Our Brain's Potential

Growing up, watching too much television was forbidden. My father would set a passcode lock on our cable fearing that I, as a child who grew up in an era where television existed in each household, would succumb to my natural desire to watch my favorite show rather than do homework. "Too television makes you dumb," my father would say. It was not only him, however, but every other adult as well. Everyone used to tell me that people who watched too much television were not bright or wise. However, as I ran across an interesting section in the second chapter of Postman's Amusing Ourselves to Death, I raised suspicions against this statement. Does television really make your intelligence decrease? Or does it simply not allow yourself to think to your brain's full potential?

To Postman, television allows people to favor a certain form of intelligence. It also has changed the definition of "intelligence" in our media-focused century. He explains that in a print-oriented culture, the idea of explaining something through image is usually thought to be for those who did not have intelligence. In this case, the term of intelligence is defined by the ability to live comfortably without the usage of imagery. This raises the question about our media-based society and whether or not we are losing intelligence. To bring a stance on this issue, Postman explains that we are not losing intelligence but rather our definition of intelligence has changed. Since we aren't in a print-oriented society, the way we perceive the forms of intellect are different. Now, intelligence to us is defined as being able to comprehend ideas, grasping truths, and understanding facts whether pictoral or not.

I do not believe that people who watch television all the time are "stupid or dumb," and neither does Postman. However, I do believe his statement in which he proclaims that the issue with television is the fact that it is changing how we view intelligence in general. Television, in my opinion, does not allow us to think to our maxium potential or stimulate our mind in a beneficial way. Although it is enjoyable and entertaining to watch, it is preventing us from reaching a higher level of "intelligence." Our definition of intelligence cannot be like the print-oriented culture if we are not used to living a life of typography.

 With the increasing emphasis of the media in our society what will happen to our "intelligence" in the future? What would be our definition? Will our brain's potential will always be just a "potential?"