mak&cheese&books
by Makenna Chamberlain
Last Bowl of Mac and Cheese: 9 days ago
I'd like to think I'm a responsible student. I am. I know I am. Recently, however, I've been beginning to give in to the idea that all of my scholarly responsibleness was drained in middle school. I catch myself slacking on a numerous amount of things that in the past I would have done immediately and treated with the utmost importance. Now, I sparsely study for my weekly verb quiz in French, and I skip a great deal of grueling problems on my physics homework. Fortunately, my grades are still acceptable, and I always somehow manage to get everything done (except sleep). However, in all seriousness, I think junior year is slowly pulling me under and drowning me. Everyday, I have rehearsal till six, I have to study for a quiz or test, I have to spend some allotment of time with my family, and I have required reading for every class, which is creating a damper in my motivation to read. However, I finished Their Eyes Were Watching God; I found the ending particularly shocking, but I would never give away any spoilers. Currently, I'm attempting to knock-out my required historical nonfiction novel, and let's just say, it's been quite the battle. First, I gave Savage Kingdom by Benjamin Woolley a chance, but I soon discovered to my dismay that I didn't find Jamestown all that interesting (Historical Novels - 1 Makenna - 0). Then, I was recommended Warfare State by James T. Sparrow because of my interest in World War II. Unfortunately, I allowed it to defeat me because I didn't relish rereading a single page over and over to end up not completely grasping it ( Historical Novels - 2 Makenna 0). Within the last couple days, I stumbled upon The Age of Edison by Ernest Freeberg, and finally, I have won this draining battle and can dig in to the book. Despite bouncing between several books, I've accomplished a lot of reading and I'm 88 pages into The Age of Edison. I didn't choose to read it because I have some sort of utter adoration for Thomas Edison; honestly, I was merely frustrated at the amount of books I'd passed a long and desperately needed a historical novel. Even though it's chock-full of facts, I'm becoming increasingly intrigued by it as I read, and I might even be enjoying it. It's written more similarly to a story than a textbook, so I'm not struggling to read it. With all the books I've been bouncing between, I'd say I'm reading about 20 pages a day. Although life is busy, I'm creating time for reading as I push through the chaos and hold out for Thanksgiving Break. I'm sure you'll be delighted know that Ernest Freeberg has continued to pleasantly surprise me with The Age of Edison. I was expecting it to a drawn out process and a struggle to read; however, the novel has shown me numerous ideas and issues in a new light: climate change, the lack of wonder and awe in our modern world, inventions should be more valued instead of taken for granted, and people to brilliance are like moths to flames. Although being titled, The Age of Edison, Freeberg's novel doesn't worship Thomas Edison. Freeberg is completely honest with the fact that Thomas Edison wasn't the first to discover or create electricity; his incandescent bulb simply prevailed over the others. The novel's focus isn't centered around Edison, but a story of how the world's hunger for light altered economic and social standards by conquering the mental and physical darkness endured by all people. The electric light has a rich history buried under years that lack gratefulness for an invention that allowed the U.S. to cross a threshold into the modern age. Despite electricity being extremely prominent in our lives today, many opposed Edison and other inventors striving to bring a more reliable source of light to the world. Through this thrilling dawn of innovation and remarkable technological feats that left most awestruck, many were not as naive and uncritical of the inventions transforming their lives. A great deal of people opposed further technological advancement; these critics "cast doubt on their cultures faith in technological progress, complaining that the new machines trampled on imagination and poetry" and believed that "the new tools of modern industry had some questionable properties" (Freeberg 13). Initially, these lines confused me; I couldn't comprehend why anyone would be against technological progress. Electricity was more sufficient. stronger and brought new opportunities for all people. As I continued to read, I found that many more people opposed the incandescent light bulb. Some were scared of its unknown abilities, others found it unnecessary when they already had gas lamps that appeased them, but gas companies posed the greatest opposition, as they knew electric light would steal away gas customers. While the critic's opinions and motives are valid, this quote of their doubts demonstrates how opposition to progress simply fuels the advancement of ideas. Edison and numerous other inventors refused to let critics sway the public against their inventions that would ultimately shape their lives for the better. Even as failed attempts left the public questioning its reliability, Edison stopped at nothing to bring Americans the light their increasing dark world demanded. Opposition to the electric light that is used in everyday modern life proves that such opposition made progress inevitable. There will always be people, like Edison, who challenge what is commonly accepted and pursue new ideas will progress and develop society. Critics strived to stop the widespread use of electricity, but they failed because change and advancement is unavoidable. This quote provides evidence for the idea that opposition to progress only encourages advancement because the electric light critics opposed we continue to utilize today. Although many questioned the incandescent light bulb or were outright against it, Edison and other inventors were confident that once "a person's eyes were 'trained up' to a higher level of light, as they put it, no one would ever feel quite satisfied living in a dimmer world" (Freeberg 70). This quote stood out to me because it displayed the enormous amount of confidence Edison and the other inventors had that nothing, not even critics, could stunt the progress they envisioned for the future. Despite opposition, they felt secure that their inventions would positively affect society. Opposition encouraged their advancement rather than diminish it. Resistance to electric light only aided inventors struggle to advance the technology. Both of these quotes display different views on the technological advancement of the electric light; they both display constructing opinions on progress. However, whether progress is viewed as positive or negative, opposition to advancement only helps to forge its path. Progress has existed since the beginning of history, from the creation to the wheel to the iPhone. Technological advancement is constantly occurring, yet it experiences much resistance. People have different views on what constitutes progress as positive or negative. In both cases, the attempt at progression experiences some sort of opposition from the other side that argues for consistency and no change. Thomas Edison's incandescent light bulb faced an enormous amount of resistance which only fueled more technological advancement. This article, argues the need for tension between those yearning for innovation and others who wish to maintain continuity and stability in life. The challenging between the two facilitates progress and advancement in all aspects of life. The article explains how inventions, like coffee and tractors, faced enmity because some preferred for life to remain constant and not experience change where the results were unknown. However, this opposition made supporters more apt to assert their advancements as realities. Often resistance to technological progress is enhanced when a majority of the public perceives that the technology will only primarily benefit a small portion of society, but the results could effect all parts of society. This is true with resistance to Edison's electric light because many in poorer areas wouldn't get to experience the light and its opportunities as others did. It also heightened the gap in status between the wealthy and impoverished because it became a symbol of wealth due to its expense. Technologies are attempting to be increasingly more beneficial to all parts of society to prevent opposition. However, resistance is almost always present where progress is visible. Despite The Age of Edison being a historical nonfiction book, I am enjoying it, and I'm glad I chose it after struggling to find a historical book I didn't dread picking up. I'm excited to see how Freeberg continues to shock me with the wonder and opposition evoked in response to Thomas Edison's incandescent light bulb. Citations: Freeberg, Ernest. The Age of Edison. Penguin Books. 2013. Print. - MLA Citation "Why do people resist new technologies? History might provide the answer". World Economic Forum https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2016/07/why-do-people-resist-new-technologies-history-has-answer/ . Calestous Juma. July 6th 2016. Accessed November 11th 2017 - Chicago.
2 Comments
Caitlin Kresta
12/3/2017 11:03:32 am
Hey Mak! I feel you on the whole Junior year is drowning me feeling! I've seen you reading this book in class and I was really interested as to what it was about. I like how you tied the ideas of Edison to the broader picture of how in present times new technology is often resisted. I've read a lot about the controversy around things such as artificial intelligence, and it gets a lot of negativity. I am interested to hear how this book ends and what the author will tie his ideas to!
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Jeanette Rooks
1/3/2018 08:11:43 am
You took a historical event and expanded it to consider an over-arching human idea - how do we deal with progress, and how does progress create divides? That's a truly interesting concept, one that can overlap with generational gaps and economic gaps. Glad to see you doing some heavy thinking in response to your dreaded historical nonfiction. Makenna - 1
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