David Crystal And Pinker Analysis

Change can be scary, but in most cases it is for the better, especially when it comes to technology. Two men by the names of David Crystal and Steven Pinker wrote and published articles magazines and newspapers. In Everyone’s An Author by Andrea Lunsford, Crystal and Pinker each wrote an essay incorporated within the textbook. David Crystal, an author and a professor at Bangor University in Wales, speaks about myths of the texting world. Steven Pinker, a psychology professor at Harvard University, has published many works for the New Republic and the New York Times. In his essay he wrote about misconceptions of new mass media. Both authors share similar ideas when reflecting upon the changes in technology. Throughout evolutions in technology,

Strangely, many believe that such advancements are showing negative effects on people. However, David Crystal demonstrates in his article that texting is not as destructive as many believe it is. Beliefs exist that texting is a terrible new source of technology and as a result, language is being sickened. This is incorrect because, “Texting has added a new dimension to language use, but its long-term impact is negligible. It is not a disaster”(David Crystal 747). Texting by no means is as negative as some argue; it is merely an extension of writing. This technology not only extends writing, but also communication. Steven Pinker discusses how media and technology are portrayed as only a negative impact while the technological advancements show to help with brain function and intelligence. Today, “discoveries [in science] are multiplying like fruit flies, and progress is dizzying”(Steven Pinker 894). While many think that technology is disastrous, advancements in science have proven that it is essential . Both communication outlets such as texting and also scientific advancements are significantly are just two examples of how new technologies can aid in people’s everyday lives. These advancements display the agreement between both men that technology is helping to make life better for people by improving brains in ways that have never been viewed

The brain is always evolving and adapting to change just like technology is in today’s world. New technology is created everyday and continues to demonstrate knowledge improvement. The new creations are thought as scary, but when viewed in David Crystal’s essay he reflects that people often think technology will damage language and sentence structure due to abbreviations. According to a study at Coventry University, “The more abbreviations in their messages, the higher they scored on tests of reading and vocabulary”(David Crystal 752). Many abbreviations used have been around since the time writing began. One must be aware of writing technique to abbreviate and make sense at the same time in texting as well as writing. Most ideas of texting are just false accusations in response to a new form of technology. In Pinker’s words he expresses that, “The decades of television, transistor radios and rock videos were also decades in which I.Q. scores rose continuously”(893). Just because something is new does not automatically entail it to be negative. These new technologies proved themselves to be beneficial in knowledge stimulation. Improved I.Q. scores means people are growing in intelligence due to new technology. Abbreviations used are just illustrations of people’s use of the English language. Distrust of