Does Technology Drive History? Essay

Leo Marx, once a professor at Massachusetts Institute of Technology and a Harvard graduate, wrote an article titled “Technology The Emergence of a Hazardous Concept”. In this article, the author explores the modern day definition of the word technology and argues that technology offers too broad of a definition and is ill fitting to describe all technical advancements and their creators. Technology can be defined as the branch of knowledge that deals with the creation and use of technical means and their interrelation with life, society, and the environment, drawing upon such subjects as industrial arts, engineering, applied science, and pure science (dictionary.com). On the other hand, it can

Chapter two begins with an intriguing question. Does technology control us? The answer, it depends who you are. Again Nye provides many stories to discuss the question. He talks about current advances that many people would have a difficult time imagining not having or using. To contrast this, he gives examples of societies that chose to reject advances in technology. He includes the examples of Japan’s rejection of guns, and religious groups such as the Amish or Mennonites, who carefully consider the effects of any technology on their society before adopting it. He points out that a common view is that mechanical systems are deterministic or inevitable. However, there are several beliefs that counter that including Werner Sombart

In his essay, “Five Things We Need to Know About Technological Change,” Neil Postman brings up a plethora of ideas on the topic of our ever-changing landscape in the technological world, discussing at length the problems of technology and culture. In his first point, Postman states that “technology giveth, and technology taketh away” (Postman, 27). His argument insists that in a culture swept up in technology, humans do not stop and ask questions regarding the possible detriments of new inventions. He continues on to say that though technology favours some individuals, it may harm others, or neglect a group of people entirely. In spite of this, humans continue to use and expand upon technologies as they emerge. Next, the author discusses how

Impact of Technology On Society Sesan Akerewusi University of Windsor Abstract Technology surrounds us and has dramatically affected the way we live in this present society. From entertainment devices such as the television, communication devices such as the iPhone, life-saving devices such as defibrillators and educational devices such as Microsoft and Apple computers, technology appears to have numerous benefits in certain fields of human life. Today, technology and human lifestyle are like a set that cannot be separated. According to research conducted by technology enthusiast Lulu Chang, the average human spends an alarming 4.7 hours a day on his/her phone, and 8.4 hours a day on media devices in general (Chang, 2015). We live in an

Today’s society is more affected by technology than it ever has been and it is changing every second of every day. Advancements in technology have been changing our culture and society for hundreds of years; from hunters and gatherers to information overload to a future of the most advanced technologies we could imagine. These fast advancements in technology quickly change our society. This statement was greatly expanded upon by three people: Gerhard Lenski, Leslie White, and Alvin Toffler

What are the roles of technologies in the society today? With all of the technologies available that today’s world possesses, it is undoubtable that technologies plays a big role on how the current society runs. Even though it provides positive effects to the society it also comes with negative effects. In the world of Brave New World and Gattaca, it displays the capabilities of how technologies can change a society in both the good way and the bad way. Technology plays an extensive amount of role in the society, it contains abilities to change a society into a different one and alter how it runs, it can also change lives of individuals in that society.

There are many different stances one could take on the subject “Unimpeded technological progress is good for society.”. One could agree with Stanley Kubrick’s Dr. Strangelove, and Bradbury’s The Veldt and claim that technology is dangerous and will inevitably fall into the wrong hands one day. Another stance would be with Spike Jonze’s Her, which brings forth the opinion that technology is both good and bad. Finally, one’s opinion could lie with George Saunder’s “Offloading for Mrs. Schwartz” and claim technology is a good thing. While I can see where both Saunders and Kubrick are coming from, my own opinion is more closely represented by Jonze. I believe that technology can be both good and bad, and that its rapid growth can be both helpful and harmful to those around us.

Imagine the impact technological innovations have had on society? How much did technology influence society a decade ago, and how much does it influence society now? Technology was created from humans to become a more efficient specie. Although technology has advanced society with respect to technology and efficiency, it has also created problems not previously seen because of the use of technology. Edward Tenner, a writer and technology consultant, wrote an article titled “Another Look Back, and a Look Ahead” published in 1996. In his article Tenner argues, through the use of the rhetorical appeal ethos, compare and contrast, and cause and effect, that society is advancing at an alarming rate and suggests a “retreating from intensity”

“Technology is a queer thing. It brings gifts in one hand, and it stabs you in the back with the other,” as quoted by American stand-up comedian Carrie Snow. As aforementioned by Snow, technology is an anomaly itself since it is composed of a staggering amounts of attributes, ranging from moral to physical attributes specifically, that have yet to be established or even discovered. These aspects seem to be established for when it comes to developing any form of technological progress. Even as simple as it seems to ponder the concept of technology, it is rather stunning to process as well. It all seems to be due to the thought of not knowing the outcome of any advancement in technology. Unfortunately, there is also the other side of technology

that technology is usually seen as an external force which is usually introduced to a social situation. However, contrary to the view of most sociologists who support technological determinism, majority of the scholars have argued that social forces determine technologies (Hutchby, 2001).

Although Ursula Franklin and Langdon Winner both classify technology in different ways, they bring up many similar points regarding the intersection of power and technology in our everyday life. Franklin’s theory of technology as practice categorizes technology as either prescriptive or holistic in The Real World of Technology, which correlates well with Winner’s idea of technology being created with either authoritarian or democratic motives in The Whale and the Reactor. After reading both arguments, a clear correlation can be made between holistic/democratic technologies and prescriptive/authoritarian technologies as a way to describe power in our society. Franklin uses the term “technology” to define ways of doing something.

Throughout history, and particularly in the last century there have been conflicting visions of how technological developments have impacted and solved the many problems of human-kind. Mary Tiles and Hans Oberdick highlight two conflicting visions towards the feelings of technological development. One side is optimistic, that believes in technological omnipotence that could help keep control of the environment and human destiny. On the other end of the spectrum, technological pessimists believe in technological impotence, and that human nature would be incapable of controlling technological advancement, thus extracting all of the Earth’s resources and spiraling out of control. From the optimistic view humans are in absolute control of the technologies that are produced. Technology is used according to its needed purpose, and thus may or may not be needed to help the further development of humanity. For this reason, we can say that optimists believe that technology is value neutral, as human nature is responsible for deciding how we use technology

Technological determinism is a term developed by Marshal McLuhan, a theorist in the study of new media. By technological determinism, McLuhan refers to technology having the power to change societies and influence our cultures. In this essay I will argue that technology does have the power to change society and influence a civilization, using ideas put forward by Marshal McLuhan. I will also discuss the debate around technological determinism recognizing the claims made by Raymond Williams that society shapes technology as we look back at its emergence and their subsequent control.

Techno-optimist or techno-pessimist? That is the question. Technology throughout time has no doubt changed our way of life. Travelling to destinations quicker, curing new diseases, or figuring out how to cease a wide famine are examples of how technology has made advances over time. The solutions that scientists create spark a tool that others cannot live without. But what if these technologies bring out negative effects rather than their desired purpose? Sometimes, innovators create new inventions that bring unintended consequences. It could range from less communication face to face, side effects from new medicines, or pollute the earth’s atmosphere.

Technology has made great advances on a global scale, especially within the last half century. Works of fiction and informational texts have addressed the numerous uses of modern innovation. These technological advances have the potential to make one’s personal life better, but could be detrimental to the world as a whole.