Postman, Carr, and Huxley all have one common point. Human society is being controlled by technology whether it be in the form of television, internet, or birth centers.
Now I ask, when did we become infatuated with the idea of technology? In the beginning, humans resisted new forms of technology. They were afraid it would disrupt the status quo of the system. Their fears were correct. The advent of technology changed the world as they knew it. Humans soon forgot their fears and only saw the positive side of technology. The compass, musket, and the wheel brought easy functionality packaged with a variety of benefits. However, the one piece of technology that we use the most today is the clock. Carr also argues that our dependence on clocks have grown. The clock made looking at the sun or moon obsolete. It essentially removed one of our practices because it was much more functional. We have replaced our innate ability to tell time with a mechanical device. This was a premonition of things to come. Most technology has replaced many of the functions that humans used to be able to do. The car has replaced walking. The television has replaced our ability to amuse ourselves. Electricity has impaired our ability to survive by ourselves. The refrigerator has destroyed our ability to keep food fresh. Texting and tweeting have replaced conversation. There are even machines used to help us both eat and breath in hospitals. In the end, the creators of technology have become the children. We are babysitted by our emotionless superiors everyday. We may believe ourselves to be the masters of technology, but technology is simply biding its time until the creation of a super brain that it can use to conquer us all.
Some may argue that the internet or the phone is used more than the clock. However, this thinking is incorrect. The clock has been integrated into almost every type of device. These devices include the car, computer, television, and the cellphone. Every time you use a phone or a computer, you are also utilizing the clock. Our dependence on this ancient device is shown because it is only one of few devices that have been able to survive the technological revolutions. Our current state of dependance on technology became inevitable as soon as humans embraced the use of the almighty clock.
Now I ask you, do you agree that the clock began our dependance on technology? If not, when do you believe it began? Do you believe that we are still the masters of technology? If not, is there a way to regain our superiority? What skills do humans have left that technology can't do better?
Clocks certainly may have begun our dependence on technology. I do not know every invention man has made, but the invention of the clock is certainly a reasonable beginning of man's dependence on technology. We began looking to clocks for the time rather than the seasons, or the position of the sun and other heavenly bodies. We began to use our own inventions rather than looking at the natural world around us to create and keep track of "time."
ReplyDeleteIn a sense, we are masters of technology. We choose when to use it, we program it, we are in control. However, the lure and attractiveness of technology has certainly reminded us that maybe we are letting technology control us. Sometimes we just cannot resist the temptation of it. There are ways we can change this. First of all, we need to be reminded and acknowledge that technology has had numerous effects on our patterns and behavior. We need to constantly remind ourselves when it is affecting us and make a conscientious effort to abate our dependence on technology. In Carr's epilogue, Carr points out that although we can program technology to do many things for us, there are still things we can't program machines to do. Technology cannot use human reasoning, wisdom, and discernment for that one spark of brilliance it is programmed to overlook.
Technology is like an incurable disease. Knowledge about having it will not help you cure yourself of the disease. The negative impact of technology is already widely acknowledged. This is because parents constantly remind their children of these impacts. People know that playing games will result in a bad grade on the test or class, yet they still make an effort to play. Most people don't have the ability to make the initial effort in breaking their habits. Knowledge of a problem is useless if no action is taken in order to prevent it from happening. Human society needs something more substantial than an effort, but something less dramatic as a global blackout.
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