After finishing reading Emerson's "The American Scholar" I was filled with the opinions of a man who's eyes were so prevalent in the eighteen hundred's. When one (myself) is filled with so many thoughts of a completely different time period, those thoughts are automatically conflicted with the values I was brought up with in the twenty first century, two hundred years after Emerson's evaluation of the American scholar. So any one, in order to get the full effect of a reading like this, must ask themselves what such a great mind of the past would say in his time's distant future, or rather, our own present.
If presented with the society of 2011, Emerson would still hold core values he presented in his 19th century address. However, Emerson would most likely take into account the extreme advances in technology that are directly related to today's "American Scholar".
One resource that would please and displease Emerson is the ability to find almost any piece of wanted information on the world wide web. Emerson would preach about how valuable that ability would be for the student who knows how to use it properly. On the other hand, he would criticize how today's technology has hindered the American mind of those who use it improperly. For example, studies have shown that the ability to seek any information wanted in an instant has eliminated one's ability to use basic research skills needed when the Internet was not available. This is only a phenomenon that effects certain individuals; those who don't seek out to use other resources as well. This would trouble Emerson because of the fact that with this great tool comes a great responsibility, one who the average person fails to uphold.
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