Thanks to the advances in technology, people nowadays live among numerous informations. The amount, range, and the accessibility of information has greatly increased. Getting more information, however, does not mean having more knowledge. Even though the article has pointed such reality of today's information consumption clearly, it made some fallacies as well.
To begin with, the writer misunderstands the role of religion in information management and its values. First, the writer says that the external form of religious books make those books valuable. Though, even the time and cost poured on making religious books make those books look fabulous and expensive, the real feature determining their value is the content. Profound teachings and wisdom in the book are the true values of religious books. Second, the comparison of old religious book to modern materials is not adequate. Most importantly, the object that the modern books aim for are different from those of religious books, While religious books are published to spread the words of religious leaders, modern books are all made for a variety of purposes. Books each aim for simple delivery of information, persuasion, impression, and so on.
Moreover, the article has some flaws in technical view, The writer concentrates too much on asserting his own opinion. In order to be more persuasive, any kind of writings have to include some acknowledgement or reviews about opposing opinions. However, while the writer tend to use exaggerated expressions to deliver his claims, he lacks objective analysis and evaluation about today's information-related phenomena. What's more, the logical connection between each sections of the article are vague. For instance, the 'Elevate' part is not smoothly connected with previous sections. The writer talks about knowledges contained in books and the quality of contents in preceding parts, but suddenly starts to talk about material aspects such as craftsmanship behind a pre-Gutenberg Bible and paper copies of modern books.
The article successfully delivers the concern about today's information status; Despite the increased accessibility and diversity of informations, the amount and quality of knowledge people attain has not increased. Though, the writer makes several logical fallacies and technical mistakes which devalues the article. There are unclear realizations about the role of religion in the field of information conveyance. Technical flaws as too much emphasis on one point of view and logical misconnection exists as well.
