Difference between revisions of "325--2011--Week 1 Questions/Comments"
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After reading the introduction I came away with a few broad questions about the nature of our ever-evolving and improving technology; For instance, despite all of the destruction various technologies have caused since the beginning of time (from axes cutting down forests, to the invention of the pistol, to the atomic bomb) isn't it fair to say that the technological improvements human beings have created over time have ultimately led to an increased survival rate, increased efficiency and production in the workplace and more personal happiness? People have said that since the creation of social networking sites (tools that are supposed to bring us closer together) personal relationships have actually gotten weaker as we no longer have to rely on actually meeting one another face to face to interact. Is technology really helping us or do we just believe it is? I also couldn't help but notice that technology seems to be a field dominated almost entirely by male inventors - what role have women played in the field of American technology or have men alone made the most advancements in the field? This trend would be somewhat understandable within the social contexts of the early and mid-20th century, but does this trend still exist today? If so, why? -Kevin | After reading the introduction I came away with a few broad questions about the nature of our ever-evolving and improving technology; For instance, despite all of the destruction various technologies have caused since the beginning of time (from axes cutting down forests, to the invention of the pistol, to the atomic bomb) isn't it fair to say that the technological improvements human beings have created over time have ultimately led to an increased survival rate, increased efficiency and production in the workplace and more personal happiness? People have said that since the creation of social networking sites (tools that are supposed to bring us closer together) personal relationships have actually gotten weaker as we no longer have to rely on actually meeting one another face to face to interact. Is technology really helping us or do we just believe it is? I also couldn't help but notice that technology seems to be a field dominated almost entirely by male inventors - what role have women played in the field of American technology or have men alone made the most advancements in the field? This trend would be somewhat understandable within the social contexts of the early and mid-20th century, but does this trend still exist today? If so, why? -Kevin | ||
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| + | After reading the introduction of Pursell’s book a few things really stuck out to me and made me wonder. I had a hard time fully comprehending the concept of “technological determinism,” the assumption that technology determines what happens in society. In respect to the false assumptions that Joseph Corn points out I agree with Meagan that new technology does eventually replaces its elder. I believe another example of that would be the introduction of DVD, which has almost completely done away with the VHS, and now the Blu-Ray (both DVD and DVD player) is slowly phasing out regular DVD players. Another part of the introduction that stuck out to me was the small paragraph about “smart” cars and both the good and bad of introducing new technology. How if we introduced “smart” cars then auto repair shops, insurance companies, and others who benefit from car repairs, are suffer from this new technology. This concept brought to mind the concept of hybrid cars. If we introduced all hybrid cars pollution and greenhouse gas emissions would decrease, but the oil and gas companies would suffer because of it. With this in mind, I wonder how many other new technologies have been created or thought of, and haven’t been produced because of the pros and cons this new technology brings with it? | ||
| + | ~Mike Roche | ||
