\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n Lawrence Lessig<\/a>, 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 \u201cRemix\u201d. In \u201cRemix\u201d<\/a>, Lessig, also the founder of Stanford\u2019s 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 \u201cRW\u201d (reading\/writing) culture and the \u201cRO\u201d (reading only) culture. He argues that before technology, we were primarily a RW culture. Now, with inventions such as iTunes<\/a>, eBooks<\/a>, and Youtube<\/a>, we are spoiled with being able to control what we want, when we want it.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n In \u201cRemix\u201d Lessig sums up the two with:<\/p>\n \u201cOne 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\u201d (87).<\/em><\/p>\n <\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n The RW culture isn\u2019t as easy as RO because it requires engagement and interaction. An example that Lessig uses in \u201cRemix\u201d 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<\/em>. 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.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n How can we then find a healthy balance of RO and RW? Lessig suggests \u201cin protecting RO culture, we shouldn\u2019t kill off the potential for RW\u201d (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\u2019s 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).<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" 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). \u00a0 Lawrence Lessig, Professor of Law at Harvard Law … Continue reading ![\"\"](\"http:\/\/blogs.scu.edu\/meganknudson\/files\/2012\/09\/remix_cover_small1-198x300.png\")
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