DIMENSIONS: Each technology consists of the following dimensions -
Material – i.e., material objects
Source of Power – i.e., energy required to run the technology
Knowledge-base – i.e., the ideas and theories that invent the processes and shape the materials. Therefore, Material Source of Power Knowledge-base are essential dimension of technology.
Given that technology comprises of both material objects and abstract ideas, there has always been the question, which comes first, theory or practice. This leads to a further question, i.e., who is more important in society, the thinkers or the workers? It has often been acknowledged that the thinkers need to come up with the theory first (though this may not always be the case, as we shall see later in the course).
Thinkers = Innovators
Innovation’s goals:
Standardize and automate technology so that it can
– Be performed with minimum effort
– Provide a platform for further innovation.
Today, thanks largely to the spread of the Internet, innovation is no longer the domain of a few. Several persons can post their ideas and share them with others.
In his chapter on ‘Naturalizing technology’ Hickman(2001) considered that Technology is habitualized practice. Technology that is established becomes ‘transparent’ = Used unconsciously, e.g., Driving a car, typing an e-mail.
“Normal” activity has become routinized, and is undertaken by many in an unquestioned manner.
Hickman emphasizes the need for inquiry into these technical platforms – study of technique = technology.
Why we need to define technology:
To understand its role in human progress
To realize that technology is a combination of systems and tools
To accept that there are a variety of ways of doing things
To reflect on technology so that we continually innovate.
Class 2: Critics of technology
The impact of technology on society has been seen by some as positive, by others as negative, and by yet others as both positive and negative. We need to examine all three views, to understand for ourselves what the place of technology is and how we should approach it.
CRITICS: As technology developed, various concerns have been voiced about its impact on society. Three persons who questioned the impact have been McLuhan, Ellul, and Franklin. The main reason to critique technology is to be aware of its negative effects, so that we adopt it and use it with an awareness of its consequences.
In the 1960s, technology was firmly entrenched in consumer consciousness: household appliances, and the media.
McLuhan in Canada and Ellul in France questioned the hold of technology on society. He was deeply concerned about man's willful blindness to the downside of technology.
Marshall McLuhan (“high priest of pop culture”) made 2 main points:
1. “The medium is the message” = “Societies have always been shaped more by the nature of the media by which men communicate than by the content of the communication”. = the nature of technology changes society more than do the functions or uses of technology.
2. “Global village” = technology has reduced the world into one big village – homogenized culture.
In his later years, and partially as a response to his critics, McLuhan developed a scientific basis for hi
