Technopoly Part I

This book begins nicely and seems to be interesting until he starts with his rant against technology. I was intrigued by his explanation of how dependent we are on computers and such and how he broadens the definition of technology to include all the tools that we use and take for granted everyday. Postman has a point though, there is nothing that we do today, with the exception of sleeping, which doesn't have technology subtly built into it and now that I think about it, sleeping may not be the exception due to the fact that mattresses are engineered with our proper spinal position in mind to get the optimum sleep experience. Everything that is man made has science involved; what we eat, how we go, what we walk around in, the toys we play with, technology has infused itself in our entire lives.

In Technopoly, Postman writes, "The idea that if something could be done it should be done was born in the nineteenth century." (42)  He may credit that idea to the nineteenth century but I believe that it has existed for far longer than that. Men (and women) have been trying to improve their place by using new tools since the first person used a rock to kill their animal as opposed to their bare hands. And the idea took off until someone else used a spear and less people used rocks. The evolution of how people killed their food and cooked it could be seen as technology and not just progress. Postman uses writing and the printing press as his great example and it is but dissemination of information, good and bad, is progress.  It is bad to have too much information but good when you have multiple viewpoints so to make an educated choice. To follow another person's idea wholeheartedly without exploring your own is dangerous, to yourself and sometimes to others. Look at the Charlie Manson followers. There was no shortage of information for his followers to discover that he was crazy and homicidal, they just chose to ignore it. I believe that we all have to make decisions daily based on the information we have, sometimes too much and we ignore it, sometimes not enough and we hope for the best result. It is not information nor technology that should take responsibility for our actions or lack of them, but ourselves.