by Shivam Panda
Technology, will it be the bane of human society, or will it be the very dirt path that we construct to foster our place in a social Eden of advanced society?
It is hard to ascertain what our future will be, but it is possible to ascertain anything's influence on the perceivable future.
Technology is, and always has been, the application of science, more importantly, the efficient use of scientific knowledge in day-to-day circumstances. The fact that it makes our lives easier is only an added benefit. When people criticize technology for being the bane of this new generation, they say that because they think that we are dependent on this technology, they say that because they suspect that one of our technological creations might turn against us and get the better of us as a race, or they say so simply because according to them this is not the way to live. It's always been these three reasons because of which every technological advancement in recent times has been accompanied by negative reasoning rather than just applause and appreciation.
There is no perfect, and hence technological advancements will never be without negative implications, but those who state that technology may spoil the quality of life only say that due to a lack of open-mindedness. See, as a Neanderthal the best quality of life would be sitting on a tree away from predators or in the darkness undisturbed by pests; as an individual in the medieval times, the best scenario would be having a warm dinner and not being forced into war or slaughtered; as someone in the renaissance, the optimum quality of life would be a day filled with exploration, prosperity, and cultural security; as someone in the 70’s, the quality of life would be an average job, three square meals and a definite routine working in a steel plant or cloth factory. In more recent times the quality of life has changed, and while nature is still accessible to us, we want to be more connected to the near-infinite amount of resources and connectivity.
The fact of the matter in each case is how we use and implement our scientific knowledge and not whether we should. As history shows us, any scientific breakthrough has been accompanied by technological advancements and some of them may not have been in the best interest, namely the atom bomb, any bomb in general, chemical warfare, etc. As a race, it is up to us to reach a level of collective maturity wherein we use such technologies for the greater good. However, nothing is perfect and hence there will always be a part of society who's views will differ and so their use of this technology. Thus bringing about the realization that technology is only a tool, and the negative or positive outcome of the use of technology is a function of the user.
That’s all technology is- a tool used to express our scientific temper. Technology is a benefit we reap of having an evolved brain, better cognitive processing skills and superior motor function. In this race for survival that we call life, as human beings, we observe and create, we create to cater to our needs, and we try to have a good time doing so. We have multiple problems as a society, however, a very few of them relate to technological advancements, and even though those problems are due to the wrong use of technological advancements, what we don’t consider is technological advancements could be the blessing we need to solve other more important areas of crisis.
To date there are 200 working nuclear reactors producing clean energy, there are roughly 2000 hydroelectric power plants in the USA alone, which are responsible for 39% of its energy output. Looking at modern statistics, it would have taken early humans around 4-5 generations to perfect the creation and use of fire and primitive tools. It took form from the ice age in 10,000 BC to 6000 BC to form the earliest civilizations. However technologically we have accomplished more in the last century than we have in the last two millennia. Every day to day electric appliance was invented in the past century.
Technology is both a blessing and a boon for society, but more importantly, it is a tool, a tool that gives an individual the power to use the knowledge they have in their heads, and if you think about it, when has a tool ever been a disadvantage?
- By Shivam Panda
A good thought process. Technology cannot be stopped or avoided. but it is up to us how we use technology to empower ourselves in making lives better. It would have been unthinkable to lit up a room with a flip of a switch when Edison was coming up with a light bulb. people replied to Ford that there is a need of a carriage that can be pulled by less number of horses, the ford car was unimaginable at that time.