Lets go a different direction for a while. There is a theory in science called "The Technological Imperative". In essence it holds that for individuals as well as for societies, if something can be done, it eventually will be done, because the power granted to people by technolgy is too seductive to be resisted.
There was a very disturbing school-law case a few months ago called the Harrington Spycam Case. In some school someplace the eye-thing in the computers was on, and school personnel found out that they could watch student activites when the students were out-of-school without their knowledge, and some did. Of course they ended up in a lot of trouble over this, but they did it.
Leonardo Divinci actually had some plans to invent a submarine, but he didn't complete it becuase he argued that people would engage in war with each other at the bottom of the sea.
On the other hand, in 1969 I got to stand outside my house with my parents and watch the moon while a guy stepped on it.
So is there such a thing as too much technology? Is the technological Imperative true? Is it good?
I personally don't think we can have too much technology, just too many people who will misuse it. Technology is great in concept; it makes doing simple tasks faster, easier, and more efficient. Some people, however, rely completely on technology to get them through the day. One example I am thinking of right now is those moving sidewalks in airports...they were created so people could walk on them and move much quicker than if they were walking on the normal floor. This is a great idea in concept, especially if your plane is leaving soon. But then you get the people who just stand on the sidewalks and use the technology to do the walking for them. I guess I would say technology should relieve your stress, not degrade you as a human being. I think it is just human nature though to take something brilliant and use it for the worst, such as using submarines for war instead of exploration or using moving sidewalks to be lazy.
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ReplyDeleteIn many instances, too much technology either already exists or has the potential to be created. Technology and our technological advances are similar to the information overload we talked about in class. Soon, so much technology will be available that one person cannot possibly know how to operate the devices let alone understand their procedures and purposes. Many people, however, choose to concentrate on the numerous benefits accompanying technology. With this mindset, they search for ways to solve problems from slow computers to nuclear disasters. Since the technological solutions provide more appealing outcomes, technology always prevails. Therefore, the Technological Imperative theory is indeed a reality. Even though the Technological Imperative has given us faster ways to communicate and easier methods to produce food, severe consequences have occurred. With today’s kids barely knowing how to speak to a person face-to-face along with the difficulty of finding organic, home-grown produce, we have technology to blame.
ReplyDeleteAt the time we are in we are just cracking the surface of what we are able to preform with the technology we have. Yes we experienced a huge technological growth in just a few years but it will only get bigger from here. I personally believe we can never have enough technology, but we will come to a point where computers and machines will be able to preform every little task we do day to day. We already have computers which can write for us but we just need to move our fingers, computers are able to talk for us like Steven Hawking for example, machines are able to build everyday house-hold items and other machines for us, and the list goes on form there. So there can never be too much technology but we have to be wise with how we use it. And probably in the distant (or some what near with the rate we are traveling) the world will be consumed with technology and every human will know how to use it. If we want to accomplish something with technology it will be accomplish no matter what as long as we have the knowlegde and will to do so. Also I believe it is not totally a terrible thing to have technology but it does cut out the human contact which isn't the greatest for our well-being. My last thought is, though, the times are changing and we, no matter what, have to move on with the times or we will be left behing in "the stone age"
ReplyDeleteJeepers Cats that really scares me if it's true that technology is just scanning the surface - but you might be right! Henry Adam's Junior says in his "Theory of Acceleration" (which is in his book - The Education of Henry Adams) - that information travels like an exponent, while our moral ability to assimilate information only travels arithmetically.
ReplyDeleteHe argues that prior to the Industrial Revolution, ideas and change occurred slow enough that we had time to morally "wrap around" the change becuase our ability to assimilate the ideas was greater than the total collective mass of the ideas in general. However, there is at some point - a "point of no return" where our ability to assimilate lags behind the number of ideas in existence. He calls that the "moral lag". I don't know if its true, but its certainly interesting.
On the other hand, I really hate it when I'm in an airport running down the moving walk-thing trying to catch my plane, and some idiot with a ton of luggage is just standing there!
The increase use of technology scares me, because like Lauren commented, people misuse the information. I can only imagine the movie Wall-e when I think of technology in the future. I think if we begin to become too reliant on technology we will lose our human...essence. Robots will be doing everything, we will all be obese! Technology=BAD!
ReplyDeleteLike my other posts I am divided on this specific topic, and it is actually surprising to me how strongly one way some of the opinions are in this post. Good for you who can decide! I clearly see Lauren's point when she says technology can be misused. To me, however, this does not have to mean technology is completely bad. I believe that technology leads to knowledge and while too much knowledge may be pointless, too little allows you to be taken advantage of and miss out on opportunities. I also agree with Rachel when she says technology will continue growing. I suppose this means I believe the technological imperative is in effect, and really the proof to me is all around. If you could go back in time and tell someone all about the technology that would be invented today, they would consider you crazy, but here we are now! Back to the question of good versus bad. Margo do not take offense but I am going to have to disagree with you a bit. I don't think technology has decreased communication. In fact I believe resources such as facebook, youtube, and texting have made communication almost annoyingly simple and effective. People often use these sources to arrange face to face meetings, so communication isn't really lost it just appears less genuine. Margo you mentioned youth almost as having social disorders, however, the lifetime prevalance of social phobias right now is about 13 percent. While I am certainly not discounting this number I do not think it is really worrisome. Actually these phobias were most commonly found in the under-educated and lower economic classes. I'm just taking a guess at this, but these are probably the people who cannot afford communications technology and are therefore suffering. This to me indicates that technology is actually helping people develop better ways of expression and they are thriving because of it. While these points seem to suggest I am all for technology, I am not. What frightens me the most are not so much the computers but the advances in weaponry. Seriously almost all major historical events and tragedies are a result of abuse and overuse of weapons, and to what avail? I hear on the news almost everyday the deadly effects of this form of technology and it makes me wish weapons were never invented. What would that be like? To me almost no good comes from weapons and I cringe at the destruction they cause to the planet and it's people. This post is getting so long and I feel I could question the pros and cons of technology and the need to advance it all day long but for now I will just sign out.
ReplyDeleteI think that sometimes there is too much technology in the world. It isn't like technology is bad but when people are obsessed with getting the next best phone or ipod, it shows that there is too much technology. Many people rely on it way too much. They find that without new technologies the world would cease to exist. Some technology is good, however, such as the car and phone. It is true that technological advancement is too tempting to resist. Many use technology every day but sometimes it is used in a bad way. This is what makes technology both bad and good, but mostly bad.
ReplyDeleteI think we suffer from an addiction to technology. Of course, technology is not responsible for any social destruction linked to its use because it is amoral. We are responsible for the ways we use technology, as well as the amount of time we spend using it. Still, in our responsibility, we must control what motives lie behind the various manifestations of technology. Are we mastering technology or is it mastering us?
ReplyDeleteI believe the human addiction to online communication has caused great harm to human interaction. Of course, we have access to people from around the globe, but what are they to us, truly? If I do not know the person I am chatting with, we are both severely handicapped. A generally suspicious attitude has developed in humans lately, I believe out of a necessity to question if we are really talking to the person we believe is typing. Is KarlyJ<3 really a seventeen year old girl looking for a sort of online penpal,or is KarlyJ<3 really a fifty year old man with a perverse obsession of young girls, hoping to convince one to meet him at the park sometime? The inability to be sure causes parents to tell cautionary tales. The bogey man might in fact live down the street, etc. The suspicion we learn from our good intentioned parents causes a negative change in our interpersonal communication.
I see our careless addiction to technology causing other communication troubles. We text and facebook and tweet so much that face to face talks become less familiar to us. Even phone calls where we hear each others' voices become awkward. Indeed, when we can see what the receiving party will see, we can plan our responses to one another quite easily. When we gain control, however, we subtly forfeit spontaneity. We forfeit the ability to understand sarcasm and underhanded jibes. We take each other too literally. We simplify and objectify each other in ways that are simply unacceptable. Technology is neither good nor bad. We are letting ourselves deteriorate due to connections with technology. If we have so little self control, perhaps we are living in a world with too much technology. If a person cannot keep his or her self from gorging when an abundant amount of food is present, it follows that the food which is not needed should be removed, lest said person destroy his or herself in excessive consumption. Technology is not the problem until we let it be the problem.
I'm going to get down to the point on this. Yes, there is such a thing as too much technology. We depend so much on technology now it is ridiculous. A lot of high school math students can barely do math in their head ever since they were introduced to a calculator. It is ridiculous. Eventually this is going to harm the economy. As for the technological imperative, I believe there is such a thing, and that in proportion, just like a lot of other things in life, it can be a good thing. But also it can turn out to be a bad thing. Someday, and I'm being very pessimistic and a fatalist now, but eventually technology is going to control and overrule the people. We are letting technology rule our life for now, what is that going to be like in the future when technology advances? What is the world going to become if we keep this rapid climb to advancement up? We already panic when the power goes out and we can't get on the internet. Or when you don't pay the cell phone company and your cell phone gets shut off. What are we going to do when technology rules the universe and all the people become what we treat animals like today? I truly believe that technology will eventually ruin the people.
ReplyDeleteThis post is from Patti Ruff - who is the school board president.
ReplyDeleteIf you have ever seen the movie Wall-E the "Technology Imperative" rings true. People live on a ship orbiting earth because we did not take care of it. The people aboard the ship basically are bed ridden because they have created technology to do everything for them. Eventually through the movie, events happen that make people see what has become of them and they break out of the techno rut, and return to a cleaner earth vowing to take care of it, and also to not rely on technology to do everything for them.
Now, here we are in 2011 with technology all around us, and more created everyday to make our lives simpler, easier. We are pushing for technology in our schools with the 1:1 initiative to create 21st century learners. Looking at this question, are we doing the right thing or are we sending you into a ship orbiting the earth in a bed ridden state? Extreme? Maybe. But here's a thought - my 3 year old knows how to type his name perfectly. He can write about half of his first name and has no desire to. He wants to type it all the time. Am I adding to the lazy technology age or am I just being a savvy parent keeping up with the times?
I think that there can never be too much technology, but I do agree with the comments above stating that many individuals don't know how to use it correctly. As the technological world increases I feel the users become less informed as to how to use it correctly. Maybe if we went without technology for a day people would understand it's importance and uses more.
ReplyDeleteLike everyone else seems to be saying, there really can not be too much technology but people who use it for purposes that may not be ideal. I do believe that there should be certain limits on what we create with technology. There is so much technology in the world already and more and more is yet to come which seems kinda crazy in my opinion! I get the feeling that everything is going to be about technology and other things will soon disappear. Technology is a very good thing but I also think it could be a burden.
ReplyDeleteAlthough I agree with everyone that technology is used improperly, I don't feel that not continuing with technology is right. Technology is great! I feel that it has made the world a better place, by making better use of our time. It makes it so we can now do things faster and better.I don't ever feel that there will be to much technology,I just feel that people should know how to use it properly. It's not technology that's causing the problems, it's how people choose to use the technology. No one needs to depend on technology, but it's nice to have.
ReplyDeleteI don't think we have enough technology! Yes, people do abuse the privileges of having it around but it makes our world a lot easier and quicker. We can go to Google and get an answer to a question within seconds. It's amazing what the world has seen in the last couple years because technology has developed so quickly and has almost become a necessity to people in our generation. The ones who abuse it is what makes it seem so scary.. If it was used the way it is supposed to be everyone could enjoy it with no problems! I agree about putting limits on it because if we don't the world will end up like the movie IRobot and the robots will be smarter than us!! I think technology is great and we should continue to use it and make it better.
ReplyDeleteThere already is a lot of technology but as the years go on there's just going to be more. I think it's a good thing to have as much technology as we do right now. Yeah its a lot, but that's what our lives revolve around almost. Without it people wouldn't be able to work, get info, or keep in contact with other people. There does need to be limits on it though. Technology is wonderful but it needs to be used in the right way!
ReplyDeleteI think technology is great and there is never too much of it. Yes people can niss use it and go on bad sites and junk like that. But it also give a a huge bank of knowlege so that we can learn and look up whatever we need. Like the one time a guys wife went into labor and he looked up on the internet on how to finish the procedure. He did this successfully and saved his wife and got a kid, but if he didn't have any info on this and had to go to the libary to find out. Then his wife and kid could have died. So in my case I think technology is very good, accept for the radar gun that cops have to tell your speed!
ReplyDeleteNo I think technology can indeed be used in terrible cruel ways, but, it gives us an infinite amount of communication, knowledge, alliances and so forth. On the other hand technology advances so fast that it can become useless because you don't have the right stuff. It still helps to have technology though. If you don't like technology then don't buy the next phone with everything on it it's up to you on what you have and how you use it but for myself I'll get the new stuff that will help me with everything.
ReplyDeleteI think technology is the best tool the humans have. Our lives are simpified and it creates new opportunity in jobs. We need to be smart, however, and do not make robots like the movie I Robot!But I agree with Chelsy, as technology advances more people become less knowledgable about how things work, but if that happens more jobs for that profession which equals a better economy.
ReplyDeleteI think technology is a good thing, it helps make our lives easier and more effient. but it dose freak me our to think how fast it is growing and what it will be like it the future. Like Tessa and Lauren, I believe people rely too much on technology, making them lazy and always looking for the latest thing to do the work for them. It's not right and dumbs us down a bit.
ReplyDeleteThere can never be too much technology in my opinion. As much as it may hate me.. But i do think there are too many ways to use it for inappropriately. But technology is a great thing that we are very fortunate to have and i hope someone finishes a lazer beam sometime in the near future :]
ReplyDeleteThese are all good comments
ReplyDeleteWithout technology, im not doing this blogging, I'm not driving to school everyday so i can sit in philosophy class, I'm not doing a countless number of other fun activities.. So have a robot kill me in the future, if it does it will probably be because I killed some guy and the robots are actually ROBOCOPS.. So, too much technology? I think not
ReplyDeleteThere is no such thing as to much Technology. There is such a thing as being uncomfortable with the technology which is going to happen no matter what. Older people dont like the new computers and what not because they are uncomfortable with the technology. It is new to them and they like the old ways. To much technology I dont think so. People are just uncomfortable with technology and should get over it. Without more and more technology being invented everyday we would be stuck in the stone age.
ReplyDeleteI could go on either side of this argument. I do believe that technology can be a very efficient way to getting things done. Let's face it, if it wasn't for technology, humankind wouldn't have as near as many accomplishments as they already have. But on the other hand, I do think there is such a thing as too much technology. In other words, I feel as though the world could become corrupt by all the furture technology. Do I think we've reached that point yet? No. But sometimes I do wonder if any 'scientific' technology should've been created in the first place. But then again, going back to the second blog question, I do believe everything happens for a reason so I'm just keeping my faith in that, and I'll keep going with the flow. All I can say is that we will all be seeing a lot more technological advancements in our lifetime. I don't know if that's a good or bad thing, but only time will tell.
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