Kim Vicente, writer of “The Human Factor” wrote “we who inhabit the modern times of the twenty-first century have to adapt to digital technology moving at light speed” (13). Kim Vicente’s text and Kurt Vonnegut’s Cat’s Cradle both explore the limits and possibilities with technology. In today’s society, people can’t get enough of the fastest or smallest new form of technology.

Kim Vicente’s “The Human Factor” is an explanation of how humans affect the technology they use. Technology is built to assist the user, and it is the user who decides how the technology can by used. Vicente’s first example of the human factor playing a role in technology is how doctors and airplane pilots have set work schedules. In order to work at their peak performance, doctors and airplane pilots have set and regulated work schedules. A set work schedule is a type of technology because it is helping assist the doctors and airplane pilots to working at their very best which helps many people live a safe life.

The human factor can also play a bad role in technology. When technology is taken to and even past its limits, a price is usually to pay. Vicente explained the Chernobyl nuclear meltdown could have occurred due to the human factor. Vicente wrote “technology-with all its promise and potential-has gotten so far beyond human control that it’s threatening the future of humankind” (28). Vicente believes that technology is going to be pushed to far beyond control, leaving the entire Earth to suffer. The Chernobyl incident occurred in Russia, but the radiation spread throughout contaminating many of the surrounding people and wildlife. Vicente explained the benefits and the downfalls to the human factor along side technology.

Kurt Vonnegut took a different approach towards technology. He brought technology a new face in Cat’s Cradle. One example is how Vonnegut wrote that people look at technology differently. Either thinking deeply, trying to pursue the highest form of technology, or showing less enthusiasm but still living everyday with the technology we have. In Cat’s Cradle, Vonnegut brought a pair of people who both think differently of the world around them. “’You scientists think too much,’ blurted Miss Pefko. Dr. Breed’s friendliness had blown every fuse in her nervous system. ‘You all think too much’” (33). Vonnegut shows that different people take different interest to technology. Some look for all the answers, while some ignore the problem.

Kurt Vonnegut also explained the trouble technology can have while it’s in the wrong hands. Vonnegut had many references to the atom bomb. The atom bomb was built to kill, and that is what it did. Some say the atom bomb technology should not be built because of the devastation it brings. If atom bombs fall into the wrong hands, many people could be killed. Another example Vonnegut used to show technology in the wrong hands is the ice-nine. Ice-nine freezes water instantly. When put into a major water source, all the water of the world could freeze up. During Cat’s Cradle, the ice-nine falls into the river, causing the entire Earth to go into chaos.

Kim Vicente raised a few questions during “The Human Factor.” One question was how do people know the limits of the human factor? Just like everything else, technology must have a breaking point. When pushing the limits to how much is too much, I believe humans are going to find out the hard way what is too much in technology. One example to humans pushing the limits is how global warming is affecting the Earth. In “The Human Factor,” Vicente stated “ecological degradation is posing a dreadful threat to our quality of life. Statistics from studies of pollution, climate change and species extinction overwhelmingly show the severity and breadth of the global problems we’re facing” (26). Vicente sees how technology is causing problems with not only society, but also Earth.

Kurt Vonnegut’s Cat’s Cradle ended with an apocalyptic ending, which is entitled to bring up a few questions. My initial question to the novel was what is the line for today’s technology that could send us into an apocalyptic state? Technology is still rising at a fast pace rate, which means some technology could still be in the process to being figured out correctly. Another question that Kurt Vonnegut raises in his novel is at what point do human beings need to step away from technology, before a devastating act happens. The ice-nine froze everything in its area, wiping out a majority of the wildlife around the area. Could our technologies today cause the same chaos as the ice-nine. Computers and weapons are more complex than ever, which could indicate that some of these technologies have the potential to lose control and cause major harm. In Cat’s Cradle, Newt’s letter to Jonah explained how powerful the moment of the atomic bomb was and how two different personalities looked at it. “After the thing went off, after it was a sure thing that America could wipe out a city with just one bomb, a scientist turned to Father and said, ‘Science has now known sin.’ And do u know what Father said? He said, ‘What is sin?’’ (17). When a person like Felix doesn’t understand the magnitude the atom bomb was, it is hard to see people today cutting down on technology. Technology can be looked at differently, in a good way to realize what we have done is wrong, or in a poor way, not seeing the destruction done and thinking it can be done better.

I believe technology is at a rapid progression, seeing how small or how fast we can make today’s accessories is very impressive. Preventing the fates of “The Human Factor” and Cat’s Cradle are two examples of technology having a good potential, but then having being turned out poorly. Technology will always be involved with people’s everyday lives, but it will be the human factor that will be the key aspect to how technology evolves in the future.