Postman begins his book Amusing ourselves to Death with a review of communication evolution from the invention of cuneiform writing through the invention of the printing press and up to the near present of television media. His work in education led him to see that integrating mass media into education was not working, and further thought television appeared useful only for entertainment. But his focus on television media didn’t incorporate the long arc of human cognitive development, and the possibility that the new tool of mass media is so new that it is simply not being used properly yet.
Research up to Postman’s time suggested TV was in some general sense changing brains from a linear structure of thought processing to a more scattered and distracted one. The linear thought involved in writing appeared to be a pinnacle of knowledge transference, which had been gradually advancing the world for thousands of years. Television looked to be undoing all that progress in short order.
Also at this time, Postman did not have the benefit of brain imaging technology. He did not think mass media was making any physical or cognitive changes to people or their brains, but this has now been confirmed. Today, contemporary brain imaging research has shown that the brains of children who regularly watch TV shift activity from regions associated with reading and literacy to regions associated with visual acuity and hand-eye coordination.
Postman begins with the oral tradition and the invention of writing, overlooking the origin of complex thought that began as early as 165 million years ago. Several early Homo lineages adorned their bodies with colors, and that decoration led to making necklaces of shells and teeth. The motor skill and cognitive development from these activities then branched to representative art. Eventually, an early human could make the mental association that a particular rock – for instance, looked like a particular animal.
This cognitive ability progressed for 165 million years, and is an ability other ape species never reached. Chimpanzees are known to enjoy finger painting, and they create abstract works similar to kindergarteners. But they have not been observed attempting representational art or painting themselves for decoration.
The invention of writing was the next large cognitive leap. Beyond strictly visually representational – this looks like that, people began using symbols to express the complex thoughts of language and ideas. For the next 3000 years only a minority of society was trained in this ability, and they were typically the leaders in a society, especially religious leaders. It is likely no coincidence that the Roman Catholic church holds traditional services in a language that is functionally dead, to signify that the church is the keeper of knowledge.
The invention of the printing press 600 years ago was the next important stage. Postman notes how literacy rates in Europe skyrocketed as printed material became widespread. Societal structure was questioned and changed rapidly, scientific inquiry and advancements made monumental discoveries. Even the uneducated at this time were far more educated than they would have been hundreds of years earlier, simply by being a member of a more advanced society.
Postman spends considerable time documenting how America was founded by an exceptionally literate group of people. Nearly all homes had bibles, and soon after establishing settlements, early Americans began printing nearly as much content as the whole of England, but to only a fraction of readers. It is probably not coincidental that America broke away from Europe in roughly 100 years, then became the world superpower some 100 years after that.
Writing has advanced complex thought such that at this stage of development, with few exceptions, if we can imagine it we can build it. Star Trek phones became an everyday device in only 20 years. Somewhere, there are scientists working on a “transporter.” A Moore’s law of cognitive progression is underway
The developmental decline in literacy from television that Postman and others observed appeared detrimental to learning; that was the negative lens and focus of much early research. The ubiquity of mass media led many to consider using TV to educate instead of only entertain. The thought was that since people enjoyed entertainment, educators could tap into that system and insert education, a win. But showing a movie to a class that included all the relevant information of a lesson was not as effective for long term understanding as traditional teaching methods would yield.
Recent research in brain imaging shows that Postman was right, we are being changed as a society by the media, and our brains are being changed too, away from the areas of the brain long used for reading and language. But it’s not all bad. Studies with the elderly have demonstrated mental improvement from the simple act of online searching. If not initially tech savvy, online searching activates the language region of the brain used for traditional reading. But once accustomed to the technical process, the brain shifts resources away from language areas to regions associated with visual processing.
From 165 million years of fashion and early language, 3000 years of using symbols, 600 years of mass education, 100 years of television, and now 20 years of Internet. Humans are still at the finger painting stage of employing mass media. Currently, it is now an everyday occurrence for individuals to produce their own media and broadcast it to the world. Most of it is entertainment. The jury is still out if we’re using this ability properly.