The popular view of technology is that it's development is a straight trajectory fueled by the constant influx of newness.
Whereas the parallel view required has technology move more like a funnel cloud that incorporates everything in its path; and whose path is impacted by the strength and velocity of the prevailing cultural winds.
This is a view I have come to understand after years of exploring the works of theorists outside the main who I believe have a better understanding of technology's impact on our modern culture.
The reason for the popular view probably has to do with the need for a capitalist mythology. But the right or wrong of this isn't my concern in this post. I just point it out because I've been taking for granted that there was a general understanding that technology is a process in which the 'inventor' and 'investor' are not the only players. Now I realize that this assumption needs explaining.
To furhter clarify this before delving into the mechanics of the thing I should point out some of the books, articles, etc. that have led me to my conclusions:
Connections - James Burke
This was a TV series from the 80's that first got me thinking about the connectivity inherit in human progress. Although this TV series didn't make a case for inter-dependency, it showed the connected nature of innovation. Most of the series is available on Youtube.
Technopoly - Neil Postman
According to Postman a technopoly is a society where technology has over-stepped it's boundaries and begins to shape what should be non-technical pursuits like religion, politics, entertainment, etc.
Re-reading it now, nearly 20 years after publication, makes for an interesting read. Some of the issues we're dealing with now have been a while in the making.
For me the initial insight from this book was the idea that technology can influence more than what it was initially intended. This is obvious to me now, but not before I read this book.
Snapshot quote from a page:
Why Things Bite Back - Edward Tenner
The title from where this blog got it's name. It's what got me thinking about the interdependence between technology and the culture in which it is used.
The basic premise of the book is that besides the expected benefits most technology also brings about unintended consequences. Some of these unexpected consequences can have a negative impact on the culture.
The ecology of innovation idea is outgrowth of this concept.
The ramblings of Marshall McLuhan
There are three things to say about Marshall Mcluhan:
- He only make sense viewed from a rear view mirror. The further we get away from him the more sense he makes.
- He was a Janus figure in that most of his messages carry a past and a future; as well as a positive and a negative.
An example of this is the concept of a global village. The concept has become a jingle for the Internet, yet the way McLuhan expressed it, there is also the caveat that a global media perspective will cause us to lose a sense of self as our identity becomes diffused by the glut of information and unless aware of this dynamic, we shall at once move into a phase of panic terrors, exactly befitting a small world of tribal drums, total interdependence, and superimposed co-existence.
I think this secondary meaning of global village goes a long way in explaining the Tea Party. - He was truly a man of his time. From a modern perspective lot of his visual cues and wordplay feel hokey, or forced; yet when the times in which they were produced are taken into account these gimmicks do make sense. To read McLuhan requires almost a type of media archaeology.
The origin of Capitalism - Ellen Meiksins Wood
The importance of this book is not the critique of capitalism, but the argument that capitalism is not a 'natural' development in human history, rather an methodology aimed at social control.
If you accept this argument then it's easier to see the other major constructs in our lives - politics, religion, education, etc - as being methodologies developed to control society.
The culture/society in which we live is not 'naturally' constructed. It is the result of layered concepts meant to facilitate the greater whole. This concepts (methodologies) can be analyzed the same way as any technological innovation.
And if you are interested in the subject this book is a rather good criticism of Capitalism.
