Amusing Ourselves to Death...

Neil Postman argues that different media shape the way we frame our discourses and arguments. He wrote this before the Internet took off, but I think his insights are spot-on. He starts the book by comparing Orwell's vision of the future in 1984 and Aldous Huxley's in Brave New World:

"What Orwell feared were those who would ban books. What Huxley feared was that there would be no reason to ban a book, for there would be no one who wanted to read one. Orwell feared those who would deprive us information. Huxley feared those who would give us so much that we would be reduced to passivity and egoism. Orwell feared that the truth would be concealed from us. Huxley feared the truth would be drowned in a sea of irrelevance. Orwell feared we would become a captive culture. Huxley feared we would become a trivial culture..."

I wonder has the Internet increased or chekced our downward spiral into triviality...