Although a contemporary situation and not an aspect of western Essay

Although a contemporary situation and not an aspect of western history, apply Neil Postman's theoretical Five Points to the rece - Essay Example Postman describes the high cost that society pays by becoming modernists. In his first theory he mentions that for every good aspect that comes out of a recent invention there will always be a corresponding difficulty. His second theory explains how innovation is never evenly distributed amongst the general population. What might be an advantage to some becomes a serious disadvantage for others. Portman’s third theory is based on the fact that technology, computer systems in particular, value information rather than knowledge. As such by becoming a society focused on the latest of digital devices in turn looses its personal value system. The fourth theory is defined as technology being an additive rather than ecological. A computerized system does not compliment society, but rather changes it into something else. Postman concludes the lecture with his fifth theory, stating that inventions were originally created in order to facilitate people’s lives, have somehow become looked upon as though they was created by God rather than manmade inventions. Although Postman formulated his theories before the 21st century, his theories still very much apply in today’s society. The case in point is the recent devastation seen in Japan. On March 10, 2011 a devastating earthquake followed by a Tsunami rippled through Japan, leaving behind mass destruction. This natural disaster caused severe damage to the population, the surrounding cities and the large energy plant causing a nuclear crisis. The earthquake that struck the northern region of Tokyo was the fifth largest since the 1900’s measuring a 9 on the â€Å"Richter Scale†. The quake was followed by 600 aftershocks. In less than ten minutes after the quake hit, a Tsunami struck and destroyed most of the Northern coast of Japan. A Tsunami is the Japanese word for â€Å"harbor waves† and is caused by disturbances in the earth. Formation and cycle of completion of a Tsunami only takes about twenty minutes to complete. Due to its high speeds and velocity it does not give much time for the general population to save themselves from this level of destruction. Despite the measures put into place by Japan, the recent natural destruction left behind many casualties, injured and lost property. The damage caused by the Tsunami continued even after the stormed cleared. The Fukushima Daichi plant is used to produce the country’s electricity. The plant uses a mechanism of chain reactions of splitting atoms in order to produce heat. This heat boils water and eventually generates electricity. The danger behind this type of technology is that it’s incredibly unstable. The recent hit by the Tsunami created a break in the plant’s cooling system, causing it to overheat risking radiation leak into the environment. Although natural disasters are unavoidable the nuclear crisis that Japan is facing most certainly was. This is keeping in line with Postman’ s theory of the disadvantages faced with the advancements of technology. If Japan were to utilize a different way to generate electricity, it would not have to deal with the potential of hazardous waste leaking into the