Humanity Has Passed Through a Long History of One

8/6/2019 Humanity Has Passed Through a Long History of One

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Humanity has passed through a long history of one-sidedness and of a social condition that has

always contained the potential of destruction, despite its creative achievements in technology. The

great project of our time must be to open the other eye: to see all-sidedly and wholly, to heal and

transcend the cleavage between humanity and nature that came with early wisdom. LESS

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Murray Bookchin

Technology ... the knack of so arranging the world that we don't have to experience it.

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Max Frisch

Technology

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

By the mid 20th century, humans had achieved a mastery of technology sufficient to leave the

atmosphere of the Earth for the first time andexplore space.

Technology is the making, usage and knowledge oftools, techniques, crafts, systems or methods of

organization in order to solve a problem or serve some purpose. The wordtechnologycomes

from Greek (technologa); from (tchn), meaning "art, skill, craft", and - (-

loga), meaning "study of-".[1]

The term can either be applied generally or to specific areas: examples

include construction technology, medical technology, and information technology.


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Tec

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s The human s ec es use of technology began with theconve sion of

natural resources into simple tools Theprehistorical discovery of the ability to control fire increased

the availablesources of food and the invention of thewheel helped humans in travelling in and

controlling their environment. Recent technological developments including theprinting press

thetelephone

and theInternet, have lessened physical barriers to communication and allowedhumans to interact freely on a global scale. However, not all technology has been used for peaceful

purposes the development ofweapons ofever-increasing destructive power has progressed

throughout history, from clubs to nuclear weapons.

Technology has affected society and itssurroundings in a number of ways. In manysocieties,

technology has helped develop more advancedeconomies(including today sglobal economy) and

has allowed the rise of a leisureclass. Many technological processes produce unwanted by-products,

known aspollution, and deplete natural resources, to the detriment of theEarth and

itsenvironment. Various implementations of technology influence thevalues of a society and new

technology often raises new ethical questions. Examples include the rise of the notion

ofefficiency in terms of human productivity, a term originally applied only to machines, and thechallenge of traditional norms.

Philosophical debates have arisen over the present and future use of technology in society, with

disagreements over whether technology improves thehuman condition or worsens it. Neo-

uddism, anarcho-primitivism, and similar movementscriticise the pervasiveness of technology in

the modern world, opining that it harms theenvironment and alienates people proponents of

ideologiessuch astranshumanism and techno-progressivismview continued technological progress

as beneficial to society and the human condition. Indeed, until recently, it was believed that the

development of technology was restricted only to human beings, but recent scientificstudies

indicate that other primates and certain dolphincommunities have developed simple tools and

learned to pass their knowledge to other generations.

Cont! nts

[hide]

y 1 Definition and usagey 2Science, engineering and technologyy 3 History

o 3.1 Paleolithic(2.5 million 10,000BC)

3.1.1Stone tools 3.1.2Fire 3.1.3Clothing and shelter


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o 3.2 Neolithic through Classical Antiquity(10,000BC 300AD) 3.2.1 Metal tools 3.2.2 Energy and Transport

o 3.3 Medieval and Modern history(300 AD )y 4 Technology and philosophy

o 4.1 Technicismo 4.2 Optimismo 4.3Skepticism and Critics of Technologyo 4.4 Appropriate technology

y 5 Technology and competitivenessy 6 Other animal speciesy 7Future technologyy 8See also

o 8.1 Theories and concepts in technologyo 8.2 Economics of technology

y 9 Referencesy 10Further readingy 11 External links

Definition and usage


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The invention of theprinting press made it possible for scientists and politicians to communicate

their ideas with ease, leading to the Age of Enlightenment; an example of technology as a cultural

force.

The use of the term technologyhas changed significantly over the last 200 years. Before the 20thcentury, the term was uncommon in English, and usually referred to the description or study of the

useful arts.[2] The term was often connected to technical education, as in the Massachusetts Institute

of Technology " chartered in 1861 # .[3]

"Technology" rose to prominence in the 20th century in

connection with the second industrial revolution. The meanings of technology changed in the early

20th century when American social scientists, beginning withThorstein Veblen, translated ideas

from the German concept ofTechnik into "technology." In German and other European languages, a

distinction exists between Technikand Technologie that is absent in English, as both terms are

usually translated as "technology." By the 1930s, "technology" referred not to the study of the

industrial arts, but to the industrial arts themselves.[4] In 1937, the American sociologist Read Bain

wrote that "technology includes all tools, machines, utensils, weapons, instruments, housing,

clothing, communicating and transporting devices and the skills by which we produce and use

them."[5]

Bain's definition remains common among scholars today, especially social scientists. But

equally prominent is the definition of technology as applied science, especially among scientists and

engineers, although most social scientists who study technology reject this definition.[6] More

recently, scholars have borrowed from European philosophers of "technique" to extend the meaning

of technology to various forms of instrumental reason, as in Foucault's work ontechnologies of the

self " "techniques de soi"# .

Dictionaries and scholars have offered a variety of definitions. TheMerriam-Websterdictionary

offers a definition of the term: "the practical application of knowledge especially in a particular area"

and "a capability given by the practical application of knowledge".[1]

Ursula Franklin, in her 1989

"Real World of Technology" lecture, gave another definition of the concept; it is "practice, the way

we do things around here".[7] The term is often used to imply a specific field of technology, or to

refer tohigh technology or just consumer electronics, rather than technology as a whole.[8]

Bernard

Stiegler, in Technics and Time, 1, defines technology in two ways: as "the pursuit of life by means

other than life", and as "organized inorganic matter."[9]

Technology can be most broadly defined as the entities, both material and immaterial, created by

the application of mental and physical effort in order to achieve some value. In this usage,

technology refers to tools and machines that may be used to solve real-world problems. It is a far-

reaching term that may include simple tools, such as acrowbar or wooden spoon, or more complex

machines, such as aspace station or particle accelerator. Tools and machines need not be material;virtual technology, such as computer software and business methods, fall under this definition of

technology.[10]

The word "technology" can also be used to refer to a collection of techniques. In this context, it is

the current state of humanity's knowledge of how to combine resources to produce desired

products, to solve problems, fulfill needs, or satisfy wants; it includes technical methods, skills,

processes, techniques, tools and raw materials. When combined with another term, such as

"medical technology" or "space technology", it refers to the state of the respective field's knowledge


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and tools. "State-of-the-art technology" refers to thehigh technology available to humanity in any

field.

Technologycan beviewed as an activity that forms or changesculture.[11]

Additionally, technology is

the application of math, science, and the arts for the benefit of life as it is known. A modern example

is the rise ofcommunication technology, which has lessened barriers to human interaction and, as a

result, has helped spawn new subcultures$ the rise ofcyberculture has, at its basis, the development

of theInternet and thecomputer.[12]

Not all technologyenhancesculture in a creative way $

technologycan also help facilitate political oppression and war via toolssuch as guns. Asa cultural

activity, technology predates both science and engineering, each of which formalizesome aspects of

technological endeavor.

Science, engineering and technology

The distinction between science, engineering and technology is not alwaysclear.Science is

thereasoned investigation or study of phenomena, aimed at discovering enduring principles among

elements of thephenomenal world byemploying formal techniquessuch as thescientificmethod.

[13]Technologies are not usuallyexclusively products ofscience, because they have to satisfy

requirementssuch asutility, usability and safety.

Engineering is thegoal-oriented process of designing and making tools and systems to exploit

natural phenomena for practical human means, often (but not always) using results and techniques

from science. The development of technology may draw upon many fields of knowledge, including

scientific, engineering, mathematical, linguistic, and historical knowledge, to achievesome practical

result.

Technology is often a consequence ofscience and engineering although technology as a human

activity precedes the two fields. For example, science might study the flow ofelectrons in electricalconductors, by using already-existing tools and knowledge. This new-found knowledge may then be

used byengineers to create new tools and machines, such assemiconductors, computers, and other

forms of advanced technology. In thissense, scientists and engineers may both beconsidered

technologists $ the three fields are often considered as one for the purposes of research and

reference.[14]

Theexact relations between science and technology in particular have been debated byscientists,

historians, and policymakers in the late20th century, in part because the debatecan inform the

funding of basic and applied science. In the immediate wake ofWorld War II, for example, in the

United States it was widelyconsidered that technology wassimply "applied science" and that to

fund basicscience was to reap technological results in due time. An articulation of this philosophycould be found explicitly in Vannevar Bush's treatise on postwar science policy, ScienceThe End

%

ess

Fron & ier: "New products, new industries, and morejobs requirecontinuous additions to knowledge

of the laws of nature... Thisessential new knowledgecan be obtained only through basicscientific

research." In the late-1960s, however, thisview came under direct attack, leading towards initiatives

to fund science for specific tasks(initiatives resisted by thescientificcommunity). The issue remains

contentiousthough most analysts resist the model that technologysimply is a result ofscientific

research.[15][16]


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History

Main articles: History of technologyandTimeline of historic inventions

Paleolithic (2.5 million 10,000 BC)

A primitive chopper

The use of tools by early humans was partly a process of discovery, partly of evolution. Early humans

evolved from a species offoraginghominids which were already bipedal,[17] with a brain mass

approximately one third that of modern humans.[18]

Tool use remained relatively unchanged formost of early human history, but approximately50,000 years ago, acomplex set of behaviors and

tool use emerged, believed by many archaeologists to be connected to the emergence of fully

modern language.[19]

Stonetools

Hand axes from the Acheulianperiod


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A ' lovis point, made viapressure flaking

Human ancestors have been using stone and other tools since long before the emergence ofHomo

sapiens approximately 200,000 years ago.[20]

The earliest methods ofstone tool making, known as

the Oldowan "industry", date back to at least 2.3 million years ago,[21]

with the earliest direct

evidence of tool usage found inEthiopia within the Great Rift Valley, dating back to 2.5 million years

ago.[22] This era of stone tool use is called the Paleolithic, or "Old stone age", and spans all of human

history up to the development ofagriculture approximately 12,000 years ago.

To make a stone tool, a "core" of hard stone with specific flaking properties ( such as flint ) was struck

with a hammerstone. This flaking produced a sharp edge on the core stone as well as on the flakes,

either of which could be used as tools, primarily in the form ofchoppers or scrapers.[23] These tools

greatly aided the early humans in theirhunter-gatherer lifestyle to perform a variety of tasks

including butchering carcasses ( and breaking bones to get at themarrow ) ; chopping wood; cracking

open nuts; skinning an animal for itshide; and even forming other tools out of softer materials such

as bone and wood.[24]

The earliest stone tools were crude, being little more than a fractured rock. In theAcheulian era,

beginning approximately 1.65 million years ago, methods of working these stone into specific

shapes, such as hand axes emerged. The Middle Paleolithic, approximately 300,000 years ago, saw

the introduction of theprepared-core technique, where multiple blades could be rapidly formed

from a single core stone.[23] The Upper Paleolithic, beginning approximately40,000 years ago, saw

the introduction ofpressure flaking, where a wood, bone, or antlerpunch could be used to shape a

stone very finely.[25]

Fire

The discovery and utilization of fire, a simple energy source with many profound uses, was a turning

point in the technological evolution of humankind.[26] The exact date of its discovery is not known;

evidence of burnt animal bones at the 0 radle of Humankind suggests that the domestication of fire

occurred before 1,000,000 B 0 ;[27] scholarly consensus indicates thatHomo erectus had controlled

fire by between 500,000 B 0 and 400,000 B 0 .[28][29]

Fire, fueled with wood and charcoal, allowed early


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humans to cook their food to increase its digestibility, improving its nutrient value and broadening

the number of foods that could be eaten.[30]

Clothing andshelter

Other technological advances made during the Paleolithic era wereclothing and shelter; the

adoption of both technologies cannot be dated exactly, but they were a key to humanity's progress.As the Paleolithic era progressed, dwellings became more sophisticated and more elaborate; as early

as 380,000 B 1 , humans were constructing temporary wood huts.[31][32] 1 lothing, adapted from the fur

and hides of hunted animals, helped humanity expand into colder regions; humans began

to migrate out of Africa by 200,000 B 1 and into other continents, such asEurasia.[33]

Neolithicthrough Classical Antiquity(10,000BC 300AD)

An array of Neolithic artifacts, including bracelets, axe heads, chisels, and polishing tools.

Man's technological ascent began in earnest in what is known as theNeolithic period 2 "New stone

age" 3 . The invention of polishedstone axes was a major advance because it allowed forest clearance

on a large scale to create farms. The discovery ofagriculture allowed for the feeding of larger

populations, and the transition to asedentist lifestyle increased the number of children that could

be simultaneously raised, as young children no longer needed to be carried, as was the case with the

nomadic lifestyle. Additionally, children could contribute labor to the raising of crops more readily

than they could to the hunter-gatherer lifestyle.[34][35]

With this increase in population and availability of labor came an increase in labor

specialization.[36]

What triggered the progression from early Neolithic villages to the first cities, such

as Uruk, and the first civilizations, such as Sumer, is not specifically known; however, the emergence

of increasinglyhierarchical social structures, the specialization of labor, trade and war amongst

adjacent cultures, and the need for collective action to overcome environmental challenges, such as

the building ofdikes and reservoirs, are all thought to have played a role.[37]

Metaltools

1 ontinuing improvements led to thefurnace and bellows and provided the ability

to smelt and forge native metals 2 naturally occurring in relatively pure form3 .[38]

Gold, copper, silver,

and lead, were such early metals. The advantages of copper tools over stone, bone, and wooden

tools were quickly apparent to early humans, and native copper was probably used from near the

beginning ofNeolithic times 2 about 8000 B 1 3 .[39] Native copper does not naturally occur in large


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amounts, but copper ores are quite common and some of them produce metal easily when burned

in wood or charcoal fires. Eventually, the working of metals led to the discovery ofalloys such

as bronze and brass 4 about 4000 B5 6

. The first uses of iron alloys such assteeldates to around 1400

B 5 .

Energy andTransport

The wheel was invented circa 4000 B 5 .

Meanwhile, humans were learning to harness other forms of energy. The earliest known use of wind

power is the sailboat.[40]

The earliest record of a ship under sail is shown on an Egyptian pot dating

back to 3200 B 5 .[41]

From prehistoric times, Egyptians probably used the power of the Nile annual

floods to irrigate their lands, gradually learning to regulate much of it through purposely built

irrigation channels and 'catch' basins. Similarly, the early peoples of Mesopotamia, the Sumerians,

learned to use the Tigris and Euphrates rivers for much the same purposes. But more extensive use

of wind and water 4 and even human6 power required another invention.

According to archaeologists, thewheel was invented around 4000 B. 5 . probably independently and

nearly-simultaneously in Mesopotamia 4 in present-day Iraq 6 , the Northern 5 aucasus 4 Maykop

culture6 and 5 entral Europe. Estimates on when this may have occurred range from5500 to 3000

B. 5 ., with most experts putting it closer to 4000 B. 5 . The oldest artifacts with drawings that depict

wheeled carts date from about 3000 B. 5 .; however, the wheel may have been in use for millennia

before these drawings were made. There is also evidence from the same period of time that wheels

were used for the production ofpottery. 4 Note that the original potter's wheel was probably not a

wheel, but rather an irregularly shaped slab of flat wood with a small hollowed or pierced area near

the center and mounted on a peg driven into the earth. It would have been rotated by repeated tugs

by the potter or his assistant. 6 More recently, the oldest-known wooden wheel in the world was

found in the Ljubljana marshes of Slovenia.[42]

The invention of the wheel revolutionized activities as disparate as transportation, war, and the

production of pottery 4 for which it may have been first used 6 . It didn't take long to discover that

wheeled wagons could be used to carry heavy loads and fast 4 rotary 6 potters' wheels enabled early

mass production of pottery. But it was the use of the wheel as a transformer of energy 4 through

water wheels, windmills, and even treadmills6 that revolutionized the application of nonhuman

power sources.


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Medieval and Modern history 7 300 A8 )

Mainarticles:Medieval technolog9

@ Renaissance technolog9

@ Industrial Revolution@ Secondindustrial

revolution@ andProductivity improving technologies (historical)

Innovationscontinued through theMiddle Ages with new innovationssuch assilk, thehorse

collar and horseshoes in the first few hundred years after the fall of theRoman Empire. Medievaltechnologysaw the use ofsimple machines(such as thelever, thescrew, and thepulley) being

combined to form morecomplicated tools, such as thewheelbarrow, windmills and clocks.

TheRenaissancebrought forth many of these innovations, including theprinting press(which

facilitated the greater communication of knowledge), and technology became increasingly

associated with science, beginning a cycle of mutual advancement. The advancements in technology

in thisera allowed a moresteadysupply of food, followed by the wider availability ofconsumer

goods.

Starting in the United Kingdom in the18th century, theIndustrial Revolution was a period of great

technological discovery, particularly in the areas

ofagriculture, manufacturing, mining, metallurgy andtransport, driven by the discovery ofsteampower. Technology later took another step with the harnessing ofelectricity to createsuch

innovations as theelectric motor, light bulb and countless others. Scientific advancement and the

discovery of new concepts later allowed for powered flight, and advancements

in medicine, chemistry, physics and engineering. The rise in technology has led to theconstruction

ofskyscrapers and largecities whose inhabitants rely on automobiles or other powered transit for

transportation. Communication was also improved with the invention of

thetelegraph,telephone, radio and television.

Thesecond half of the20th century brought a host of new innovations. Inphysics, the discovery

ofnuclear fission has led to both nuclear weapons and nuclear power. Computers were also

invented and later miniaturized utilizing transistors and integrated circuits. These advancements

subsequently led to thecreation of theInternet. Humans have also been able to explore

space with satellites(later used for telecommunication) and in manned missions going all the way to

the moon. In medicine, thisera brought innovationssuch asopen-heart surgery and later stem cell

therapy along with newmedications and treatments.

Complex manufacturing and construction techniques and organizations are needed to construct and

maintain these new technologies, and entireindustries have arisen to support and develop

succeeding generations of increasingly morecomplex tools. Modern technology increasingly relies

on training and education their designers, builders, maintainers, and users often require

sophisticated general and specific training. Moreover, these technologies have becomeso complex

that entire fields have been created to support them, including engineering, medicine, and computerscience, and other fields have been made morecomplex, such

asconstruction, transportation and architecture.

Technology and philosophy

Technicis A


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Generally, technicism is a reliance or confidence in technology as a benefactor ofsociety. Taken to

extreme, technicism is the belief that humanity will ultimately be able to control theentirety of

existence using technology. In other words, human beings will someday be ableto master all

problems and possiblyeven control the future using technology. Some, such asStephen V.

Monsma,[43]connect these ideas to the abdication of religion as a higher moral authority.

OptiB is B

See also: Extropianism

Optimistic assumptions are made by proponents of ideologiessuch

astranshumanism and singularitarianism, which view technological development as generally having

beneficial effects for thesociety and the human condition. In these ideologies, technological

development is morally good. Somecriticssee these ideologies asexamples

ofscientism and techno-utopianism and fear the notion ofhuman enhancement and technological

singularity which theysupport. Some have describedKarl Marx as a techno-optimist.[44]

Skepticis

C

and Critics ofTechnolo

D

y

See also: Luddite, Neo-luddism,Anarcho-primitivism, andBioconservatism

On thesomewhat skeptical side arecertain philosophers likeHerbert Marcuse and John Zerzan, who

believe that technological societies are inherently flawed. Theysuggest that the inevitable result of

such a society is to becomeevermore technological at thecost of freedom and psychological health.

Many, such as theLuddites and prominent philosopherMartin Heidegger, hold serious, although not

entirely deterministic reservations, about technology(see "The Question Concerning

Technology[45])". According to Heidegger scholarsHubert Dreyfus and CharlesSpinosa, "Heidegger

does not oppose technology. He hopes to reveal theessence of technology in a way that 'in no way

confines us to a stultified compulsion to push on blindly with technology or, what comes to thesame

thing, to rebel helplessly against it.' Indeed, he promises that 'when we once open ourselves

expressly to theessence of technology, we find ourselves unexpectedly taken into a freeing

claim.'[46]

" What thisentails is a morecomplex relationship to technology than either techno-

optimists or techno-pessimists tend to allow.[47]

Some of the most poignant criticisms of technology are found in what are now considered to be

dystopian literaryclassics, for exampleAldous Huxley'sBrave New Worldand other

writings, AnthonyBurgess'sA Clockwork Orange, andGeorge Orwell'sNineteen Eighty-Four. And,

in FaustbyGoethe, Faust'sselling hissoul to the devil in return for power over the physical world, is

also often interpreted as a metaphor for the adoption of industrial technology. More recently,

modern works ofscience fiction, such as those byPhilip K. Dick and WilliamGibson, and films

(e.g. Blade Runner,Ghost in theShell) project highly ambivalent or cautionary attitudes toward

technology's impact on human society and identity.

The latecultural criticNeil Postman distinguished tool-using societies from technological societies

and, finally, what hecalled "technopolies," that is, societies that are dominated by the ideology of

technological and scientific progress, to theexclusion or harm of other cultural practices, values and

world-views.[48]


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Darin Barney has written about technology's impact on practices ofcitizenship and democratic

culture, suggesting that technologycan beconstrued as(1) an object of political debate, (2) a means

or medium of discussion, and (3) a setting for democratic deliberation and citizenship. As a setting

for democraticculture, Barneysuggests that technology tends to makeethical questions, including

the question of what a good lifeconsists in, nearly impossible, because they already give an answer

to the question: a good life is one that includes the use of more and more technology.

[49]

Nikolas Kompridis has also written about the dangers of new technology, such asgenetic

engineering, nanotechnology, synthetic biology and robotics. He warns that these technologies

introduce unprecedented new challenges to human beings, includingthe possibility of the

permanent alteration of our biological nature. Theseconcerns areshared by other philosophers,

scientists and public intellectuals who have written about similar issues(e.g. Francis

Fukuyama, Jrgen Habermas, William Joy, and Michael Sandel).[50]

Another prominent critic of technology isHubert Dreyfus, who has published booksOn the

Internetand What Computers Still Can't Do.

Another, more infamous anti-technological treatise isIndustrial SocietyandIts Future, writtenbyTheodore Kaczynski(aka TheUnabomber) and printed in several major newspapers(and later

books) as part of an effort to end his bombing campaign of the techno-industrial infrastructure.

Appropriate technoloE

y

See also: TechnocriticismandTechnorealism

The notion ofappropriate technology, however, was developed in the20th century(e.g., see the

work ofJacques Ellul) to describesituations where it was not desirable to usevery new technologies

or those that required access to somecentralized infrastructure or parts or skills imported from

elsewhere. Theeco-village movement emerged in part due to thisconcern.

Technology and competitiveness

In 1983 a classified program was initiated in theUS intelligencecommunity to reverse the US

declining economic and militarycompetitiveness. The program,Project Socrates, used all source

intelligence to review competitiveness worldwide for all forms ofcompetition to determine the

source of the US decline. What Project Socrates determined was that technologyexploitation is the

foundation of all competitive advantage and that thesource of the US declining competitiveness was

the fact that decision-making through the US both in the private and publicsectors had switched

from decision making that was based on technologyexploitation (i.e., technology-based planning) to

decision making that was based on moneyexploitation (i.e., economic-based planning) at theend of

World War II.

Technology is properly defined as any application ofscience to accomplish a function. Thescience

can be leading edge or well established and the function can have high visibility or besignificantly

more mundane but it is all technology, and itsexploitation is the foundation of all competitive

advantage.


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Technology-based planning is what was used to build the US industrial giants before WWII

F e.g., Dow, DuPont, GM G and it what was used to transform the US into a superpower. It was not

economic-based planning.

Project Socrates determined that to rebuild US competitiveness, decision making through out the US

had to readopt technology-based planning. Project Socrates also determined that countries like

H hina and India had continued executing technology-based F while the US took its detour into

economic-basedG planning, and as a result had considerable advanced the process and were using it

to build themselves into superpowers. To rebuild US competitiveness the US decision-makers

needed adopt a form of technology-based planning that was far more advanced than that used by

H hina and India.

Project Socrates determined that technology-based planning makes an evolutionary leap forward

every few hundred years and the next evolutionary leap, the Automated Innovation Revolution, was

poised to occur. In the Automated Innovation Revolution the process fordetermining how to acquire

and utilize technology for a competitive advantage F which includes R&DG is automated so that it can

be executed with unprecedented speed, efficiency and agility.

Project Socrates developed the means for automated innovation so that the US could lead the

Automated Innovation Revolution in order to rebuild and maintain the country's economic

competitiveness for many generations.[51][52][53]

Other animal species

This adult gorilla uses a branch as awalking stick to gauge the water's depth; an example of

technology usage by primates.

The use of basic technology is also a feature of other animal species apart from humans. These

include primates such as chimpanzees, some dolphincommunities,[54][55] and crows.

[56][57] H onsidering

a more generic perspective of technology as ethology of active environmental conditioning and

control, we can also refer to animal examples such as beavers and their dams, or bees and their

honeycombs.

The ability to make and use tools was once considered a defining characteristic of the

genus Homo.[58] However, the discovery of tool construction among chimpanzees and related

primates has discarded the notion of the use of technology as unique to humans. For example,

researchers have observed wild chimpanzees utilising tools for foraging: some of the tools used


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include leafsponges, termite fishing probes, pestles and levers.[59]

West Africanchimpanzees also use

stone hammers and anvils for cracking nuts,[60]

as do capuchin monkeys ofBoa Vista, Brazil.[61]

Bane is a Modern English word meaning "that which causes ruin or woe",

Some peopleconsider technology bane because it is making people lazy. Kids that used to go outside

and playstay in and playvideo games and go on thecomputer all day. People tend to forget how to

do things for themselves, even using a calculatorjust to do simple math that you could easily write

down and figure out. Instead ofexercising our minds wejust use a calculator. Whiletechnology is

great and helpful and a HUGE part of modern society if one day it failed, we'd go into chaos. No

bank, no super information highway, no radio, no computer, no telephone, our missiles and

dangerous things like that would becompromised. Ifyou haven't, watch the movie Wall-E. In there

you will see how they portray how the future of people might behave if we all had such

sophisticated technology we'd grow fat and ride around in chairs. Hope that helps a bit and sparks

some ideas ofyour own on how technologycan be bane.

Technology: The bane of the middleclass

Productivity up; wages down I Blame thecomputer.

BYANDREW LEONARD

yThe numbers are brutal. An article in today's Wall Street Journal (available to nonsubscribers) begins

with the following sentence:

"Since theend of2000, gross domestic product per person in the U.S. hasexpanded 8.4 percent,

adjusted for inflation, but the average weekly wage hasedged down 0.3 percent."

The author, Greg Ip, points to "workers' lack of bargaining power in the face of high unemploymentand companies' use ofcost-cutting technology" as part of theexplanation. Another possible factor is

the16 percent rise in healthcarecostssince2000 for companies, which, says Ip, is "making

employers less generous with wages." And finally, there are the good old Bush tax cuts,

disproportionately increasing take-home pay for those at the top.

Thestock conservative response is that rising productivity will ultimately translate into wage growth,

even if it's taking a bit longer than usual. And with unemployment low, sooner or later workers will

have more leverage to bargain with.

But will that really happen this time around? Continuous improvements in technology, says Harvard

economist Lawrence Katz, are depressing wages for middle-classjobs.

Nowhere in the article will you find the words "globalization," "offshoring" or "international

competition" mentioned. But since technological change, particularly in communications, is a

primaryenabling factor of globalization, I Googled Katz to see if heconnected those dots in any

recent papers.

Katz and two co-authors lay out their theory of technology as middle-class-killer in "The Polarization

of the U.S. Labor Market, an NBER working paper datelined January2006. The authors find that


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wage inequality has been growing since around 1980. But the real breakdown, theysay, is not

between the top and the bottom, but between the top and the middle. Low-income worker wages

have been staying about thesame, or even slightly rising. But middle-income workers are getting the

shaft.

Katz argues that this is becausecomputerization has displaced "routine" taskssuch as bookkeeping

and clerical work. This hasenabled highlyskilled workers to become disproportionately productive

and demand higher wages, while at thesame time lowering the demand for medium-skilled

workers. Those involved in manual labor that is not easily replaced by technology are relatively

unscathed.

Near theend of the paper, the authors note that "A similar, (complementary) impact of international

outsourcing could arise from the declining international communication and coordination costs

associated with improvement in information technology."

That last note references"Offshoring in the Knowledge Economy," a paper forthcoming in the

Quarterly Journal of Economics. Although a bit too heavy on the math for layman comprehension, its

basic point is thesame. Since the beginning of the1990s, the drop in costs for communicationtechnologies has permitted "Northern" managers to take advantage of "Southern" labor. For those

at the top (in the North) or the bottom (in theSouth) this has advantages. For those in the middle,

especially in the North, thesqueeze is on.

So what do we learn from all of this? The great fear about offshoring is that it is poised to move up

thevaluechain, replacing high-paid white-collarjobs in the developed world with cheaper foreign

competition. Exactly thesame fear applies to technology: computers, robots and other technological

advances are also climbing thevalue-added ladder.

A government could theoreticallyslow offshoring by protectionist means. But how do you stop

technological change?

y Andrew Leonard is a staff writer at Salon. On Twitter, @koxinga21. More:

TECHNOLOGYBANE OR BOON? The overt observation ofsome knowledgeable persons who

passionately feel concerned for the welfare of humanity, in the wake ofscientificstrides and

technological triumphs, laments that technologycreates more problems than it solves. Their

concern echoes thesimilar sentiments of thinkers like J.G.Ballard for whom, technology dictates the

languages in which wespeak and think. Either we use those languages or we remain mute, and for

Omar Bradley our technology has already outstripped our ability to control it. Despite thesejarring

notes, technology has acquired a halo that is almost impossible to shake off. Who can deny the

robust role and range of technology that weexperience in our every day life. If wecare to look at the

scintillating side of technology, we find space technology and its applications provide useful data for

natural disaster monitoring, solving environment problems, improve telecommunications and

provide other basicservices. Through fax, e-Mail and the Internet, information technology has

outstripped all barriers that time and space had placed in manssearch for instant information.

Though electronic information is hard to control, yet the individual newsgatherer isvisible and

vulnerable. The latest in thesuccessstory is the likely boom that bio-technology promises to unfold


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in theyears to come. Rightly, biotechnologyis being seen byscientists and entrepreneurs alike as the

next big thing with the potential to revolutionise the fields of agriculture, health and medicine. The

promises are many: disease-resistant and high-yield

crops that could solve the worlds food problems P new medicines and drug deliverysystems to cure

diseases and prevent genetically inherited disorders P and new enzymes that make industrial

production moreefficient and cost-effective. For ages the axiom, nothing is good or bad but thinking

makes it so, was the golden rule that moulded human perceptions and concrete actions. With the

advent ofscience and technology, and their subsequent sway over human ideas, intuitions and

ideologies, it is now the use or abuse of technology that renders it either a blessing or a bane for

humanity that lives and survives on theever-spreading tentacles of technology. In short, it is the

technology that rules the roost now and keeps its ambience alive all the time in various

manifestations. With the frontiers of technology influencing all aspects of life, both in terms of time

and space, it is anybodys guess as to what the future holds in store for humanity, that has become

so enamoured of technology. If the past is any guide, onecan learn a lot from the happenings of the

20th century, that used and abused scientific and technological achievements for increasing physical

comforts and living standards, as also for fighting the two world wars, resorting to nuclear bombingand land mines and other means of mass deaths and destruction, dislocation of millions resulting in

untold misery and suffering. In the face ofso much good that weexpect from science and

technology, scientist warn that if we do not change our ways, our civilisation is not likely to survive.

Mans greed, aided and abetted byscience and technology, has already over-exploited and abused

theearths material resources and destroyed itsecosystems. Forests arevanishing and there is

increased desertification, theseas and oceans arestained with death because of the poisons that we

have poured into them. We haveeven polluted the rain with poisonoussmoke from our industrial

chimneys. We have not only raped thesoil and denigrated theecosystems, but also lost touch with

our inner self. There is no denying that our cares and concerns are being controlled by technology, in

itsvarious forms and facets. Whether in company or in solitude, technology hascome to occupy apivotal place in our day to day life. If the despots use it to perpetuate their repressive rule, the

terrorists haveemployed it to explodesymbols of progress. With no end to mans rapacious nature

in sight, technology has become a hand-maiden of unscrupulousexploiters of natural resources and

immoral traders of wild lifespecies. Technology as it reignssupreme over our intellect and

imagination, is redefining human relations. In a bid to hit thejackpot, or make a quick buck, the

individual has lost his identity and, in the bargain, has fallen an easy prey to alienation and

estrangement. Smarting under physical fatigue and mental stress, he has become a victim of the

phenomenon of being an outsider among his own people. Despite a host of benefits that

technology hasconferred on us in varying degrees, the onslaught of anger and angst isvery much

conspicuous. If today we arescared ofsome impending disaster, it is because technology has given

such powers to

individuals and groups which even the demons or deities of mythology did not enjoy. We are

standing at the threshold where technology as a source of boon or brazenness isstaring in our face.

In moments of introspection, we must bear in mind what Aldous Huxley had said: technological

progress has merely provided us with moreefficient means for going backwards

Is technology boon or bane?


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byThariqueAzeez on February21, 2009

Technology hasevolved a lot and has introduced several innovativesolutions to theentire world.

Imagine a world without any means of technologically related gadgets. Wecant imagine a day

without technology. Mobile phones and computers have remarkably gained a role in each and

everyone life. For me, technology is all about communication related gadgets. What do you think?

Today morning I woke up to sound of my mobile phones alarm screeching, and turned on radio to

know the news. The radio is also attached with my mobile phone. Getting ready myself to go to

office, I received a call from mycolleague and who is tend to come to meet me this afternoon. Ive

reached the office and put my fingerprint on a machine to mark my arrival to the office. Then I check

myemails. Still continuing works with computer. Ooh! no.. Its all about tech, tech and tech.

Technology has the power to rule myself throughout the day. Is it a normal condition?

Many people tend to blame the technology, which has made people to look like annoying. Arent

you feeling like this? Technology has its pros and cons, where we arechoosers to make our choice to

make technology a boon.

Modern life has been madeeasier with technology, but for every development, there is an

equivalent increase in complication that seems to compensate those benefits. When contemporary

day problems occur, we usually dont have the time or power to figure out how to solve them and

what to do with them. Here I am going to giveyou a guide, which can help you certain extent to

solve modern problems that have aroused by technology.

When it comes to computer, the internet is the phenomenal invention of all time, where wecan find

anything and everything on the go. And also, there is a potential of frustration on it to find suitable

things in at a given period of time. So here is a quick list on how to grip some of these darned

problems.

Get Rid Of Interruption

The main source of inefficiencycomes with distractions. Byeliminating distractions wecan have a

boost in our lifestyle. Letssay ifyoure busy with a work, whileyour email notification blinks on your

screen. How would you face thisscenario? You have nothing to do with it rather than staring at what

the notification says. This is how distractionscome to our way to disturb the way we doing well.


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Opening multiple web browser open on thesame desktop also, givesyour interruptions and make

you clueless where to look for that youve already opened to work. Eliminating thesescenarios will

makeyour day a wonderful with technology. Disturbancesshould be avoided, but everyso often a

bit of music in the background can help you focus. Ofcourse, it doesnt have to be weighty rock

music, but a bit of melody may do you some fine.

Learn To Say No

Ifyou tend to say yes and agree with anything, it meansyoure putting yourself in to trouble.

Instead of agree with every task that you supposed to do, you can set limit and inform the relevant

people that you cant do it beyond a certain extend. Saying No to a request isvery hard, but it

makesyou to feel better than ever. The raising of always on culture itsemployer always tries to

connect his/her employeesevery possible time to get their work done. Dont let it happened to you.

Mobile phone might becomeyou merely disturbance for you. Set your rules and inform them to thepeople who mostlycare about you and your work. Ifyou bind with the rulesyou can have more free

time byeliminating unwanted call time.

Set Limits To The Internet

The Internet has become one of the number one distractions. But, you can have the internet like a

source Q try to do more works in offline, it may help you to gain productivity in to your lifestyle. There

are plenty of applications available on the internet to help you to work online with internet

distractions. GoogleGears is one of the well-known, best and reliable tools to work with. Just give a

shot a try it and ultimatelyyoull feel the difference about the wayyou work with computer thus,

technology related gadgets.

Switch Off

This is a veryefficiency way of doing things better. You have nothing to do with it,just switch off the

gadgets for certain timespan, which are mostly annoying you. Most likelycomputer and mobile

phone will become in to thiscategory. Whileyou doing thisyoull feel calm and better mood. You

can make this habit a routine and inform your colleagues and friends that youre not available on

particular time period. You can even put a remark on your email signaturestating that you only reply

for mail on particular time of the day. Ifsomeone intend reach you urgently, they might call you via

phone or any other means. Simply unplug and feel the difference.

Technology has introduced several gadgets Q everything has the potential of being user friendly and

helpful. If we make those gadgets into much troublesome we might lose our pleasant way of life to

it. Dont make technology to rulesyou, ifyou let you to control the technology it might become bane


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for you. But, ifyou control the technology to work for you by having alternativeefficient ways, you

probably have technology as boon. I hope.

Humanity Has Passed Through a Long History of One

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