The Age of Missing Information
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Definition Paper
“A little mist hangs above the pond, which is still save for a single mallard paddling slowly back and forth. From time to time it dives-sticks its rump in the air. From time to time it climbs out on a rock and airs its wings in the breeze, which is visible now and again on the surface of the pond. I watched for about an hour, and mostly the duck just swam back and forth, back and forth, back and forth.”
Defining nature comes only from a personal experience, a description of the emotional effect you feel. Nature is a part of the world we can enjoy, not because of the changing times, but because its in real form. Although, its very difficult to define nature, you have to fully understand the relationship between present-day technology and nature by experiencing the outdoors one-on-one. Even if you walk out into your backyard, take a deep breathe, and soak up the free air; you still get a rush of excitement and energy. The feeling received from nature should be personal, sitting on a park bench alone in the park listening the ducks flap around is a personal experience. In the Age of Missing Information, Bill McKibben helps us realize what we are missing. When he talks about nature he never exaggerates, he doesnt throw out a catchy slogan to grab our attention. He simply speaks of nature in its purest form. Nature is a feeling, an emotion shared personally; however, there are many changes that begin to strip us of what we know as our lush environment.
One of this many changes that have occurred over time is media. Media has played a
great amount into what we know as the age of missing information. Television, for example, has become the largest media monster to rely certain types of information. The media itself has little to do with nature, even though shows of nature on television take us to many exotic areas, it cannot comprehend nature in its true form. McKibben speaks about the media having a repetition, the same type of programs are played continuously all day long. Whether it be a sitcom, game show, or even a nature documentary, it is all designed to grab your attention and hold on tight. On the other hand, repetition is entirely different everyday in nature. You might see the same bird fly by over and over again the same day, but that animal is doing something different each time. The media today only shares bits and pieces of what is actually out there around us. When the world becomes more dependent upon one form of information, everything else is pushed aside and begins to be forgotten. People use the information received by television, radio, and other forms of media to get their own fix of nature; but really you need to take in nature as a whole, as a feeling.
I feel Bill Mckibben would have the same argument with todays technology as he did over a decade ago. For instance, the internet has taken away a lot of what people need to experience first hand. Nature in its true form cannot be viewed via internet, the same effect isnt there. Sure the internet is useful in