What's wrong with technology?

[Silvercreek Farmer]

This is the best explaination I have heard yet.

By Lowell Monke

During the decade that I spent teaching a course called Advanced Computer Technology, I repeatedly found that after engaging in Internet projects, students came back down to the Earth of their immediate surroundings with boredom and disinterest—and a desire to get back online. Having watched Discovery Channel and worked with computer simulations that severely compress both time and space, children are typically disappointed when they first approach a pond or stream: the fish aren’t jumping, the frogs aren’t croaking, the deer aren’t drinking, the otters aren’t playing, and the raccoons (not to mention bears) aren’t fishing. Their electronic experiences have led them to expect to see these things happening—all at once and with no effort on their part. The result is that the child becomes less animated and less capable of appreciating what it means to be alive, what it means to belong in the world as a biological, social being.

[RichieC]

"What's wrong with technology" read the title of the posting on the internet forum. There was no mention of the whereabouts of the poster's sense of irony...

[Beeman]

There's nothing "wrong" with technology. It's what we've used it for or how we've applied it that has created the problems you mention.

[donsgal]

The saddest thing that I have personally experienced is that I can no longer look at a photograph of a breath-taking sunset, or magnificent ocean scene, a rainbow, a flower, or a shot of exquisite fall leaves without thinking to myself...."Gee, I wonder if that is real". Technology has taken something from us all - the promise of pure and unquestionable reality. It is something that none of us will ever know again in our lifetime.

donsgal

[DamnearaFarm]

Originally Posted by donsgal

The saddest thing that I have personally experienced is that I can no longer look at a photograph of a breath-taking sunset, or magnificent ocean scene, a rainbow, a flower, or a shot of exquisite fall leaves without thinking to myself...."Gee, I wonder if that is real". Technology has taken something from us all - the promise of pure and unquestionable reality. It is something that none of us will ever know again in our lifetime.

donsgal

I agree and I am a photographer.

On another board i'm on, this woman's husband is an artist that dabbles in photography. He shot a bunch of pictures and according to her 'refreshed the colors that were leached by the camera' or something of that sort. It's obviously a computer generated enhancement program. Makes everything a little stronger that it really is.

Me? About the only thing I photoshop is the glare on an animal's eyes or I get the horse poop outta the picture.

[pixelphotograph]

Originally Posted by Beeman

There's nothing "wrong" with technology. It's what we've used it for or how we've applied it that has created the problems you mention.

Beeman got it right.
Theres nothing wrong with technology its how we use it.

[DamnearaFarm]

True. Technology can be a wonderful thing,wthout it this board wouldn't exist. It has a time and a place and should be represented as what it is, advancement instead of enhancement.

[WayneR]

Perhaps it is the "sterility" of advancing technology. Familiarity of apearance and form, but not of function or reason.

Like getting chicken from KFC and not the backyard coop. Only the end result is seen,or wanted. Not the myriad steps, or personal involvement, concerning the transformation of an egg into drumstick or breast.

They are observers, not participants.

[Beeman]

Originally Posted by WayneR

Perhaps it is the "sterility" of advancing technology. Familiarity of apearance and form, but not of function or reason.

Like getting chicken from KFC and not the backyard coop. Only the end result is seen,or wanted. Not the myriad steps, or personal involvement, concerning the transformation of an egg into drumstick or breast.

They are observers, not participants.

good analogy. We used to know the process and appreciated the work and results. Now we just want it fast and cheap.

[reluctantpatriot]

It's not so much that technology is wrong. Rather it is the love of technology that makes things for our society poorer. It is akin to saying money is the root of all evil when it is the love of money that is the actual culprit.

Technology as we apply the term today generally includes all the electronic gadgets, options and software programs that we so often fall in love with and think that we can't live without. I see so many people now talking almost constantly on cell phones and talk about how computers are so wondrous. I am not that old and I can recall when there were no commonly available computers in the home (you had to build them yourself) and when phones came in only one kind, corded landline.

I also remember when photography was mostly about talent, knowledge and skill. Now even someone who knows little about photography can take a good snapshot, tweak it on a computer and make something that looks artistic, but is artificial.

It is nice that we can be more "efficient" and have better results with cell phones, personal computers and digital cameras? Sure. However, we use less and less the best bit of technology we have, our mind.

Why raise your own food when the supermarket provides? Why take responsibility for your own well being when there is OnStar and cell phones? Why do you need to know anything about anything when you can look it up online or use a computer to do the thinking, calculating and research for you?

While I miss having cruise control on my pickup truck, I love the manual transmission versus the options I had on my older Mercury Sable with an automatic transmission and all kinds of bells and whistles. I can easily work on my pickup because it doesn't have a whole lot of extras to get in the way when doing routine maintenance or to worry about as the vehicle ages.

I still have a fully mechanical 35mm film camera because I can control every aspect of it rather than have to rely upon technology to do it for me. I also feel more a part of the experience that way.

As for cell phones, I have one but I would not rely upon it totally in an emergency since I have had vehicular breakdowns in no-service areas. That is why I rely more upon my creative problem solving skills to solve my problems and my supply and tool preps in the trunk or behind the seat.

Does technology help make things easier? Sometimes yes, sometimes no.

[pcdreams]

Originally Posted by Matthew Lindsay

less animated and less capable of appreciating what it means to be alive, what it means to belong in the world as a biological, social being.

this could be said about anything.. Take for instance a job where you're stuck in a cubical all day..

It's like everything else. Not bad in moderation. It's just that Americans no longer know what that means..

[WindowOrMirror]

ain't nothin wrong with technology... sumthing wrong with people

R

[DJ in WA]

Interesting thread I've been pondering for awhile. Gut feeling is technology isn't as great as advertised - let me see if I can figure out why.

Seems if your starving, technology is great. If you're overfed, technology not so great. Our country if overfed. My doctor friend left practice because he was "tired of treating diseases of excess". If we have too much food and too little labor, why are we trying to make growing food easier? I guess it's just what we humans do - keep making things easier whether it's good for us or not.

Does technology free up more time? I dunno, in business seems it just raises the level of competition, and we're right back where we started. At home, we got TIVO thinking we'd save time flipping through channels. Now we watch more because we've recorded so many shows we'd like to watch. Often it's a chore to get them all watched - seems a shame to miss any.

Does technology make us happier? I think the more that's available, the more we crave and feel deprived if we don't have this or that. There's always one more gadget we need. Also, there was a time we would just deal with problems because we had no choice. Like a car breaking down - we'd fix it ourself, wave someone down, or just start hiking. Now we pack cell phones and call for help. Only problem is that we replaced the fear of getting stranded with the fear of not having a cell phone!

My daughter in high school mentioned her friends are texting on cell phones during class. They were upset she wasn't answering them immediately. Which is my latest theory that with fun technology, everyday activities just look too boring. Makes it harder to get kids or adults to pay attention or do chores. It's like having dessert around all day - you don't tend to eat your vegetables.

On the news the other night they were talking about computer addiction (as I type on a computer). Most parents are careful to keep kids from tobacco and alcohol, yet have no problem letting them sit as zombies for hours a day. I've heard obesity is replacing tobacco as the primary health threat.

It is funny to discuss this on an internet forum. Yet I would think a responsible bar owner would encourage controlled drinking, and maybe here we should also promote control of internet use. It would be too bad if talking about homesteading became more prevalent than doing it.

[Silvercreek Farmer]

Thanks for the well though out response DJ.

To others that are hung up on details, I will rephrase my question to:

What's wrong with the way we use technology?

[RichieC]

I reject the premise of your question. I believe that technology has been a tremendous net benefit.

[Jim S.]

To me, it's all about the marketing. In successive generations, we are being told we can have it all, can do it all, can pay for it all on the lil plastic card, and that we are entitled to a life of luxury with an exponentially greater number of toys than those who went before us.

What's wrong with that? Well, just considering one new-tech item that has taken off over the past decade -- cell phones -- and the amount of hazardous and non-biodegradable waste streams from just the one source of discarded cell phones, I can spot trouble. The saddest part is that most of this waste stream was created by folks simply tossing their old phone for one that's newer with more gadgets, but actually with no more functionality than the old, perfectly working phone.

Now, this is just one item of new tech. THAT's what is wrong with technology to me. The marketing has sold us a bill of goods unsupported by reality or in most cases our own paychecks. Endless credit does have its limits, and we will find those out one day when we all need to learn the new national language of our new country -- Chinese. Because while the toys distract us and entertain us with dazzling sparkles, we fail to see how life on credit -- from our personal finances right on up through our government -- is slowly but surely sapping our standard of living in areas where it really counts, even as we get out the credit card for yet another debt purchase funded by cash-flush East Asian financiers. Soon, we will be unable to produce even our own military needs if the cause arose by which we would need to produce en mass for a war.

We already have lost so much technical PRODUCTION experience and know-how to the East Asians, it isn't even funny. Should we have to bring that production back to our own shores at some future time, it will take years and maybe decades to regain that lost production know-how. It's not just the jobs we lose when a factory closes here; we lose the accumulated ability to efficiently produce the item, as well.

But I don't worry about all that. Check this out: my new cell phone can store up to 5,000 songs! I could not WAIT to buy it! Thank God for my VISA card. And hey, it's not too bad. I'm an average American, with $9,000 (true figure) in revolving credit debt.

Sigh....

[caberjim]

This was touched on earlier - the problem (as i see it) with technology is that it has caused people to expect instant communication in all matters. IM, e-mail, text messaging, cell phones = 24-7/365 instant communication. There is no time to breathe and think and calm down between communications. I see this all the time in the business world and in people's personal lives. The ability to respond instantly, especially via e-mail, causes all kinds of problems. Not just by losing the time to calm down and think about a proper response, but people behave and speak differently when they are not communicating face-to-face. People say things to each other that they would never say if they were in the same room or even talking on the phone. Faceless communication emboldens the user and somehow makes people believe they will not be subject to repercussions - I liken it to the "beer muscles" people get when they have been drinking.

What really concerns me is that I have users that prefer to IM or e-mail collegues who are right across the hall rather than picking up a phone or, god forbid, walking across and having a face-to-face conversation. The horror and uproar that follows the e-mail server going down - you would think we did not have phones. People will cease all communication and wait for e-mail to come back.

What all this leads to is the growing inability of people to carry out polite and civil interpersonal communication. There is no patience. No one wants to wait 24 hours for a reply - a 10 minute delay is far too long for them. The younger the technology user, the more ingrained instant communication is. Quite a lot of people communicate primarily in short, abrupt, impolite messaging w/o face-to-face or voice contact. They are losing the ability and desire to communicate any other way. I have employees in their 20's who prefer to send text messages rather than using the very same cell phone to call and speak to that person. Facebook entries and IM conversations replace calling friends on the phone. The IM style of conversation - short, abrupt, lacking style, grammar and thought - is becoming more and more prevalent in written correspondence. The ability to put out a well-written, coherent communication is being lost.

By improving communication, technology is also dramatically changing the way it is done and not necessarily for the better.

[Jim S.]

Good post, caberjim. I'm down with that, for sure.

[YoYoDog]

Technology itself is not the villan, it's the wrongful and useless application of technology just for the sake of using it. Not being able to get a stinking paper towel in a public bathroom because the battery on the "auto feed" is dead comes to mind. The ironic thing is I work as an electronic technician for a living and i'm not too happy with my situation as it stands right now. I do have an individualistic/survivalist ideal and some experience, but I pray for the day I have the opportunity and the guts to move off the grid.

Dan

[farminghandyman]

I believe the (sole) reliance on technology is a problem,
when the machine age started the machines were simple and yet lifted heavy burdens from people, (lest use the wheel for a example) there were simple carts and wagons that came from the wheel, allowing weighs to be moved easily for long distances with minimum effort by man or beast.

and the machines were build and so designed in a way most users could repair or fix most breakdowns.

then later the machines become more and more complex,
and yet some with some tools and commonsense and basic ability could fix and or repair, most machines.

even when the automobile was created many could and did over haul the engine on the kitchen table, and the machine was sill able to be repaired my many or most who used the contraption,

as things have progress, even trained mechanics many times have trouble finding the problems in to days cars, and the tools needed are becoming very specialized as well the need for many many normal tools, to be an proper repaired,

and as electronics continues to become more and more part of the inner workings of the machine, the difficulty of repair and maintenance is beyond more and more, as well as giving many many more possibilities of possible weak points.

and now now with the total reliance on computers, and the Internet, I feel the dependency on it is the problem. In normal conditions I don't think that
it is that big of a problem, but if there is a power outage, or other the systems are down, and not accessible, if there is a surge the machine can be fried, and retrieve of the information is lost.

in the same way I have seen people take off in cars in deadly conditions and no good shoes no coat or other emergency provisions, and jsut expect the machine to make it and protect them from the elements. and it will only take one time to make it a life and death adventure,

the same for most all technology, the more we rely on it the more when it fails will it come to bite us,