Your Opinion: Technology

[HippsieGypsie]

Your opinion: Overall, does the technology available today make us smarter & well informed or ultimately more dependent on it?

I was presented this question by a friend that's in IT. I'd like to get member's input. I have mine, of which I'll post after awhile.

Thanks.

 

[The Howling Wolves]

Technology should makes us smarter and more informed but sadly to say it makes us more ultimately more dependent!

 

[cluberti]

I think it makes us have easier access to information, but does very little to make us smarter. In fact, I'd say a decent number of people who use the internet are dumber because of it, as they no longer need to learn how to do anything other than point, click, and search for something. I'm not saying it's all bad, but it hasn't been all good either. I suppose each technological breakthrough has had this discussion attached .

 

[Coke Robot]

Both.

Look at social networks....

But in all honesty, I find that technology has made us more dependent on it. I was thinking back on my education, and it seems like in math class, every year I learned how to use a calculator better. There is also the notion that texting has ruined grammar for the younger generations as some can't spell for their life. That, along with the fact that 160 character text message limits has caused people to lose their ability to write, which is not that great of a thing these days when looking for a job and creating a résumé. Heck, Windows 7 and 8 has thing called Math Input Panel that can do high school and college level math! I've yet to test it to be sure it works, but that is tempting to the student with low ethics and laziness. And then I look at sites like Reddit and the day's recent search topics on google or Bing....

Then on the flipside, it's made up smarter. We can find information that we never knew before, information that was once reserved to be found in colleges and universities. Shoot, you can probably get a decent education on the internet! We know things that we didn't a decade ago, we instantly know things as they happen.

Actually, it seems like the coin is more weighted towards that technology has made us more dependent on it than anything.... This I figure to be the norm for most people, but for the rest of us that are tech heads and understand technology rather fluently, technology ends up being dependent on US for it to be smart and to work correctly.

 

[pparks1]

While me may be more dependant, the technology isn't going away so I don't see the concern. In the event of an apocalypse, we won't need to lookup how to change the spark plugs in our car anyway.

 

[Mustang]

Like most things technology can be used or abused. No doubt we are more informed with never ending deluges of information from TV, bill boards, mobile devices, radio, etc. Whether we are better informed and the smarter for it is another matter altogether. To me it's a matter of balance. Does the technology serve us, or are we it's slave?

I grew up in a town where practically nobody owned a car. You walked, rode a bike or caught a train/bus. We had a radio, but that's where it stopped. No car, no TV, no air conditioning, no refrigerator, (ice box), no hot water service, (wood chip heater for bath), no telephone, linoleum covered wooden flooors, weatherboard asbestos house. Hot as hell in summer and an ice box in winter. No take away meals outlets. And of course no PCs, emails, smartfones, etc. And no lawns. Only hard baked clay with an assortment of trees and shrubs. And lo and behold we survived!

Getting a letter in the mail was big event. And a telegram ... utlimate excitement!

During WWII my aunty told me she went out with a US navy guy stationed in Perth, the capital of West Australia. As they walked down the main street Saturday night, her escort said: "Lady, this town is half the size of New York cemetery, and twice as dead!" You could fire a cannon down main street without danger of hitting anyone.

The question is, do we really need to be "on air" 24/7? And walk around with electronic devices being a permanent appendage to our ear? Does it really affect my life if some Hollywood star has twins or triplets? Do I really need to know that?

Even in latter years at university, we were made to put our calculators away from time to time and work things out from first principles, so we didn't lose touch with the fundamentals. Knowing how to use approximations can be very handy when you need math input in a hurry. And a misplaced decimal point in a calculator can kill someone if you're a pharmacist preparing a medical formula.

Having said all of that, no doubt mobile phones have saved lives in emergencies. And have many other useful applications. And paying bills by iNet ... why would you do it any other way? And likewise for many other technological items from helicopter ambulances to computerized diagnosis of illness. The list goes on forever. In the Australian outback the Royal Flying Doctor service is an absolute essential life saver.

From a holistic point of view, for those who consider human beings to be made up of body mind and spirit, there is a need to balance all parts of our nature. The concept of contemplative meditation has long been recognized in all parts of the globe as a necessary part of complete development as a human being. The use of modern technology can cause some people to live life at a frenetic pace to the detriment of a balanced development of their psyche.

From a personal point of view I would have to hold my hand up to spending far too much time on PCs. Just look at the length of this post! lol!

Welll that's my 2 cents worth.

 

[Mark Phelps]

No technology can make you "smarter" -- at best, all it can do is provide you information. The possession of that information MIGHT make you "smarter" -- unless that same information is false/biased/misleading -- which will then, only make you "dumber".

As to "well informed" -- same situation. IF you choose to believe EVERYTHING your favorite news source tells you, then to others sharing that same view, you are "well informed". But, at the same time, to those who distrust that same news source, you will appear to be a "brainwashed mindless drone (or, insert other insulting terms that you like better).

As to dependency, that is certainly nothing new. My generation like to "bash" today's younger folks who freak out when their Cell Phones don't work due to system overload, or when they lose broadband internet access (due to power failure), or when their favorite online news site is out of service -- but back in my younger days, we reacted the same way when the "paperboy" got sick and we didn't get our daily newspaper on time! Plus, we often like to rant on today about how online media sources are "biased" -- but the very same thing was true when the media sources were all newpapers or magazines -- their editors were biased, as well.

Basically, the technical details of the information highway change -- but the problems, issues, and failings remain much the same.

 

[znod]

Your opinion: Overall, does the technology available today make us smarter & well informed or ultimately more dependent on it?
Thanks.

Tech doesn't increase smarts, per se. Tech probably decreases some of our abilities because we depend, perhaps, too much on it--e.g., reduced spelling capabilities. I think we are better informed because of tech, although cyberspace contains much inaccurate data, misinformation, and knowledge superficiality. I am way teched up, and I think that a major promise of tech has not been kept--that our workload will be lessened. Not true for various reasons. For one thing, we are expected to do more, and it is much easier to do work when away from brick and mortar. Also, setting tech things up and keeping them working properly takes a great deal of time. To some extent getting teched up and using tech has become the goal rather than using tech to efficiently accomplish tasks, to efficiently provide entertainment, etc., etc.

 

[whs]

Ask someone how much 143 minus 87 is. Then you know whether that person got smarter.

 

[Coke Robot]

Ask someone how much 143 minus 87 is. Then you know whether that person got smarter.

Ahh, let me whip one of my three claculators I have available....

 

[Mustang]

Ask someone how much 143 minus 87 is. Then you know whether that person got smarter.

Duh! Is it 21?


Good call whs! :thumb:

A psychiatrist once said: We spend years and years learning reading, writing and arithmetic. All of which does us absolutely no good at all in a locked ward!

 

[Kebero]

I wouldn't say it's made us smarter or dumber. To say technology has altered his we look at and view our world is probably a more accurate statement.
Sent from my Nokia Lumia 920 using Board Express

 

[HippsieGypsie]

Ok. This went around the world once. Wow! I didn't expect so many answers and a good variety of them. Some answered just in the realm of electronics, but remember it entails all technology. Here's my answer for all it's worth.

Ultimately we don't need most technology, but in a lot of ways we have become dependent on it. Some religious sects, such as the Amish and others, have proven that we don't need most technology. Using technology and seeking for new technology has always and will continue to expand our knowledge. We went from stone age, to iron age, to middle age, to te Renaissance, to the industrial age, to the chemical age, to electronic computer age. It has benefited mankind tremendously, especially the latter three. Annihilating some diseases to name one. We live longer do to medical advances, such with MRI, ultrasound, drugs, robotic surgery, etc. This post as means of communication, smart phones, space exploration, information at our fingertips via the internet, etc. If we desire to live in a modern society are we are dependent on it. We can choose to live in a cave if we want. The choice is always there. Basically all the technology we need is shelter, fire, cooking utensils (especially a knife), and a spear. All this can be made from natural materials.

Wisdom, however, is a different story. I don't think it has made mankind any wiser, for we continue to seek new technology to annihilate people. For one to conquer another has existed too long. Not until this is eradicated will we become wiser IMO.