Technology as an extension of our humanity

We, who live in (relatively) civilized and developed countries, could not survive without the basics of running water and electricity. Devices, gadgets, and machines of all kinds surround us, allowing us to perform the basic tasks that make up our daily existence. The very fact that you are reading this means that you are using one of the many electronic tools on which we depend so much.

Man’s ability to invent and use tools has allowed him to rise above the rest of the biosphere. When we are shown the word “technology”, we often think of computing devices that are powered by electricity and the like, but in reality, even a simple wooden stick, in the hands of a creature using it for something that augments its natural abilities, it is technology. Even our less intelligent animal cousins ​​are capable of using tools, but the heights we’ve reached in the tool-using paradigm outweigh all their advances combined. We are the best tool users on this planet.

Let’s go back to more modern times. There have always been those who denounced the use of advanced technologies (advanced compared to their level of technology use, anyway), such as the Amish who see the use of electricity as a distraction from their approach to living a life immersed in their faith, or those who follow the principles of Christian Science who refuse to partake of modern medicine. They are still using more rudimentary forms of technology than centuries ago, were considered technological advances (and were probably considered heretical back then).

These technology naysayers often see these new ways of doing things as a departure from tradition and an unnecessary reliance on something that is not associated with nature or your chosen supreme being/presence/spirit/etc. At the risk of my readers calling me a Luddite, I actually agree with the anti-tech camp to some extent.

We are often guilty of abusing modern conveniences to the point of doing a job haphazardly or haphazardly. Most technologies are also not exempt from tolls. Every time you drive your car to go somewhere instead of just walking (I know some people who choose to drive to a destination just twenty meters from home), you are burning non-renewable fossil fuels and making the air you breathe a little dirtier.

The ideal view of technology is that it is supposed to allow us to do more and do it better. We propose these advances to solve existing problems and hopefully not create new ones. Technology should benefit more people and harm less, and that is not what we see in our world today.

This is a double message that I want to convey to the rest of humanity. I’m sure many before me have had these feelings, but we are a stubborn species, so I’m doing my part by reiterating it once again. We, as the most technologically advanced species on this planet, must strive to create technologies that enhance the positive aspects of our humanity, and when these products of science become available to us, we must do all we can to use them responsibly. In that, I disagree with those who avoid technology. These are tools, and they are as harmful or beneficial as those who wield them. Let us use these implements for the good of man and the planet, and not as devices for our self-destruction.