Technology -- Blessing or Curse  Term Paper

Response

Yes, technology generates problems, and it is shrewd and apt to point out that for every net gain to certain members of society via technology there is a net loss. The hand weavers of the 18th century were put out of business by 19th century factories that could manufacture clothing cheaply, computers have probably collectively caused the art of calligraphy to die, and made even professional writers overly reliant on spell check and less willing to rewrite their work from scratch. However, would any of the authors included in the collection summarized in the essay really wish to go back to a world without antibiotics? Technology has enabled people whose vision would be a blur to see with 20/20 perfection, and made travel financially accessible to millions who would have been relegated to the narrow point-of-view of their homes. While it is easy to find detriments to these benefits (exploitations of local economics through tourism, the dangers of unfettered exploration in the New World, etc.) few really long for the good old days before pasteurization, and the fear of scientific knowledge, as seen in the debates over Darwinism and stem cell research are probably more dangerous than the risks of current technology.

Works Cited

Vaidhyanathan, Siva. Rewiring the "Nation": The Place of Technology in American

Studies. Baltimore: Johns…