by Jessica Redmond
The main point in Ted Gup's "The End of Serendipity" is that using the Internet does not allow anyone's mind to wander and flip through pages as with a book. Computers defeat the purpose of finding "[answers] to questions that have not yet even occurred to us" (250). In explaining this quote, I believe it means people do not use their imaginations as much when they are staring at a screen with flashing images to divert their attention. I completely agree with this view. I cannot count the number of times that I myself have flipped through a book when I was researching a particular topic. I have one small reservation about preferring books for research or pleasure. It is because of the fact that, when I am sitting at a desk searching the Web, I have the power to look up any topic at the touch of a button. I can look up words without hunting them down a dictionary, and I can easily "chat" with others on an infinite amount of topics.
Gup brings up another point that I have controversial feelings about--he says that people cannot have random epiphanies and enjoy accidental discoveries when they are using the Internet as a reserch resource. (251) Depending on the keyword, Web surfers are limited to that topic. It determines how much they can learn, how far they can explore, and how much information they can locate.
The Internet, states Gup, causes the parameters of the universe to shrink. The world of research is now limited to "keywords." People type a keyword into a search engine and the possibilities are few that they will find something new to think about. Keywords limit the number of hits that can come up on the screen. Gup sums up his thoughts by saying, "If the mouse is a key, it is also a padlock to keep the world out" (251). Learning on a computer is also limited by the fact that one cannot research at relaxing times, such as at the beach, in the park, or on an airplane. It is at these time--when we are most relaxed, in a comfortable surrounding and focused totally on what is before us--that we really learn.
Gup has many controversial topics within his essay and this allows for debate. However, he fails to recognize that the fact that his article is so popular because of the Interne--the very thing he disapproves of. He needs to come to terms with the positive side of the Internet before he jumps to conclusions about the negativity of it.
Gup, Ted. "The End of Serendipity." CyberReader. 2nd ed. Ed. Victor J. Vitanza. Needham Heights, MA: Allyn & Bacon, 1999. 250-252.
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