Respnse to "Writing is a Technology that Restructures Thought"

 Ong really made me think with this article. In class we've been talking about writing as a technology but it's been hard for me to see writing as something comparable to a computer. I've always thought of writing as somewhat natural. But Ong has finally helped me realize that it is not. In this article he compares literate cultures to oral cultures, which is what I think I needed to grasp the concept. Ong argues that writing is a relatively new technology in the history of mankind. His argument allowed me to see the technological aspects of the alphabet, paper and writing utensils. 

1. "Our literature word of visually processed sounds has been totally unfamiliar to most human beings, who always belonged, and often still belong to this oral world."

 Ong describes how oral and literate minds differ. He gives the example of asking a literate and oral person to think of the word nevertheless. The literate person would picture the word in their mind and the oral person would think about the sound of the word. Ong also brings up the fleeting nature of sound, "By the time i get to the 'the less', the 'never' is gone (p. 25)." A literate person has the advantage of visualizing the word pinned down on paper.

2. "They believed only the languages they knew as written, such as English or French, could be written."
 Ong tells the story of a linguist who alphabetized a south pacific language, the people who spoke it didn't believe their language could be written down. This is another example of how writing is a technology, it is by no means natural.

3."Even when he talks, Plato's Socrates is using thought forms brought into being by writing."
 Writing allows for deep analytical reflection something that Ong says is missing from oral cultures. When there is a written word it is possible to make connections and explore thoughts. Oral traditions do not focus on those concepts because the energy is spent remembering stories and passing them on.

4. Although, we take writing for granted so much so as to forget that is a technology, writing is in a way the most distinct of the three technologies of the word. It initiated what printing and electronics only continued…"
The technology that exists today is an extension of writing. Ong explains that clearly when he claims, "It initiated what printing and electronics only continued, the physical reduction of dynamic sound to quiescent space, the separation of the word from the living present, where alone real, spoken words exist.

5. Technologies are not mere exterior aids but also interior transformations of consciousness, and never more than when they affect the world.
 It still amazes me human beings are capable of inventing technology that changes how the mind works. It makes me think about the future and it makes me wonder how the human mind will react to new technologies.