Nye Reading Response
In Nye’s first chapter, he makes many comparisons that challenge how we typically look at technology. For instance, he begins with the argument that technology doesn’t exist to fill a need, but rather, the new technology creates a need we didn’t previously know we had. Nye also suggests that technology is more like art than like science, and quotes Aristotle as saying “the business of every art is to bring something into existence.” This goes against the typical idea that technology is closely related to science. People generally look at technology as the application of science, meaning that there is a scientific discovery and a need for a practical application that goes along with it. However, that isn’t actually the case most of the time. Generally, a technological advancement brings about the questions which then drive scientific research, because we as inquisitive creatures must know why things work the way they do. Advancements in technology are also blamed in this work for the “marginalization of women” as technology became a more male dominated field.
In the second chapter of Nye’s work, he discusses the idea that technology has an inevitable effect on society. The rationale here is that people don’t have to choose to embrace new technology, be it modern methods of farming (the Amish people in the Americas today) or guns (the Japanese until the 1850s). However, Nye clearly feels that much of society is influenced by technology, because the rest of the chapter is spent analyzing exactly how this happens and to what extent.
Nye makes a really good point here that “rather than assuming that technologies are deterministic, it appears more reasonable to assume that cultural choices shape their uses.” The technology wasn’t needed before society said it was, echoing his idea from the first chapter that technological advances do not always follow from necessity. Similarly, people would be able to live without conveniences like electricity or indoor plumbing, but the building codes enforced by many governments make this illegal. The effect that technology has on society will also be driven by the culture. For instance, television in America had a different effect that television in China or the Middle East. An interesting discussion of Marx’s thoughts on industrialization reveals that he felt it was largely negative, especially when it was tied to capitalism, because it resulted in lower wages and fewer jobs for the working class. However, he felt that if properly implemented, technology could prove to be “the basis for a better world.” However, other scholars feel that technology is given too much credit in its impact on culture. For instance, it often takes multiple inventions to result in some sort of change. The example given in Nye’s work is women’s suffrage, which was the outcome of things like mass production, improved education, use of the typewriter, and birth control. Additionally, there is often a large gap between the implementation of the technology and its societal effect.
I found Nye to be quite an enjoyable author to read, and his points were interesting. I really relate well to the point he made about computers replacing clerical staff, and how it actually led to a reduction of efficiency in many cases, and an increase in only around 40 percent of them. Having worked in an office where people relied heavily on computers, it’s visible first hand. For instance, when people’s computers were down so that the software could be updated, many times people didn’t really know what to do with themselves. Similarly, I wasted lots of time on the internet at my clerical job. While it’s true I got all the work that I was supposed to do done faster due to technology, I didn’t get any more work to do after that, so there was lots of wasted time.
I feel that Nye’s views on the sociological effects of technology might be slightly exaggerated. While yes, technology has changed society, so has everything else, whether it be our day to day interactions with people or nature or anything. Technology has also been effected by culture, as only certain things are attempted or improved upon based on the cultural values of that community. Too often, technology is viewed as an “evil” or a “good,” instead of what it really is: a tool to accomplish things. Nye does a good job of stressing the tool part of this in the beginning, but doesn’t take the argument far enough.
Some things to consider:
1. In what ways has technology been influenced by art?
2. If technology caused both the “marginalization of women” and “women’s liberation,” would you say technology has helped or harmed women as a whole?
3. What technological advancement do you think has had the greatest impact on American culture since you were born?