How to Devour Feed

I thought that Feed was a delicious novel, succulently brimming with many sweet, sour, and bitter moments. Even though I had read it before, I had not made all of the symbolisms and connections; it was only a taste of what was to come, it only served to whet my voracious appetite for knowledge. Now that I have had a chance to more fully understand the novel, I think I was able to appreciate it much more than previously possible.
When I heard that we were going to be reading Feed in my Great Books class, I instantly knew that this was going to be an interesting topic. I enjoy futuristic novels, especially when they somehow relate to modern day life. Feed seemed to almost be a warning of what could happen if technology is allowed to have too much control in society. It would breed insensitive, senseless, witless, and ignorant people if allowed to do so.
The discussions we had in class were very interesting, and opened my eyes other perspectives of the book. I never really thought of Feed as parallel to today’s society, but when I took the time to think about it, it definitely makes sense. With more and more information available in more convenient ways, people aren’t taking the time to learn much on their own, because they know that the internet holds all of the knowledge they seek. I also never really thought of Feed as a possibility for the future, but all of the technology actually seems feasible. People are already developing interfaces that can interpret brain waves and translate them into electronic signals. With the micro-processing technology already available in portable electronics, clothes, and everyday household appliances, the concept of feeds seems likely. Having that much information at one’s fingertips would render much of traditional learning obsolete, because machines could perform mundane tasks (mathematics problems, research, vocabulary building, etc.) that humans normally do, making people less skilled at many things.