Fahrenheit 451 discussion

Clarisse states, "I sometimes think drivers don't know what grass is, or flowers, because they never see them slowly" (9).

Do we see things "slowly"? Or does the immediacy with which we can access information make that less and less likely?

And, I suppose, we must ponder: How important is it to see things "slowly"?

I would like to think that we see things slowly. But now that everyone (well not everyone but most people) has a smart phone we tend to like to see things quickly. For example in vine, 5 to 10 second video posted on social media, the videos are quick and to the point. The punch line is said in the last 2 seconds. This shows how fast us humans are now with technology.
I think its very important to see things slowly. If you don't see things slowly you'll never get "the big picture". Clasrisse shows us that we take everything for granted we just want everything so quick. But she is mello and observes everything, she takes everything in for what it is. She almost connects with nature.

I think that as much as anybody would like to slow down and enjoy the world we are unable to, we are just to immersed into out go, go, go, culture and have no time to slow down and enjoy thing and study them. She is saying that it is important to slow down and enjoy and experience things rather than just flying by at extreme speeds and only seeing blurs rather than flowers or stars or a mural. She takes things as they come and as slow as she can rather than just taking as much as she could and being "efficient" as possible.

we are jsut to into go,go,go culture and have no time to slow down and enjoy the small things

The way we see these things is as fast as we choose to admire something. "stop and smell the roses..." this is advice that i believe that everyone in life should take and just take maybe an hour and admire the things around you. with all the text messaging, e-mails, and social media in the world our brains no longer enjoy the lead-up to the punchline of a joke. Most people could care less about the lead-up they just want the punchlines. if you watch stand-up comedy the specials are getting shorter and shorter in time "on air" because the punchlines come one right after the other. "stop and smell the roses..."

The problem is right now we are so intent on knowing everything and to the second we lose focus on the nice things and the slow peaceful things.... When was the last time you when to a park or just your backyard to enjoy life itself and the warmth of the sun? We as a people are losing our sense of peace and tranquility... And the rate of population growth I think those luxuries will soon completely diminish...

We tend to try to do everything in a fast way regardless of what the situation is..we "scan" but leave out the important stuff. It is important to see the details in life imo.

I think that everyone would like to "stop and smell the roses" but no one has the time anymore and everyone is so immersed into technology that no one finds the time to go out and see it for themselves. All someone has to do is to pull out their smartphone and search it up, if it interested them. But i think that it is important to put the smartphone down sometimes and expierence the real world.

Janelle wrote: "I would like to think that we see things slowly. But now that everyone (well not everyone but most people) has a smart phone we tend to like to see things quickly. For example in vine, 5 to 10 seco..."

So do you think Brabury would view technology positively or not? An interesting take on the impact of technology on thinking and reading is summarized here: The Slow Joy of Communication. This is my fear with the advances we have seen in the delivery of information. Are we capable of handling the influx of information, or are we bound to become a society of "unthinkers"?

Jesse wrote: "I think that as much as anybody would like to slow down and enjoy the world we are unable to, we are just to immersed into out go, go, go, culture and have no time to slow down and enjoy thing and ..."

But can't we choose to slow things down, Jesse?

Kenneth wrote: "we are jsut to into go,go,go culture and have no time to slow down and enjoy the small things"

Write more, Kenney!

Grant wrote: "The way we see these things is as fast as we choose to admire something. "stop and smell the roses..." this is advice that i believe that everyone in life should take and just take maybe an hour an..."

How can we change that, Grant?

Skyler wrote: "The problem is right now we are so intent on knowing everything and to the second we lose focus on the nice things and the slow peaceful things.... When was the last time you when to a park or just..."

Is there a difference, Skyler, between "knowing," "understanding," and "experience"? How might the answers to these questions play out in the book?

Can any of you who have posted offer different insight into this issue?

Seeing things slowly could be different depending on the person. Seeing things slowly for me could be looking at everything like a panorama picture, images with elongated fields of view. But some people might think seeing things slowly could be looking at a flower for hours at a time and look at every detail of that flower. Seeing things slowly is different for everyone so there is no way of knowing if "we" see things slowly or not. I guess a way of knowing if you see things slowly is to sit in your room and try to recall everything you did that day or everything you ate that day. This maybe hard to do, but it doesn't hurt to try.

Janelle wrote: "Seeing things slowly could be different depending on the person. Seeing things slowly for me could be looking at everything like a panorama picture, images with elongated fields of view. But some p..."

How far have you read, Janelle? Branbury addresses the issue of "memory" later on which you keenly touch upon here.

Do we recall what we don't pay attention to?

I just finished section 1.

Janelle wrote: "I just finished section 1."

Section II opens with Montag reading to his wife, Mildred. who questions why people read. She'd rather spend time with her "family" which is how she refers to the television people in the parlor.

We also meet Faber, a key character in the book. With Faber, Montag discusses thinking and reading, and trying to start a revolution, of sorts.

Andrew wrote: "Skyler wrote: "The problem is right now we are so intent on knowing everything and to the second we lose focus on the nice things and the slow peaceful things.... When was the last time you when to..."

There is and isn't a difference to knowing, understanding and experience. You don't truly know something if you don't understand it, while its hard to understand something if you don't experience it.

Skyler wrote: "The problem is right now we are so intent on knowing everything and to the second we lose focus on the nice things and the slow peaceful things.... When was the last time you when to a park or just..."

I know what you mean. This summer, my family and I would go out in our yard on the very hot nights (impossible to stay inside), and we just walked or sat down and talked for hours. It sounds cheezy, but I loved watching all the night bugs and what not. Then, of course, my brother would bring his telescope and we would watch the stars. I think a lot of people miss out the little things like nature today. Then again, life has become so fast that we just can't fit nature in our schedule anymore.

Dinara wrote: "Skyler wrote: "The problem is right now we are so intent on knowing everything and to the second we lose focus on the nice things and the slow peaceful things.... When was the last time you when to..."

Sad, but true. My students don't see the irony in what Bradbury writes. They settle for representations of reality on their "Smart" phones. I recall, as a younger person, spending most of my time outside, playing sports, riding my bike, or hanging out. Don't see much of that happening these days!