September 23, 2012
We live in a world infused with commercial culture, yet we rarely see how it touches us, and how we process it as it touches us (7).
Lawrence Lessig, Professor of Law at Harvard Law School and Director of the Edmond J. Safra Foundation Center for Ethics at Harvard University, stated the above quote in his book titled “Remix”. In “Remix”, Lessig, also the founder of Stanford’s Center for Internet and Society, focuses on law and technology as it affects copyright. More importantly, he raises the issue regarding two separate cultures in which society has evolved: the “RW” (reading/writing) culture and the “RO” (reading only) culture. He argues that before technology, we were primarily a RW culture. Now, with inventions such as iTunes, eBooks, and Youtube, we are spoiled with being able to control what we want, when we want it.
In “Remix” Lessig sums up the two with:
“One emphasizes learning. The other emphasizes learning by speaking. One preserves its integrity. The other teaches integrity. One emphasizes a hierarchy. The other hides the hierarchy. No one would argue we need less of the first, RO culture. But anyone who has really seen it believes we need much more of the second” (87).
I agree that our society is significantly more of an RO, rather than RW culture, because of our reliance on technology. While I do believe technology has positively influenced our culture, I also think our culture has become too comfortable with consumption: a product is there, we use it, and move on. The RO culture is a simple, easy, one-way relationship.
The RW culture isn’t as easy as RO because it requires engagement and interaction. An example that Lessig uses in “Remix” and that I found quite helpful is the difference between a lecture hall and a law school classroom. In this case, the lecture hall symbolizes the RO culture, whereas a law school classroom symbolizes a RW culture because the law school classroom teaches students to argue and most importantly, to respond. Drawing from personal experience, I have found seminars and intimate classes (such as law school classrooms), to be the most rewarding experiences. I have without a doubt learned the most from them and have formed closer relationships than I would have in a lecture. The reason behind this, I believe, is because there are feelings of appreciation and recognition.
How can we then find a healthy balance of RO and RW? Lessig suggests “in protecting RO culture, we shouldn’t kill off the potential for RW” (90). Instead, there should be a hybrid of the two so that we can find a happy medium. An example of this happy medium is blogging. While there’s the use of technology with blogging, there is also the action of writing the blogs. I find it important to at least recognize that we may become too reliant on technology to complete tasks for us that we can easily do ourselves (albeit, a little extra effort may be required).
In response to the first sentence of the last paragraph (how can we then find a healthy balance of RO and RW?), I find myself thankful that guys like Lessig are considered figures of authority in the field. Practically speaking, all of the copyright laws being passed are generated by an older generation of politically-though-likely-not-technologically-trained folks — and perhaps one that doesn’t understand there exists a balance? Like Lessig suggests on page 97, though, eventually our generation will be in charge of determining that balance, and probably in a much bigger, more permanent way. Nice entry!
You bring up a good alternative in how blogging is a happy medium between RO and RW. I would agree. But, how do you feel about the use of “remixing”… I feel that “remixing” uses both RO and RW. While others (we obviously see examples in the reading) that people feel it lacks creativity and doesn’t promote peoples skills and innovation.
I hadn’t thought of RO as being the easy way out and a one-way relationship. It’s very true. Society has become so use to take and consume that we have forgotten to give back and engage. I liked that you pointed out his example of the law classed as oppose to lecture halls. I myself have taken law classes as well and I agree with you that those are the courses where I have learned the most.
I agree with your statement, “I think our culture has become too comfortable with consumption: a product is there, we use it, and move on.” I feel like our generation has sort of lost an appreciation for things like books, songs or other art forms that take a lot of time and talent to create because we are trying to consume as much as possible as fast as possible. There are obvious pros and cons to having so much at our fingertips, but I think it is really easy to forget how much work goes into producing something. And if we don’t stop to appreciate the culture around us, we will inevitably become a “read only” and “consume only” society and never achieve the balance between RO and RW.
Well structured and illustrated post that flows in and out of summary and commentary with some personal experience thrown in.