Ted Nugent on why Hiroshima was the right thing to do -- and the comments! see the comments! oi.

TED NUGENT dishes the dirt on: Hiroshima’s lesson remembered

Ending war with overwhelming force is quickest path to peace

The Washington Times
Friday, August 5, 1945

This month marks the anniversary of the last time the United States unequivocally won a war.

Sixty-years ago on Saturday and Tuesday, Hiroshima and Nagasaki were flattened with atomic bombs, causing the Japanese to surrender and bringing an end to World War II.

Ugly as the atomic bombs may seem through the politically correct lens of today, in 1945, when President Truman ordered them dropped on those cities, the weapons broke Japan’s will to fight.

There is no doubt in my mind that dropping the atomic bombs was the right thing to do. The massive explosions saved both American and Japanese lives. Those of you historical second-guessers who condemn Truman’s decision to destroy those cities would have done what in August 1945?

Had Truman not ordered them deployed and instead commanded our military to invade Japan, it is estimated that upward of 1 million U.S. casualties would have been the result. Millions of Japanese would have been killed or wounded in an assault on Japan. Only a psychopath would advocate such a senseless slaughter.

Argue the moral imperatives of flattening Hiroshima and Nagasaki if you must, but it can’t be argued that flattening those cities didn’t save lives on both sides of the war. Saving lives is good, and sometimes saving lives involves killing people.

American Civil War Gen. William T. Sherman said, “War is hell.” President Truman knew this as well but also knew that unleashing the power of the atomic bombs would bring an end to World War II.

While no rational person supports nuclear war - or any war, for that matter, what I do support is when we commit U.S. troops to halt evil only when we have a plan to crush our enemies and bring the survivors to the peace table in the shortest amount of time.

We face new enemies today, many of whom belong to voodoo terror cells that will use any weapon or means to kill as many Americans as possible. Let us pray that we have a plan to kill every one of these voodoo maggots before they kill another American.

The history of mankind is one of warfare, not peace. You don’t have to like that, but you do have to admit it. Knowing that it is true, it is fundamentally devious to weaken our military as is proposed in the new Con Job Debt Reduction Agreement.

We need more smart bombs, more predator drones, more advanced intelligence equipment and assets, more special-operations teams and more improved tactics, more ammo, better night-vision equipment, more human-intelligence capabilities, more stealth and a never-ending commitment to kill the enemies of freedom and America under whatever rock they may try to hide. Kill ‘em all as quickly as possible. That’s the most effective deterrent there is. Petting or negotiating with rabid dogs is never wise. Shoot them in the head at least twice. Ammo is cheap.

America is a peaceful nation. However, America must always maintain U.S. Marine Corps Gen. James Mattis’ philosophy: “Be polite, be professional, but have a plan to kill everybody you meet.” Perfect. If there were a Hall of Fame for butt-kickers, Gen. Mattis would be in it.

War is hell. What surely is an even worse hell is losing a war.

God bless the warriors of the U.S. military and their families. They deserve victory, and as we celebrate the greatest victory ever, let us hope we still know how to accomplish it.

[WHO WROTE THIS? Mr. Ted Nugent is a rightwing conservatuive American rock ‘n’ roll, sporting and political activist icon. He is the author of “Ted, White and Blue: The Nugent Manifesto” and “God, Guns & Rock ‘N’ Roll” (Regnery Publishing).]

© Copyright 2011 The Washington Times, MOONIE GROUP

COMMENTS

I'd like this column a whole lot better without the praise for the godless mass-murderer, William Tecumseh Sherman. Sherman is not a hero here.

This piece could have been written by a junior high kid attending a public school. Ol Hank

Any thing wrong with what was written? Yes. No one really wins a war. War is a failure of government, usually all governments involved to certain degrees. After a war is over, the warriors (never people like Ted!) are told that fighting is over, and the warriors after all the killing and suffering watch as deals are made and peace comes. And those warriors often ask, "Why in God's name didn't they do that before the killing and destruction?" Ted shows his utter ignorance about war and its costs with his stupid statement "ammo is cheap." Even that is incorrect. The defense industries are a group that has stripped this nation of much of its wealth by use of fear tactics. Ike said they would do this, and they did. No wonder Republicans talk more about a guy like Reagan and not so much about Ike. Ike served this nation just about as much as any American ever. If the so-called "greatest generation" had anyone to compare with George Washington, it was Ike. And Harry Truman was indeed a great man. Sort of like a John Adams, but not nearly so erudite. Ol Hank
A Like Reply 2 hours ago 1 Like F
Dave McGraw 1 comment collapsed Collapse Expand The bombs were dropped to forestall a Russian invasion, and although it was a laudable goal, the ends did not justified the incinerated children. Nailing the imperial palace and grounds with a nuke to send the national "god" to oblivion would have been preferable.
A Like Reply 2 hours ago 1 Like F
kenwhite 3 comments collapsed Collapse Expand I'll second guess what Truman did in August, 1945. I would have notified the Japanese leadership that we (America) are going to demonstrate what will happen to your country if you don't immediately surrender. I would tell them when and where this demonstration would be (an unpopulated area as close to Japan as possible) and tell them how far they should be away from it to survive while making sure they're close enough to get the full effect of the blast. Then I would have dropped the bomb with the hope that they would now get the message that they must surrender. Only if they didn't understand would I consider dropping a nuclear bomb on Japan.

Shortly after the blast that leveled those cities, a person wandering around one of them saw what used to be an elementary school that was destroyed in the blast. All that was left were the front steps. Unbelievably, someone had lined the surviving children up on the steps so their parents could come for them. There they sat, their clothes burned into their skin, and every last one of them was screaming for their mommies. Later that day, the same observer retraced his steps and came upon the same school. There, lined up on the steps, were all the children he'd seen earlier, but they were all dead. They died in agony, scared beyond imagining and crying for their mommies.

As Nooge himself writes, "Only a psychopath would advocate such a senseless slaughter." Truman wasn't a psychopath, but he could have explored other options
A Like Reply 3 hours ago 1 Like F
kenwhite 2 comments collapsed Collapse Expand Meant to put a period at the end. By the way, General Eisenhower and plenty of other top tier Americans voiced their disgust at the dropping of the bombs. As he and others noted, Japan was about to surrender. Russia, too, was poised to invade Japan and there's no doubt that the bombs were dropped to also send them a message.
A Like Reply 3 hours ago in reply to kenwhite 1 Like F
rlhailssrpe 1 comment collapsed Collapse Expand From my readings, I learned several facts which greatly impress me. All the major combatants knew of a possible fission bomb; a speculative design was presented in a Berlin conference prior to the war. It would have worked. Within a day after each bombing the Japanese high command understood what had hit them. Yet they unanimously voted to continue the war. The Emperor, for the first time in centuries, over ruled them. Japan had peace feelers out to Stalin, but neither side's power centers considered them as valid. Stalin entered the war when the bombs assured him of certain conquest. Truman wrote that Roosevelt kept him in the dark about the Manhattan Project, while he was the VP. Truman assumed the decision to use the new bomb had already been made by his predecessor, and judged he would have been impeached if he held back on a weapon while GIs died in combat. Eisenhower was ignorant of the bomb until it was used; he knew nothing of Japanese decision making. All sides resorted to unlimited warfare, killing civilians, after the London blitz. It is estimated that ~ 90% of all causalities in the war, were civilians.
A Like Reply 1 hour ago in reply to kenwhite 0 Like
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sandblaster 1 comment collapsed Collapse Expand More truth from the MotorCity Madman!
A Like Reply 5 hours ago 1 Like F
sandblaster 1 comment collapsed Collapse Expand Boom. Boom. War over a few days later.
A Like Reply 20 minutes ago 0 Like
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RGS_CA_USA 1 comment collapsed Collapse Expand My father was in the second to last group of recruits to receive combat training at Camp Roberts
in the Monterey area of California. The subsequent groups received occupation training. If not for those bombs, I doubt that I or much of the Baby Boom would be here.

I have heard that the million casualty figure is considered conservative for the U.S. forces. As for the Japanese, considering the actions of civilians at Okinawa (women throwing their children off cliffs and then jumping themselves to prevent capture by the Guy Jin (I apologize if that's not spelt correctly.), men fighting to the death or committing Hari Kari.) I believe the Japanese casualties would have been horrific. Imagine fighting house to house in the cities of the major islands against this determined an enemy.

Remember, this is the same society whose members willingly and gladly allowed themselves to be trained to fly the equivelent of a wooden box with an engine, wings and a bomb just to have a chance to aim it at one of our capital ships. The same Society that produced jungle fighters that refused to give up for twenty plus years. A land invasion of the Japanese Islands would have been long, bloody and left both countries in shambles.

From what I learned over the years, the Japanese leadership was warned. Requests for a conditional and then unconditional surrender where transmitted before the first bomb and then after it. Prior to the bombs, the Japanese (depending upon which military/political group you're discussing) were not ready to surrender. In fact, at least one attempted to oust the Emporer and install a military leader during the bombing of Tokyo.

Lastly, Hank, the defense industry is more responsible for the wealth of this nation than almost any other. Advances in aviation, space flight, advanced materials (can we say kevlar, nomex, etc.?), trauma surgery, communications (including the internet which was partially funded by DARPA and was first deployed as the ARPA-NET) and a wide variety of others came from research sponsored by the DOD.

If we had not taken action to contain Japanese Imerialism and expansion (the blockade which lead to Japan attempting to oust us from the Pacific) many areas of the Pacific region would be speaking Japanese today. We were trying to negotiate with the Japanese in the late '30's and '40's. All that talk did was give the Japanese the time they needed to plan what could have been a dibilitating attack against Hawai'i. If not for a little luck (the Carrier Group's being at sea) and a little poor intelligence (the Japanese though we had so much oil it was not worth attacking our supplies on Oahu, when in fact if they had, we would have been set back by many more months or even years), the Japanese could have knocked us out of the Pacific War could have ended the day it began instead of in August 1945.
A Like Reply 1 hour ago 0 Like
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snowleopard (cat folk gallery) 1 comment collapsed Collapse Expand My grandfather fought in the Pacific part of the war, and I have talked to many veterans of the war who were in it actively or as POW's in the home islands of Japan.

Based on what they talked of, and what I have read personally; the fact is the President has only one of three realistic choices at hand:

A. Continue the full naval blockade of the islands; which may have worked eventually to strangle the Japanese government into surrender.

B. Physical invasion of the islands themselves, with prospects of upto 1 million casulties.

C. Use the bombs and possibly bring the war to a complete and utter ending with the utter shock value of two cities annhilated.

None was a good option to be chosen; and faced with them I feel he chose the least of the evils he faced in this matter. As I was not in his position, facing the dillema, I cannot honestly say which I would have chosen either.
A Like Reply

王建民外公 公園自縊身亡

王建民外公 公園自縊身亡

【中央社╱台南31日電】 2011.07.31

台南市關廟區1名82歲 82 YEARS OLD 的黃 MR HUANG 姓老翁，今天清晨疑似在住家附近公園內的單槓自縊，被發現時已經死亡，家屬不知他為何想不開。黃姓老翁是旅美職棒選手王建民生母的父親。

警方指出，今天清晨5時許接獲民眾報案，指稱在關廟區一處公園內的單槓區有人自縊，警方與消防人員趕到時，發現老翁疑似以電線延長線綁在單槓上自縊，已無呼吸心跳。

警方查出死者是82歲的黃姓老翁，沒有留下遺書。家屬在警訊中指出，老翁平時有高血壓，昨天才由家屬帶到醫院看診，直到昨晚就寢前都沒有異狀，不知道為何想不開。

黃姓老翁的鄰居說，王建民出生後過繼給親伯父扶養，黃姓老翁名義上不是王建民的外公，但王建民每次回台灣，仍會到關廟探視老人家。黃姓老翁處事低調，從不主動提及與王建民的關係，但仍很關心王建民的表現。



全文網址: 王建民外公 公園自縊身亡 | 社會 | 即時新聞 | 聯合新聞網 http://udn.com/NEWS/BREAKINGNEWS/BREAKINGNEWS2/6497196.shtml#ixzz1UDgrtjow
Power By udn.com

The Wang Jianmin grandfather park hung oneself dies the Wang Jianmin grandfather park to hang oneself dies [Central News Agency ╱ Tainan on 31st] 2011.07.31


Taina guan's temple area 1 82 year old of 82 YEARS OLD yellow MR the HUANG surname old man, in the park high bar hangs oneself doubtful this morning nearby the house, was discovered when already died, the family member did not know why he can'tlook on the bright side of thing. The yellow surname old man is stays in US the Major League Baseball contestant Wang Jianmin birth mother's father. The police pointed out that this morning about 5:00 receives the populace to report, claimed in a guan's temple area park high bar area some people hang oneself, when the police and the fire fighters rush, discovered that the old man ties up doubtful by the electric wire production on the high bar hangs oneself, already non-breath palpitation. The police find out the dead are 82 year-old Huang Xing the old man, has not left behind the posthumous writings. The family member pointed out in the danger signal that the old man usually has hypertension, yesterday only then brought from the family member to the hospital to look examines, did not have the unusual form before last night sleeping, did not know why couldn't look on the bright side of thing. The yellow surname old man's neighbor said that after Wang Jianmin is born, adopts for kisses uncle to nurture, the yellow surname old man is not Wang Jianmin's grandfather in name, but Wang Jianmin each time returns to Taiwan, still will arrive at the guan's temple to visit the old person. The yellow surname old man handles matters the low key, ever not on own initiative mentions with Wang Jianmin's relations, but still very much cared about Wang Jianmin's performance.

Mr Wang goes to Washington, 'grandfather' in Taiwan has sad ending

America loves sports and America loves baseball, and Hollywood has
always mirrored our love for the game, from such films as "Bull
Durham" and "Field of Dreams" to
"Air Bud: Seventh Inning Stretch" and "The Rookie." Now comes news of
a baseball story with an
overseas twist, from Taiwan, and with a tragic arc as well.

The 82-year-old biological grandfather of Washington Nationals star
pitcher Chien-Ming Wang was found dead hanging from a tree in a local
neighborhood park in
Taiwan recently, according to police reports, and while there was no
suicide note found at the scene or at his home, police observers
suspect it was
a suicide, as foul play has been ruled out.


While the news hit all the
national newspapers in Wang's homeland of Taiwan, in both Chinese and English
editions, not one American
newspaper
or sports blog in Washington DC or Manhattan -- where Wang also
pitched for the Yankees -- has reported the sad family saga.

As readers know, Wang started playing baseball as a kid in the
fourth grade in Taiwan, and it was through baseball that he learned an
important part of his personal story, according to a 2006 story in the
New York Times.

"We were going out to a competition and needed our personal
documents,” Wang told the New York Times, explaining that meant
the names, relationships and birthdates of family members. “When I got
my documents, I learned who my biological parents were. My parents
didn’t tell me."

Wang found out then that his biological father was the man he knew as
his uncle, Ping-Yin Wang. Wang’s parents had no children of their own
and offered to raise him.

Fast forward now to August 2011 and this news item: "The biological
grandfather of Chien-Ming Wang
found hanging in Taiwan park; police suspect suicide."

News reports said in both Chinese and English media in Taiwan: ''An
elderly man who was found dead Sunday in the southern city of
Tainan has been identified as the biological grandfather of Taiwanese
baseball pitcher Chien-Ming Wang.''

A paperboy told police that around 5 a.m. last Sunday he had seen an
old man hanging
by the neck from an electric cord tied to a horizontal bar in a park.

The police later identified the body as that of an 82-year-old man
named Mr. Huang. No first name was given, as is often the case in
Taiwanese media stories
about family matters.

According to police, there was no suicide note and the old man's
surviving family said Mr. Huang did not show
any abnormal behavior before the incident. Mr. Huang was known to suffer
from high blood pressure.

He was the father of Wang's biological mother. Wang was adopted at
birth and raised by his uncle.

According to Huang's neighbors, he never boasted that he had a
grandson who played in the Major League but he did care a lot about
the 31-year-old baseball star.

The 19-game winner returned to the Major mound July 30 after a serious
shoulder injury that kept him out of competition for more than two
years.

Baseball pundits have expressed worry that the news of his
grandfather's death could pose a setback for the right-hander.

But so far, there has been no media coverage of this family matter
in American newspapers or sports channels.

However, given that "Wang was adopted at birth and raised by his
uncle," one can see why it's not rising to the level of a
coverage-worthy story in
the American sports media.

Said one top sports reporter on the East Coast, when contacted about
this story: :I intend to ask Wang Chien-Ming about his grandfather's
apparent or alleged suicide before I write a story for my newspaper,
if I do write it up at all."

Said a longtime baseball fan from Boston: "There is a good family
drama and human interest angle here that focuses on Wang's Taiwanese
roots and how much he is loved by his fans in Taiwan, and to make
sports heroes more humanized. Baseball is not all about winning games
or making oodles of money; there are family dramas often invovled,
too. Sports is not just a money making machine, there are real people
invovled with real family stories. This should make the news in
America, too. After all, Wang is now an American baseball star, too."

82-year-old biological grandfather of Washington Nationals star pitcher Chien-Ming Wang found dead at neighborhood park; suicide suspected, police say

WASHINGTON, DC -- Wang Chien-ming started playing baseball in the
fourth grade in Taiwan, as a pitcher, first baseman and outfielder. He
attended high school in Taipei. His home, Tainan, is in the south of
the island nation. It was through baseball that he learned an
important part of his personal story.

“We were going out to a competition and needed our personal
documents,” Wang once told the New York Times, explaining that meant
the names, relationships and birthdates of family members. “When I got
my documents, I learned who my biological parents were. My parents
didn’t tell me.”

Wang found out then that his biological father was the man he knew as
his uncle, Ping-Yin Wang. Wang’s parents had no children of their own
and offered to raise him. They later had a daughter, Hsiu-Wen Wang,
who is two years younger.

It must have been a startling revelation, but Wang betrayed no emotion
when talking about it.

“I didn’t feel anything in particular,” he said. “I felt it was all
right, like I had two fathers.”

If anything, Wang said, he became even more serious about succeeding
as a pitcher.

“I felt I had to work even harder in order to help two sets of
parents,” he said, adding later, “Most of my money I send home to let
my parents manage. The rest I use for living expenses in America.”

In the off-season, Wang and his wife, Chia-ling, live with the parents
who raised him. He loves his mother’s cooking, he said, but the
overriding reason is cultural.

His parents, who manufactured metal products like spoons and lunch
boxes, have been retired for about 15 years. In Taiwan, Wang
explained, it is customary for sons to stay at home and take care of
their parents. Long after learning his personal background, Wang
remains very close with the parents who raised him.

“In Taiwan there’s a saying: ‘Raising a child is more important than
giving birth. Raising a child is greater,’ ” Wang told Times reporter
TYLER KEPNER in 2006.
.
Fast forward to August 2011. The grandfather of Chien-Ming Wang
was found dead in a Taiwan park. Police suspect suicide.

News report: An elderly man who was found dead Sunday in the southern city of
Tainan has been identified as the biological grandfather of Taiwanese
baseball pitcher Chien-Ming Wang, police said.

A paperboy reported around 5 am Sunday that he had seen someone hanging
by the neck from an electric cord tied to a horizontal bar in a park
in Tainan's Guanmiao district.

When the emergency response team arrived on the scene, they found that
the man had no heartbeat and was not breathing, according to the
district police.

The police later identified the body as that of an 82-year-old man
surnamed Huang.

There was no suicide note and the Huang family said Huang did not show
any abnormal behavior before the incident. Huang was known to suffer
from high blood pressure.

He was the father of Wang's biological mother. Wang was adopted at
birth and raised by his uncle.

According to Huang's neighbors, he never boasted that he had a
grandson who played in the Major League but he did care a lot about
the 31-year-old baseball star.

The 19-game winner returned to the Major mound July 30 after a serious
shoulder injury that kept him out of competition for more than two
years.

Baseball pundits have expressed worry that the news of his
grandfather's death could pose a setback for the right-hander.

But so far, there has been ZERO media coverage of this family matter
in USA newspapers or sports channels.

THEODORE DALRYMPLE writes, and it's music to THE ANGRY LUDDITE's ears:

[NOTE: ''Theodore'' Dalrymple is the "nom de bloom" of an American medical doctor named ''Anthony Daniels''. He is a contributing editor of the Manhattan Institute's City Journal. ]

50 years from now, no one in Indiana—or at least, no one born and raised in Indiana—will be able to write cursive. On the other hand, everyone there will be able to type, and by then technology might have made the ability to sign your name redundant. If it has not, perhaps you will be able to hire an out-of-stater or immigrant to sign your will or marriage certificate for you.

State officials recently announced that Indiana schools will no longer be required to teach children to write longhand, so that students can focus on typing. This is because writing by hand is so very—well, so very 4000 B.C. to A.D. 2010. We have now entered a new era: A.H., After Handwriting.

The schoolchildren of Indiana—and those of an increasing number of other states—will therefore never know the joys of penmanship that I experienced as a child. In those days, we still had little porcelain inkwells in the tops of our desks. The watery blue ink eventually evaporated to a deep blue gritty residue, and we used scratchy dip-pens with wooden handles, whose nibs were forever bending and breaking.

Our whole world was inky. Our desktops were soaked in ink; it got into our skin, under our nails and into our clothes. We even began to smell of it. For those of us who were even slightly academically inclined, the callus that formed on the skin of the side of the middle finger as it rubbed against the wood of the pen was a matter of pride: We measured our diligence by the thickness of the callus and longed for it to grow bigger.
I still remember my pride in my first full-length handwritten composition: an eight-page account of crossing the Gobi Desert in a Rolls-Royce, accompanied by blots, smudges and inky fingerprints. To my chagrin and everlasting regret, my teacher was not impressed by my formidable effort. She said that I must keep to reality and not be so imaginative.

Despite many hours first of tracing, then of copying copperplate examples, my handwriting never became other than serviceable at best. I was left-handed, and this made things more difficult because, whether I pushed or pulled the pen, smudges followed my writing across the page. Luckily, though, we had emerged from the dark ages when left-handers were forced to use their right hands. Little did we know, it was the beginning of the pedagogic liberalism that has now brought us to the abandonment of writing altogether.
Another character-building joy that may be denied to Indiana schoolchildren is the handwritten exam. They will never know that peculiar slight ache in the forearm, produced by fevered scribbling as thoughts rushed through your mind in answer to questions such as "Was Louis XIV a good king?" (my answer was a firm and uncompromising "no") and struggled to find written expression, only to slow down once it became clear that there were not enough of those thoughts to fill the allotted time. So then you deliberately made your handwriting deteriorate to make it appear that you could have written much more if only you had had the time, but unfortunately you did not. This kind of game continued into my early 20s.

Were my teachers ever taken in by it? I doubt it, but even then I knew it was all really a rite of passage, a slow induction into the adult world that I so longed to join. Since the need for such rites seems to be permanent in human societies, no doubt new such rites will develop for those who focus on the keyboard, but I do not know what they will be. Having reached the age when pessimism is almost hard-wired into the brain, I think they will not only be different but not as beneficial to the developing character.

Indeed, my first reaction to the news from Indiana was visceral despair, not only because the world I had known was now declared antediluvian, dead and buried, but because it presaged a further hollowing out of the human personality, a further colonization of the human mind by the virtual at the expense of the real.

When I scrawled and blotted and smudged my way across the page, I had the feeling that, for good or evil, what I had done was my own and unique. And since everyone's writing was different, despite the uniformity of the exercises, our handwriting gave us a powerful, and very early, sense of our own individuality. Those who learn to write only on a screen will have more difficulty in distinguishing themselves from each other, and since the need to do so will remain, they will adopt more extreme ways of doing so. Less handwriting, then, more social pathology.

hat tip to ET for this

What if reading off screens is not all it's cracked up to be?

What if reading off screens is not all it's cracked up to be?

 by The Angry Luddite

Imagine a news article datelined ''Boston, Massachusetts'' in the year
2025,
headlined ''MRI brain imaging lab at MIT studies differences in screen, paper
reading,'' that might begin like this:

"Dr Ellen Marker studies reading. But not off screens or in
paper books.
Her research is done in a Boston laboratory.

''The pioneering neuroscientist analyzes brains in their reading
states, hoping to understand the differences between reading
on screens and reading on paper surfaces.

"Marker has a hunch that her studies will later show that reading on paper
is superior to reading off screens in terms of three things:
processing of information, rentention of info in memory and analysis.

"But first, let's see what the scans will be like.

"Marker asks a reporter to put himself into an (f)MRI machine so her
team can study which areas of the brain are activated by reading text
on paper compared to reading the same text on a computer screen or a
Kindle e-reader.

''And this is why this reporter is here. Today this reporter will donate
his brain scans to science.

''Among the things that Marker has discovered so far is that reading on
paper might be
something we as a civilization should not ever give up.

''She says: 'Even though reading on screens is useful and convenient,
and I do it
all the time, I feel that
reading on paper is something we should never cede to the digital
revolution. We need both."

''The scientists load me into the MRI machine and I'm off.

''Next step: They strap my head down, because any movement distorts the
brain imaging. Ever try to read a book without facial movements?

''With the invention of the fMRI only 20 years ago, along came the
ability to look at brain activity. Marker says that by understanding a
function as gigantic as reading, how the reading brain does its magic
dance, a response that hijacks all of
one’s attention, she might also learn how reading on screens could be
inferior to reading on paper.


''Research and teaching take up most of Marker's time, but when she has a
spare moment, she thinks about what all this might mean for the future
of humankind.

''During my first hour in the fMRI machine, researchers map my brain's
reading paths
to find out which parts correlate to
which regions of the brain.


''One of the biggest conundrums turns out to be a nagging
question for all mankind: What if reading on screens is not good
for retention of data, emotional connections and critical thinking skills?''


Of course, the above story is a fantasy, an imagined newspaper article from
the future.

But what if it turns out that reading on screens is inferior to
reading on paper? What then?

But just as nobody heeded the calls that radiation and cancer might impact cell
phone use, will the profit-seeking makers of e-readers listen to people
like the imaginary Dr Marker above, or
even care if she is right?

I think she's tilting at windmills.

-------------------

The Angry Luddite is not really angry. He is just bemused by our headlong rush to embrace
technology at times without bothering to see first if the coast (read: cost) is clear.

No Copyright 2011 so you have the right to copy this. GO GO GO!

What the Tech Do I Know?

Book title, in progress.

What the Tech Do I Know?

by The Angry Luddite

paperback
129 pages
Pub Date: January 2012