Now, the word “technology” used to mean anything that a person used to make their life easier in some fashion. At one point forks, spoons, and knives were considered to be technology by virtue of that definition. The term has undertaken something of a different meaning in recent days, however. Instead of cars or forks or knives or even electricity, we’re beginning to see the word “technology” as representing all manner of electronic gadgets.
Gadgets which, at the end of the day, are far more important than you’d think.
A lot of people dream of the day that cyborgs become a reality…without realizing that it’s sort of already here. Think about it. How many of you leave your house without your phone or your laptop or your Mp3 player…or all of the above? How many of you would feel like a part of you was missing if you did? Be honest – your gadgets have gotten to the point where they are essentially, an extension of your own body.
Computers control virtually every facet of our society, in one way or another. Our modern day society has developed and shaped itself around the devices available to us. Massive communication networks span the breadth of the globe, connecting us instantaneously with people on the other side of the world. We text. We talk. We tweet. We unthinkingly make purchases with our debit and credit cards, and the computer systems of our bank removes digital currency from our digital account. Our society runs on technology. Now, ask yourself – what would happen if one day that technology simply wasn’t there any more?
Likely as not, society would collapse, if for one reason – we’d lose computers…and more importantly, the internet.
It’d probably be a little something like this.
The ‘net is the lifeblood of our society and computer systems together form the heart. Think about it – not only is the web now our primary means of communication, it also provides us access to…well, everything. In my case, if the internet were to simply stop working one day, I’d be out of a job. And there’d be others worse off than me.
Banks use servers to store financial information. Governments use computers to keep track of sensitive data regarding how their country is run. Scientists use supercomputers to perform research and run simulations. Computers are used to run all manner of automated systems. Digital currency and payments (debit cards and online transactions) are being used ever more often than physical currency. Virtually everything and I mean everything is now stored on a computer’s hard drive.
Destroying the world’s electronic technology would essentially result in something very close to a societal reset. We’d lose access to finances. We’d fall out of touch with friends. Digital entertainment simply wouldn’t exist any more. Forty years, perhaps more, of our civilization would just be…gone.
We’ve come to rely on technology so much that we take it for granted. We hop on our computers and surf the internet without once considering how complex the tech behind the whole experience is. Could you imagine how someone from the middle ages might react seeing even the most basic, low-end laptop of today? Or how an Ancient Greek scholar might view video games or cell phones? And yet we just use all of it, in the same manner as we might use our legs to walk or our lungs to breath – almost without thinking.
Something like this might be closer than you think.
We’ve already passively augmented our bodies and minds with technology. We’re already figurative cyborgs. The day may well come when we become literal cyborgs augmenting ourselves with advanced technology. It’s said that science fiction writers write what they know – that their work is steeped in modern-day allegory and contemporary thoughts and fears. Is it any wonder science fiction features so many robotic humanoids?
This isn’t necessarily a bad thing, mind you. I’m not trying to be a fear monger here, or present the march of technology as anything other than incredible. I’m just trying to provide a bit of perspective, shed a little bit of light on the reality, and in the process, maybe help people appreciate a little more just how much they rely on that little black box sitting on their desk.
Image Credits: Flickr, Quilting sword,
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As I stood in 4 feet of water in the gulf of Mexico, droid pressed to my ear talking to my brother, both of us drinking, he was in Tennessee, I asked him “could you even imagine doing this back when we were young? We had a party line corded phone all the way to the early 90′s”. I said “you could hear that phone go off from 1/4 mile away but now hear I stand in the ocean talking to you on what they call a phone but that really is a small computer”. Of course he couldn’t believe it either and now I post my comment on Rich’s article in seconds using the same “phone” that I used that day
Were you feeling…poetic? Or, hyperbolic?