As I was reading over our most recent home work in the text book, a few ideas came to me, and I figured I would share them here. While reading about Salons I was thinking about the various ways information is shared and how it differs now and during the Enlightenment. During the 17th and 18th centuries, knowledge was spread through published (and smuggled) literature, or via salons. In modern times, however, we have a crucial tool for sharing information that was non-existent during the enlightenment: Internet. But which time period was/is better for promoting progress through the sharing of thoughts? Both have their benefits and downsides. For example, During the enlightenment, many works thought to be heretic or contradictory towards common beliefs were not allowed to be published- many publications were watered down ( like the Encyclopedia) or banned all together. This constant monitoring of content discouraged progress. In our modern times very few things are censored on the internet- at least in our country- allowing for the introduction of new ideas. Unfortunately, the internet brings many negatives into the picture; the anonymity that the internet provides can encourage people to introduce false information. Anyone can post anything online...an example of this is the website wikipedia. We are all told not to use wikipedia as anyone can post false information. Essentially, 17/18th century Europe had the opposite problem that we do now : over censoring vs. inadequate monitoring of what is posted online. Don't get me wrong, I do not believe that people's thoughts should be censored on the internet, but I do know that society as a whole needs to be a scrutinizing about what information they choose to accept as true.

A positive aspect of Salons during the enlightenment was simply that they brought people together ( although usually only the upper class citizens) to share ideas. In the age of the internet, despite social networking sites, people are actually more isolated from each other. Most people communicate through internet or text messaging... It may seem old fashioned, but I think having a group of people get together(like we are doing in class)to share thoughts is one of the best ways to come up with new ideas and innovations.
So what do you guys think, how was information sharing different that how it is now, which type do you think is more conducive to progress? Thanks for your thoughts!