Ted Gup's essay "The End of Serendipity" conveys the message that getting right to the point may not always be for the best. He recounts a time as a young boy researching one topic in the encyclopedia and discovering other inviting topics along the way. Now that encyclopedias come on CD-ROM, there is very little opportunity to get sidetracked and make interesting discoveries. Online newspapers contain the same information as traditional newspapers; where the two differ is in the ability to display only a specific story, as opposed to turning actual pages and seeing other news stories en route to that particular story. Ted Gup compares the computer to an "overly eager waiter" who "stands ready to deliver" whatever information the user requests (251). His worry is that people will concern themselves only with their own interests at that particular moment in time. No one will click on unpleasant stories or disturbing images, effectively "sanitizing reality" (251).
I had not given much thought to the negative aspects of the instant information provided by the Internet until I read this essay. I consider the computer an essential tool in my life, but I prefer to think that it has not attained that status at the expense of some other tool, such as a dictionary, newspaper, or encyclopedia. However, the truth is that when I need to research anything, I turn to the Internet first. It is incredibly convenient to type in a subject and have countless options appear before me almost instantly. I identify with the author's serendipitous explorations. Whenever I look up a word I do not understand, I find my eye drawn to other exotic-looking words and read about their etymologies and meanings. I enjoy this practice of word collecting and consider it valuable.
I am bothered by the thought that our attention spans are getting shorter and our memory banks are getting smaller. In the time of oral tradition, long stories were memorized and passed along to the next generation. Before the television people listened to radio programs that fired their imaginations. Now we can obtain news in tidy little packages that require minimal attention or understanding. We should realize that convenience may come with a price and decide how much we are willing to pay. This essay serves as a wake up call to prevent us from becoming too self-absorbed and isolationist in our ongoing quests for information.
Gup, Ted. "The End of Serendipity." Cyber Reader. Ed. Victor J. Vitanza. Needham Heights. MA: Allyn & Bacon, 1999. 250-253.
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