You would have to define 'technology'. The wheel is technology, for example; to a chimp, a stick is technology. If you mean electric or electronic technology (and even there, where is the line?), why should that be judged differently?
I suspect that deep down you mean 'over-consumerised'.
Ok Bokek,we havent heard from you in a few days,I assumed you went awol. I was going to send out the national guard to find you. Technology,well I think Gordon is 100% correct most of the inventions were for the betterment of mankind and or animals. One example for me would be the chainsaw,since we heat and cook with wood,it certainly cuts down on the time spent performing this task. And a lot less wear and tear on this body. Mark is way ahead of me on the understanding of the machine called a computer.
However I think that Mark is secretly building an automaton for whatever cool purpose!
Technology has been advancing since the dawn of time. First, tools were made of stone, then iron, then bronze (our first alloy, I believe), steel, etc. With the Industrial Revolution, tech advances went into overdrive, and after the harnessing of electricity, hyperdrive. Not too long after, long range, ultimately global and beyond communication became possible. The earth shrank, and we (the masses) have been bombarded with hucksterism ever since. Madison Av. rules, "too much of everything is just enough". Our desire for the latest and best of everything fuels this runaway train we're riding, the brakes don't work, and imho, a crash is inevitable.
I'm not sure this applies to the topic, but I'm going to post it anyway. My pissedoffness at the state of things takes over sometimes!
Hey Mark dont let it throw you,we are smarter than that!
I have a Sony Vaio laptop. It's not a cutting edge machine by a long shot, but almost perfectly adequate. Where it falls short for me, is that the keyboard is unlit. My previously mentioned tech buddy, found many backlit Sony keyboards on E-Bay, but would any fit? Intrepid tinkerer that I am, I tore into it, dismantling it down to the motherboard, to find out that none would work, that Sony never made a lighted keyboard for this model. Crap!...but OK, I put it back together only to find that it won't power up. I took it apart again (and again, and again), to check that everything was connected properly, which it was, but "no computing for me"! Eventually I took it to a very reputable service place, which after about a week of trying, threw in the towel. btw Bokek, that is an American idiom rooted in boxing. They traced power from the connection on the motherboard through the next few points, then...nothing. In between are literally dozens of capacitors, resistors, and untold other mysterious thingamajigs, any one of which could be bad. They tried to locate another motherboard, but to no avail. So, my laptop is now a Sony branded paperweight, explaining why I just bought a new one (not Sony, and yes it has a lit keyboard). My point being, a little knowledge is a dangerous thing!
Talk me down, Marc!
Going back to Mark's hucksterism rant, I agree totally with every word. A few months back on this very forum I was saying that our greed and stupidity was leading us to disaster, and good riddance.
Amen to good riddance! This house of cards can't stand, and the structure is flawed beyond repair! Our politicians are for sale, we have thousands locked up for victimless crimes, corporations run the country, our food producers have license to sell us crap, the list is endless. Meanwhile people have to choose between paying their bills and putting food on their tables. In a capitalist society, where by definition money is the "holy grail", unabashed greed becomes the inevitable consequence. All the while mouthing pious blather an hour each week. Has it ever been any different? I doubt it.
And anyone who thinks "slavery is dead" is imitating an ostrich. Nowadays it just sports a thin veneer of self-determination. "If you owe, you are owned!" Change will only come about as a result of some cataclysmic event, or from the muzzle of a gun. Then human nature being what it is, the whole process begins anew. As a species, we suck! I also believe there isn't a single problem we face, that doesn't have it's roots in overpopulation.
Quoting Bob Dylan: "I ain't quite as forgiving as I used to be".
Also to quote Dylan: "I used to care, but things have changed."
Gordon, I'm unsure of the context. Meaning..."I once cared about the injustices", or "I once cared about the consequences of action"?
The ever profound Mr. Dylan also said..."I've got a cravin' love for blazin' speed, got a hopped up Mustang Ford..jump into the wagon luv, throw your panties overboard"
Now who can argue with that?! lol
And you are asking me to explain Bob? I think he leaves it up to us to us; for myself, I used to care enough to march, occupy, get arrested: now I try simply to lead an ethical life.
Fighting for "truth, justice, and the American way" was never my thing. Somebody else already has that job. I'm more like Charlie Daniels' "Long Haired Country Boy". The concluding part of your last sentence says it as well as it can be said. When the end is reached, what else can be said, what else matters? I stumble on occasion, but that too is my goal.
Come A.M. in the Philippines, Senor Bokek will have much to digest along with his bacon and eggs.
Haha! Scrolling back, we have 12 hours of ranting in answer to Bokek's mild query.
What else can I say but Amen! I wondered when I was younger whos philosophy should I follow there were 2 trains of thought,was it going to be the hippies or yippies. I am glad I chose the former. Now Mark you need to relax more,you have to find something that helps you to enjoy life,I do not disagree with what you guys said but there has to be some peace in our lives other wise they have won. One must be wiser than the serpent, which is not hard to do. You are right,Bokek will have a lot to digest!
Now am I surprised! Quite halfway between jumping for glee and slapping myself
Or I could just try chewing on this.
They say a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. So step by step.
1. I think technology is applied science. From a stick to whatever thingamajig modern man has bundled together. And civilization deserves a pat on the back for having come this far. But here's the interesting part - If I need to prepare a document I get myself a laptop then type on it, then print it on a printer. When the laptop expires (in fact long before that) I am tempted to purchase an advanced one - more memory, RAM, lightweight, etc., when in fact I was totally happy when I acquired the original laptop. And so on. So yes, I am thinking along the lines of 'over-consumerised', as Gordon suggested.
Now to look around for bacon, which is also an excellent idea!
First of all, I thank my friends for toasting my birthday. Now trying to drown a little hangover with coffee
Now for the topic. I come from a science background so I unfolding technology has a natural attraction for me. Yet I believe our buddy M_D_S has much more hands-on expertise. Hearing of terabytes, clouds, gesture-cubes and what-not, I suspect the consumer is constantly drawn into this grand marketing net, masquerading as genuine increments to quality of life.
The question: are we over-technologised?