Module 3: Rhymes of History Technology

Module 3:  Rhymes of History Technology

 Dr. Thornburg (2009) discussed in his video entitled: “Rhymes of History,” that social networking tools rekindles things from the past. For example, he indicated that many young people expose themselves to MySpace and Facebook for new ideas/sources and to chat with their peers. Thornburg revealed that these social networking tools rekindle watering hole gatherings from the past. This meant that back-in-the –day, people would gather as one by traveling rather than coming together as one using social networking tools as a means of communication.

Another example that Dr. Thornburg (2009) addressed in his video was that a laptop technology rekindles runners from ancient times who carried messages from village to another village. He stressed that, during ancient times, villages would also use drums as another communication tool from village to village. Thornburg concluded that the impact of a new development rekindled something from the distant past which is McLuhan’s Laws of Media representing the third quadrant.

An example of a technology that represents a rhyme of history is the Army Logistician magazine which is currently called the Army Sustainment (See below).  Paparone (2009) discussed the last four decades of the Army Logistician magazine. He revealed that when looking at this magazine electronically, on can gain important insights regarding the history of military logistics from 1969 to 2009. The author quoted “no history of modern military logistics published in any other form can compete with the collection of account published in Army Logistician. All of the past issues of Army Logistician is available on line.

 

 

 

The first issue of Army Logistician,                             VS                          Army Sustainment, Introducing                    

September-October 1969, was                                                                     Bulletin for Sustainers,

published during the height of the                                                              Commemorating 40 Years of 

Vietnam War.                                                                                               Amy Logistician.

                                                                                                                        Link:  www.ALMC.MIL/ALOG

Paparone (2009) emphasized that the January-February 1999 issue was the longest issue of Army Logistician at 164 pages. This was the magazine’s 30th anniversary which included 43 articles on   various aspects of the Revolution in Military Logistics. In the July-August 2007 issue, the Logistics Branch was created. This was a significant step in the Army’s decades-long evolution form stovepiped support to multifunctional logistics.

Paparone (2009) stressed that after reading his article, “Army Logistician and the Rhymes of History,” that an individual will be able to identify three main themes of recent military logistics history which are technology, efficiency, and temporality. He believed that Mark Twain quote: “History doesn’t repeat itself,--at best it sometimes rhymes,” appears to be true about the military logistics endeavors. Paparone concluded that Army Logistician has become an institutional source of military logistics “poetry” (p. 33).

Kelly (2007) addressed in his speech, which “The Next 5,000 Days of the Web,” that computers, handheld devices, cellphones, laptops, and servers will all be connected to one global machine. He revealed that there are three consequences to this one machine which are embodiment, restructuring, and codependency. For example, if you access a social networking site such as Facebook, you login. You must state who you are, and it is unnecessary for you to do that every time you access your Facebook webpage. Kelly argued that instead, all networks should know the data and have it. Kelly rekindled how things were in the past such as regulations, sales, schools, etc. Although we are moving forward in this technological society, we remain the same. He believed that we are the web now and that we are not going to be the web. Kelly emphasized that we should be something different, extremely smart, personal and ubiquitous. He summarized by stating the following:

             There is only one machine.
             The web is its operating system (OS).
             All screens look into the web.
             No bits will live outside the web.
             To share is to gain.
             Let the One read it.
            The One is Us.

References

Kelly, K.  (2007).  The next 5,000 days of the web. 
http://www.ted.com/talks/kevin_kelly_on_the_next_5_000_days_of_the_web.html

Laureate Education, Inc. (Executive Producer). (2009). McLuhan’s tetrad concept. Baltimore: Author.

Laureate Education, Inc.  (Executive Producer).  (2009).  Rhymes of history.  Baltimore:  Author.

Paparone, C. R.  (September-October 2009).  Army Logistician and the rhymes of history.  Army Sustainment, 41(5), pp. 30-33.  

http://www.almc.army.mil/alog/issues/SepOct09/rhymes_history.html

Michele

Module 3:  Rhymes of History Technology

I responded to the following community members:

Timothy Weaver

http://weave1-weave1.blogspot.com

Kevin Klein

http://kklein66.wordpress.com/