The nature of technological determinism Essays

The nature of technological determinism Essays The nature of technological determinism Paper The nature of technological determinism Paper Determinism means that things are destined to occur or linked by a divine plan. Philosophically the theory of Determinism states that present conditions are so by neccessity (1972, Popkin, Stroll Kelly). Technological determinism at its extreme believes technology drastically and directly transforms our society and way of living. That technology itself causes social change. Many sociologists disagree with these ideas as they denote the importance of the user, the person, the active and living society. How can technology itself be considered more influencial than those who have developed it? Socio-cultural determinists present technologies and media as entirely subordinate to thier developmental use (webref 1) Similarily Voluntarists promote the idea we choose to use these electronic media, they are simply our tools. Chandler discusses this idea of making the tools neutral within determinism. He argues all these tools and media lend themselves to the experience they were created for. For example a word processor is designed to aid writing, this fact itself suggests the user selects this tool to write because they relate to its function. In other words thier ideas about writing may be closley linked to the tool they use, although the tool itself is empty until something is written. He argues all media give shape to experience, and they do so in part through their selectivity. (web ref 3) Dertouzos (1998) reminds us although the information superhighway is global it does not mean there is not an element of cultural imperialism in this space. English and the ways we learn and select information is embedded into the current climate of the internet. Consider that even the way we understand images varies from culture to culture. As English dominates cyberspace could this be regarded as an aspect of technological determinism? Surely it must be as this reflects our society in the real world. Also consider the fact that it has been western countries who have embraced and nutured this technology. Our western societies still seem to cling to the old ideas of Modernism in many ways. Progress it would seem is now more than ever related to computer technologies. Progress itself is seen to lie within these multimedia domains. Of course technology can change our ways of living. Most of these fantastical technological developments however should be regarded as being achieved by the aide of the computer. Computer-aided design, computer-aided engineering, computer-aided manufacturing. All these developments still require the human element. The computer does not have a mind of its own, unlike in the pessimistic technological world of Bladerunner, it cannot choose its application, it is the human who selects how, if at all, the devices will be applied. I wonder if the only way of determining the true impact technology has on global society is to take it away. Say we do dispose of these technologies, what percentage of the global population will directly and immediately be affected in thier daily lives? Do the technological haves really greatly outnumber the have-nots ? Determinism relies on the premise events occurr out of neccessity but what about thoses peoples whose cultures and lives do not value technology as a neccessity? Is technology really a need or simply a choice? I believe the later.

Origin of OK

Origin of OK Origin of OK Origin of OK By Maeve Maddox The word OK has found its way into just about every language on earth. Although it’s usually written in all capitals and pronounced as separate letters, OK is a word and not an acronym, although it began as one. The most likely origin of OK is as an acronym for â€Å"Oll Korrect,† a deliberate misspelling of â€Å"all correct.† In the years before the American Civil War (1861-1864), journalists thought it was great fun to misspell words for comic effect. Writer Charles Farrar Browne  (1834-1867),  for example, wrote political humor under the byline Artemus Ward. Abraham Lincoln is said to have been one of his greatest fans. Here’s a passage in which he takes a stand against secession: Feller Sitterzens: I am in the Sheer Yeller leaf.   I shall peg out 1 of these dase.   But while I do stop here I shall stay in the UnionI shall stand by the Stars Stripes.   Under no circumstances whatsomever will I sesesh.   Let every Stait in the Union sesesh let Palmetter flags flote thicker nor shirts on Square Baxters close line, still will I stick to the good old flag.   Translation: Fellow Citizens: I am in the sere and yellow leaf [I’m old]. I shall peg out [die] one of these days.  But while I do remain here I shall stay in the UnionI shall stand by the American flag.   Under no circumstances whatsoever will I secede.   Let every State in the Union secede and let Palmetto flags float thicker than shirts on Squire Baxters clothes line, still will I stick to the good old flag.    Note: â€Å"The sere and yellow leaf† is an allusion to a line from Macbeth. The Palmetto flag was the state flag of South Carolina; it was flying over Fort Sumter on the day the Union garrison surrendered to Confederate forces. Squire Baxter is a fictional character of Ward’s invention. Ward was not the only writer to adopt deliberate misspelling as a stylistic device. By 1839, the misspelling â€Å"oll korrect† for â€Å"all correct† had been compressed to O.K. and was familiar to newspaper readers on the East Coast at least: Boston Evening Transcript 11 Oct. 2/3, 1839.  Our Bank Directors have not thought it worth their while to call a meeting, even for consultation, on the subject. It is O.K. (all correct) in this quarter. –OED citation. When O.K. became associated with the presidential campaign of Martin Van Buren (1782-1862), its use spread throughout the nation. One of Van Buren’s campaign ploys was to associate himself as much as possible with the previous president, Andrew Jackson. Jackson had been known affectionately as â€Å"Old Hickory,† so Van Buren came up with the nickname â€Å"Old Kinderhook,† an allusion to the small New York town that was his birthplace. The abbreviation O.K. for â€Å"Old Kinderhook† became a rallying cry and a logo. The press lost no time in connecting the O.K. of Van Buren’s political slogan with the O.K. that stood for â€Å"all correct.† By the end of the campaign, â€Å"O.K.† was entrenched in American English throughout the country. In addition to its adjectival uses to denote things that are â€Å"all correct,† OK is also used as noun, verb, adverb, and interjection. Note on the word â€Å"acronym† In general usage, acronym refers to words or letter groupings like FBI, TGIF, NATO, and LASER. Some speakers prefer to reserve the word acronym for words like NATO that can be pronounced as words and use the term initialism for letter groupings that are pronounced as a series of letters, like FBI. Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the General category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:Compared "to" or Compared "with"?Used To vs. Use To5 Ways to Reduce Use of Prepositions