Monday, March 30, 2009
Blog Assignment 8
When choosing my topic for my final research project, I wanted to pick something that I have an interest in. An issue in today's society is the threat of vehicle emissions projecting poisonous fumes that connect to global warming. Many people hear of global warming but are not sure the total meaning and effects it has on our Earth. The topic came across to me after watching CNN one night and I heard analysts debating whether new technologies need to be marketed to save the environment. In my eyes, I see the world as our only chance of living and if we destroy it, we destroy ourselves. By driving vehicles that emit fumes that destroy the ozone, we may be increasing the chance of having environmental issues like global warming and ozone deplation. In this topic I would put my perspective under the general public that drives one or more gasoline powered vehicles. The main source of transportation for the typical American is a vehicle and we choose to drive cars, trucks, and SUV's is because it suits us the best for the distances we must drive for everyday life.
Monday, March 23, 2009
Blog Assignment 7
For Assignment 5, I found finding the best way to accomplish my goals to writing this paper was to find the key thoughts of the stakeholder and tie it to Nye as best I can. In the two books I checked out, the similarity I found was the process in steps taken to accomplish a certain goal with technology. The example brought up was about how our technology of transportation must be changed in order to keep the environment clean. In order to try and find the right views to write my paper, I had to understand what each writer was trying to get across with their understanding of technology. I had to understand Frederick Winslow Taylor's views technology when finding and using full potential in every job.
Peer editing worked well again for me. I sat down and read almost all of the papers and found all the other opinions the class has with Nye. When I read the comments from my classmates, they found the same in my paper. Reading through classmates papers helped me see other views towards Nye that could potentially help me in my final paper. The possibility of connecting different stakeholders within my classmate's papers could help bring a new perspective to my own topic.
I've come to understand that in some cases Nye explained in detail his views, but when presented with a view he may not have interest in, he left out some critical information. Nye left out important information from one of my sources. Nye failed to mention from The Age of Asphalt the advantages from the government making the decisions in the freeway. Nye only explained the downfalls the people felt from the governments actions. We know today the advantages of the freeways, and Nye could have explained them. In order for my readers to get the most out of my paper, they should know both advantages and disadvantages, in order to compose their own opinion.
Peer editing worked well again for me. I sat down and read almost all of the papers and found all the other opinions the class has with Nye. When I read the comments from my classmates, they found the same in my paper. Reading through classmates papers helped me see other views towards Nye that could potentially help me in my final paper. The possibility of connecting different stakeholders within my classmate's papers could help bring a new perspective to my own topic.
I've come to understand that in some cases Nye explained in detail his views, but when presented with a view he may not have interest in, he left out some critical information. Nye left out important information from one of my sources. Nye failed to mention from The Age of Asphalt the advantages from the government making the decisions in the freeway. Nye only explained the downfalls the people felt from the governments actions. We know today the advantages of the freeways, and Nye could have explained them. In order for my readers to get the most out of my paper, they should know both advantages and disadvantages, in order to compose their own opinion.
Friday, March 13, 2009
A Common Relation With the Future
David Nye, writer of Technology Matters, presents his readers with a series of information about technology that is intended to stimulate his reader’s opinions. Throughout his book, Nye uses several different types of strategies to accomplish his goal of challenging his readers to think critically about technology. One of these strategies is to use several different stakeholders to show the perspectives he wants clear about technology. Two examples of stakeholders Nye uses in his book were Frederick Winslow Taylor, writer of The Principles of Scientific Management, and Richard O. Davies, writer of The Age of Asphalt: The Automobile, the Freeway, and the Condition of Metropolitan America. Taylor and Davies both discuss ways of alternative thinking towards technology.
Taylor uses The Principles of Scientific Management to educate to public about the use of science to create a more efficient society with technology. Taylor believed that for maximum success, everything must work in unison. Taylor explained this meaning when he wrote “…for each employee mans not only higher wages…development of each man to his state of maximum efficiency and the highest grade of work for which his natural abilities fit him” (9). He explained how every job had “one best way” and when done correctly, success will come about. To accomplish the task and finding the “one best way” to get done, Taylor found that scientific management would be the best decision. “It is the combination of the initiative of the workmen, coupled with the new types of work done by the management that makes scientific management so much more efficient than the old plan” (37). When combining my opinion’s of technology and Taylor’s opinions on the scientific management, I see how the two, when working at a even rate, can help progress society. Having proper management and correct technological training, the chance of failure seems to become reduced.
When observing Richard O. Davies The Age of Asphalt: The Automobile, the Freeway, and the Condition of Metropolitan America, technology in the form of transportation is looked at a closer view. Davies produced his book to explain the steps taken to construct and more efficient transportation system. Although we take such things as freeways for granted, the creation of the United States highway systems was very complicated. Technology fifty years ago was not even close to what it is today, and for that reason the education that people had about technology was not detailed. Davies staged his argument in this preface about the lack of knowledge people had about technology in the past. “When the nation opted for the freeway system as the means for transportation needs during the mid-fifties, few Americans thought in terms of possible exhaustion of energy sources, or even about environmental impact” (xi). Knowledge of technology is essential towards making the right choices for ourselves. I believe Davies, who wrote his book in the mid-seventies, was ahead of the game for which we know today. Davies knew the possibilities that could happen to the automobile if our energy sources were worn out and how our planet could be destroyed be the toxins.
I believe Nye used these two sources to escalate the importance of finding the best way and most efficient way to use technology. Having technology isn’t good enough, knowing the knowledge to use technology correctly, in my opinion, is the most important thing. Technology, when knowing the correct uses, can make life far easier and organized. In Nye’s Technology Matters, the sentence that best described using technology correctly was about Taylor’s scientific management. “He organized individual tasks into a rational sequence, so that work flowed evenly. Those who cooperated produced more” (115). Nye and Taylor’s agreement of technology shows how Nye uses his stakeholders to the fullest. I believe Nye used these two stakeholders very well in giving the reader the most information needed to understand his views on technology. Nye saw these two stakeholders as giving light to the “one best way” and understanding why technology must be used appropriately. Stakeholders that Nye left out were the people who want technology to substitute for human labor in factories and other work places. These types of stakeholders are looking for pure mechanical work, without the chance of human error. Although stakeholders who hold this view may be different from Nye’s and Taylor’s views on technology, both have positives and negatives.
When selecting a topic for my research paper, I decided writing on the progress being made in alternative technologies for transportation. Taylor and Davies opened up doors for possible further explanation, for example taking Taylor’s idea of scientific management and then plugging that into what Davies’ idea of working with changing forms of transportation to help Americans of the future. Stakeholders that will assist in my research are exploring the many experiments being done in finding new forms of technology in transportation. Examples of stakeholders that could assist me are the EPA, U.S. Department of Energy, and possibly finding those who oppose alternative technologies to view all sides of the topic.
David Nye, writer of Technology Matters, presents his readers with a series of information about technology that is intended to stimulate his reader’s opinions. Throughout his book, Nye uses several different types of strategies to accomplish his goal of challenging his readers to think critically about technology. One of these strategies is to use several different stakeholders to show the perspectives he wants clear about technology. Two examples of stakeholders Nye uses in his book were Frederick Winslow Taylor, writer of The Principles of Scientific Management, and Richard O. Davies, writer of The Age of Asphalt: The Automobile, the Freeway, and the Condition of Metropolitan America. Taylor and Davies both discuss ways of alternative thinking towards technology.
Taylor uses The Principles of Scientific Management to educate to public about the use of science to create a more efficient society with technology. Taylor believed that for maximum success, everything must work in unison. Taylor explained this meaning when he wrote “…for each employee mans not only higher wages…development of each man to his state of maximum efficiency and the highest grade of work for which his natural abilities fit him” (9). He explained how every job had “one best way” and when done correctly, success will come about. To accomplish the task and finding the “one best way” to get done, Taylor found that scientific management would be the best decision. “It is the combination of the initiative of the workmen, coupled with the new types of work done by the management that makes scientific management so much more efficient than the old plan” (37). When combining my opinion’s of technology and Taylor’s opinions on the scientific management, I see how the two, when working at a even rate, can help progress society. Having proper management and correct technological training, the chance of failure seems to become reduced.
When observing Richard O. Davies The Age of Asphalt: The Automobile, the Freeway, and the Condition of Metropolitan America, technology in the form of transportation is looked at a closer view. Davies produced his book to explain the steps taken to construct and more efficient transportation system. Although we take such things as freeways for granted, the creation of the United States highway systems was very complicated. Technology fifty years ago was not even close to what it is today, and for that reason the education that people had about technology was not detailed. Davies staged his argument in this preface about the lack of knowledge people had about technology in the past. “When the nation opted for the freeway system as the means for transportation needs during the mid-fifties, few Americans thought in terms of possible exhaustion of energy sources, or even about environmental impact” (xi). Knowledge of technology is essential towards making the right choices for ourselves. I believe Davies, who wrote his book in the mid-seventies, was ahead of the game for which we know today. Davies knew the possibilities that could happen to the automobile if our energy sources were worn out and how our planet could be destroyed be the toxins.
I believe Nye used these two sources to escalate the importance of finding the best way and most efficient way to use technology. Having technology isn’t good enough, knowing the knowledge to use technology correctly, in my opinion, is the most important thing. Technology, when knowing the correct uses, can make life far easier and organized. In Nye’s Technology Matters, the sentence that best described using technology correctly was about Taylor’s scientific management. “He organized individual tasks into a rational sequence, so that work flowed evenly. Those who cooperated produced more” (115). Nye and Taylor’s agreement of technology shows how Nye uses his stakeholders to the fullest. I believe Nye used these two stakeholders very well in giving the reader the most information needed to understand his views on technology. Nye saw these two stakeholders as giving light to the “one best way” and understanding why technology must be used appropriately. Stakeholders that Nye left out were the people who want technology to substitute for human labor in factories and other work places. These types of stakeholders are looking for pure mechanical work, without the chance of human error. Although stakeholders who hold this view may be different from Nye’s and Taylor’s views on technology, both have positives and negatives.
When selecting a topic for my research paper, I decided writing on the progress being made in alternative technologies for transportation. Taylor and Davies opened up doors for possible further explanation, for example taking Taylor’s idea of scientific management and then plugging that into what Davies’ idea of working with changing forms of transportation to help Americans of the future. Stakeholders that will assist in my research are exploring the many experiments being done in finding new forms of technology in transportation. Examples of stakeholders that could assist me are the EPA, U.S. Department of Energy, and possibly finding those who oppose alternative technologies to view all sides of the topic.
Monday, March 9, 2009
My first source was from Frederick Taylor's The Principals of Scientific Management. In his book Taylor focuses on explaining how the scientific management influences everyday events. He began his book by explaining the three main points that would be focused upon in his book. The first step informs "to point out the great loss which the whole country is suffering through inefficiency in almost all of our daily acts." Taylor wants to show the reader that Americans are continually being hurt because of the lack of knowledge we have.
The second point Taylor focuses on is letting the reader know that the problem of our daily lives lies in systematic management. Having uniformed management and rules being assigned to us is the major problem that needs to be solved, instead of having an above-normal man.
Lastly, Taylors final point is proving the best management is true science. He goes on to explain how this true science comes from set rules and laws to maintain society. Taylor has his three points to focus on how scientific management must be fused into how things are produced. Involving science towards rules and laws allows for a more and progressive society.
Nye uses Taylor's book to describe how every job has "one best way." Nye also describes Taylor's theory of how tasks can be broken down into sequences to become completed correctly. One thing Nye could have added how the steps done incorrectly can result in failure. Failure is an important thing to come across, and having the proper scientific management towards completing your task will help decrease these chances.
The second point Taylor focuses on is letting the reader know that the problem of our daily lives lies in systematic management. Having uniformed management and rules being assigned to us is the major problem that needs to be solved, instead of having an above-normal man.
Lastly, Taylors final point is proving the best management is true science. He goes on to explain how this true science comes from set rules and laws to maintain society. Taylor has his three points to focus on how scientific management must be fused into how things are produced. Involving science towards rules and laws allows for a more and progressive society.
Nye uses Taylor's book to describe how every job has "one best way." Nye also describes Taylor's theory of how tasks can be broken down into sequences to become completed correctly. One thing Nye could have added how the steps done incorrectly can result in failure. Failure is an important thing to come across, and having the proper scientific management towards completing your task will help decrease these chances.
Monday, February 23, 2009
Blog Assignment 4
The question I chose to blog about was in chapter 5 when Nye discussed the tendencies technology plays in uniforming or diversifying society. One stakeholder Nye introduces was the example of Levittown, New York. A building company comes into Levittown and built over 17,000 homes identical to each other. Nye starts to argue that this attempt to uniform an entire community would play an intriguing role in technology. "Wouldn't such uniformity produce standardized, soulless people?" Nye states that three generations later the residences of Levittown have remodeled their homes to bring uniqueness and personality to their living quarters.
Nye also argued the fact of uniformity and diversity in technology when using the Ford company as an example. The model T Ford was the car of the 20's, but as the times progressed the model T forgot to progress as well. Henry Ford was a supporter of the assembly line and he believed the less tampering with the assembly line, the better the chance of a higher income there will be. He later found out that his belief in the assembly line would be partially incorrect and General Motors, who came out with different style cars each year, found themselves on top.
The two examples Nye used in describing the uniformity or diversity of technology were both prime factors of how the United States society progressed during the 20th century. When purchasing their homes in Levittown, the residences knew they were purchasing a home that looked identical to their neighbors. The houses were cheap, but they were uniform to what was all around them. Over time though, the people of Levittown progressed and technology could not hold them to the uniform ways of the past. In my opinion, Nye used the Ford Motor company very well in his book. The different styles of Ford and GM during the 20's and 30's shows how rival companies compete in trying to find out what the society is looking for. In this example, GM wins out because they figure out that diversity conquers uniformity in vehicles.
In my own opinion, I would choose diversity in technology because having something that is unique is more special. Nye explains how today their are over 78 different configurations of the Ford F-150. Having the choice to choose the specifications towards technology has the affect of showing Americans that they the right to choose what they want. Technology is alway progressing towards new horizons, its the fact of whether it will blend societies together, like the model T, or be distinctive, like GM models of the past.
Nye also argued the fact of uniformity and diversity in technology when using the Ford company as an example. The model T Ford was the car of the 20's, but as the times progressed the model T forgot to progress as well. Henry Ford was a supporter of the assembly line and he believed the less tampering with the assembly line, the better the chance of a higher income there will be. He later found out that his belief in the assembly line would be partially incorrect and General Motors, who came out with different style cars each year, found themselves on top.
The two examples Nye used in describing the uniformity or diversity of technology were both prime factors of how the United States society progressed during the 20th century. When purchasing their homes in Levittown, the residences knew they were purchasing a home that looked identical to their neighbors. The houses were cheap, but they were uniform to what was all around them. Over time though, the people of Levittown progressed and technology could not hold them to the uniform ways of the past. In my opinion, Nye used the Ford Motor company very well in his book. The different styles of Ford and GM during the 20's and 30's shows how rival companies compete in trying to find out what the society is looking for. In this example, GM wins out because they figure out that diversity conquers uniformity in vehicles.
In my own opinion, I would choose diversity in technology because having something that is unique is more special. Nye explains how today their are over 78 different configurations of the Ford F-150. Having the choice to choose the specifications towards technology has the affect of showing Americans that they the right to choose what they want. Technology is alway progressing towards new horizons, its the fact of whether it will blend societies together, like the model T, or be distinctive, like GM models of the past.
Monday, February 16, 2009
Blog Assignment 3
My style to produce my essay were to find as many details Vonnegut and Vicente used to explain their opinion on technology. When I found what I believed to be their opinion on technology, it allowed me to compare their values of technology to mine. In my opinion, I believe having a well put paper has good facts linked directly to my own thoughts on the subject.
I found it easier to produce this essay when having plenty of hard evidence of the two authors. I took notes while reading both texts, and I found having specific passages very helpful. When I use these specific passages inside the texts, I had an easier time putting details and giving my essay some life. The two authors seemed to explain in detail the negativity technology had in two different aspects. Whether the Chernobyl incident or ice-nine, in my opinion, it seemed Vonnegut and Vicente were both pointing out negative sides of technology.
When I constructed my essay, I first laid out the context of both Vonnegut's and Vicente's points of view. I explained the background of both the texts to give the reader a chance to catch up to the subject. Following the context, I began to evaluate how my own opinions on technology compared to Vonnegut and Vicente. When I began this part of my essay, I had an easier time writing in my own voice because it reflected differently than what the two authors were trying to explain. Perhaps one thing I wish I had made earlier in this essay would have been to branch off even further in my own opinions on the topic. The better I explain my essay to the reader, the better the chance my reader will have understanding my essay and not being confused.
I found peer editing on-line easier because I was allowed as much time as I needed to find key points in the paper that I found intriguing. When having as much time as I have, I can read and re-read the paper to find the analysis I want. Also, the comments I received were very helpful in editing my paper because the comments I got were very detailed.
I found it easier to produce this essay when having plenty of hard evidence of the two authors. I took notes while reading both texts, and I found having specific passages very helpful. When I use these specific passages inside the texts, I had an easier time putting details and giving my essay some life. The two authors seemed to explain in detail the negativity technology had in two different aspects. Whether the Chernobyl incident or ice-nine, in my opinion, it seemed Vonnegut and Vicente were both pointing out negative sides of technology.
When I constructed my essay, I first laid out the context of both Vonnegut's and Vicente's points of view. I explained the background of both the texts to give the reader a chance to catch up to the subject. Following the context, I began to evaluate how my own opinions on technology compared to Vonnegut and Vicente. When I began this part of my essay, I had an easier time writing in my own voice because it reflected differently than what the two authors were trying to explain. Perhaps one thing I wish I had made earlier in this essay would have been to branch off even further in my own opinions on the topic. The better I explain my essay to the reader, the better the chance my reader will have understanding my essay and not being confused.
I found peer editing on-line easier because I was allowed as much time as I needed to find key points in the paper that I found intriguing. When having as much time as I have, I can read and re-read the paper to find the analysis I want. Also, the comments I received were very helpful in editing my paper because the comments I got were very detailed.
Thursday, February 12, 2009
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.
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.
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