Roger Rosenblatt’s Argument On The Cons Of A Computer

According to Roger Rosenblatt, in his article, “Why I Don’t Compute”, computers are not at all beneficial and can be harmful. He states that it is a slow method for writing, that it isolates people, and that it is not a good source for research. His article is almost completely misguiding besides his one semi good point. There are many different reasons that people find computers beneficial and Rosenblatt seemed not to try to address them. This could be because he does not know much about computers at all.

Rosenblatt argues that a computer is slower than a typewriter and even handwriting. He believes that the “fast and easy” corrections which a computer provides leave a writer with a feeling of loss of their creativeness. I disagree with this point because I do not believe that a creative writer is not going to let a computer stand in the way of their creativeness. Rosenblatt also argues that when a writer has to make corrections, they have to start all over again from the beginning. I do not see how this makes any sense because if the writer makes the mistake while typing on a computer, then they would make the same mistake when hand writing or typing on a typewriter. Either way, they would eventually realize they made a mistake and have to make the correction. A computer just finds the mistake sooner. In other, words, it is not the computer’s fault the writer makes a mistake and if they want to start their work all over from the beginning, then that is their choice.

Rosenblatt insists in his article that a computer isolates its user. A computer does not have the power to isolate anyone. It is actually the person who isolates themselves and that is not necessarily a horrible thing. Studies show that having access to use the internet and computers increases self esteem because of the development of computer skills and gives people the opportunity to learn more and explore their interests (“Bridging the digital Divide”). People meet others very different from themselves everyday, whether at work, school, or any other place. Using a computer to meet people like yourself or who have the same interests as you is relieving in a way. For an example, my hobby has always been collecting things. I barely ever meet someone who shares as much interest as I do in collecting. Every once in a while it is nice to be able to go into a chat room about collecting and talk to people about the things they collect. Rosenblatt states that he would much rather have a face to face conversation any day. So would almost anyone but that is not always possible when you do not meet face to face with people that do not share your interests. The online world provides news of every type from everywhere in the world and also provides email in which you can send messages to anyone you choose. The computer does not isolate anyone unless they want to be isolated.

Rosenblatt also argues that using a computer for research is not efficient. He states that when using a computer you know exactly what you are looking for as opposed to using a library, in which “happy accidents” can occur. I can see how this would seem true to someone who is unfamiliar with a computer. But a computer holds a vast amount of information, much more than a library holds. When researching via computer “happy accidents” can still occur because you are searching through web pages or articles just like you would be the shelves of books. However, I will give credit to Rosenblatt on his point that when researching on a computer you will find unwanted and improper content, but because of his lack of knowledge he does not realize that this can be avoided by filtering your search.

“Why I Don’t Compute” proves that Roger Rosenblatt is in denial of his emotions on using a computer. He makes it seem like a computer is a terror machine ready to take over the world. This makes it seem like he is afraid of using a computer because he does not know much about them. This, therefore displays his stubbornness because he is criticizing something that he does not have much knowledge about in the first place.