Nye’s Source Views of Technology

David E. Nye’s thoughts about technology have been all over the place in his book intitled Technology Matters. One of the main topics he discusses in his book is the evolution of technology and that much of where technology came from was through using tools in the earlier centuries of human lives. Nye states a small amount of detailed information about his idea of tools being used as a starter of technology for the Homo Sapians species in the earlier years of the human life: “Learning to use tools was a crucial step in the species’ development, both because it increased adaptability and because it led to a more complex social life” (Nye: 2). Nye continues his discussion on tools in not only notifying his readers that tools built up a more diverse social life, but also states that tools can be used in survival and safety mechanisms for these earlier species. Using the tools to kill animals, tend fires, and for murdering for safety matters are all examples of these survival and safety mechanisms. As years and years went on, these tools were made into bigger and better technologies that could be used for a higher purpose. In stating this, Albert H. Teich also discusses the topic of tools having a higher purpose in his novel Technology and the Man’s Future.
Albert H. Teich discusses the idea of tools becoming bigger and better and gaining a greater purpose as something that should be a bigger issue than most think. Teich states that there is a current situation that seems different from the past years of our lives. Teich gives three reasons on why he believes this, however states one specific reason about tools that is in comparison to Nye’s ideas on tools.
“(1) Our tools are more powerful than any before. The rifle wiped out the buffalo, but nuclear weapons can wipe out man. Dust storms lay whole regions wast, but too much radioactivity in the atmosphere could make the planet uninhabitable. The domestication of animals and the invention of the wheel literally lifted the burden from man’s back, but computers could free him fromall need to labor” (Teich: 102-103).

In this quotation, it goes further into the fact that, yes, tools have been something that has been a starter technology since the beginning of time, but as technology continues to grow throughout the years it places a higher impact upon our lives. This impact, in reading Teich’s information, may not be as good of an impact as humans may have wanted.
In addition to talking about the tool usage and its changes throughout the years, a second source of ideas has been brought up in comparison to Nye’s information about how those tools have caused issue for the social aspects of our human lives. Christian Heath and Paul Luff talk about the current uprising issues of technology and the technological social complications it brings to humans.
“Over the past decade or so, a substantial body of literature has emerged concerned with social aspects of tecnology. Perhaps the most important and wide-ranging contributions are concered with the ways in whuch new computer and commiunication technologies are changing the character of contemporary society… (Heath & Luff: 7).
Now that we have all these new technological tools that are constantly being updated and being turned into things that are known to draw a greater attention to the human race, it is becoming a social problem for many. Heath and Luff really dig deep into the matter of social technologies and the problem technology causes all throughout our society and really want to notify people that it really is a bigger issue than many people may actually realize.
I believe the arguments here to be simple. In putting Nye, Teich, Heath and Luff’s ideas together they really want people to understand that if technology keeps growing the way it does, and keeps having such a great impact on our lives, there won’t be much hope for the lives of us humans. In stating that, I mean that the more we depend on technology,the less we are able to look upon ourselves for the answer and do things on our own. I think its good that we use tools and they help impact our lives in what seems to be a helpful way, however, I do agree with the authors in saying that technology continues to be a social issue.
Nye clearifies his information about technology in a smaller amounts of detail than Teich, Heath and Luff. Teich, Heath and Tuff really identify that tools and/or the social aspects of technology have become greater problems than many realize and that people really need to realize these issues before it becomes a bigger problem than it already is. Nye’s information is a simple abstract version of the other authors’ detailed information. I think that Nye just wants it to be straight forward and real. He wants to state something about technology, and be straight forward about it the information. Teich, Heath and Tuff on the other hand really want people to see what they are saying so that is why they write an entire book about the issue as apposed to Nye who writes an entire book about all the technological issues of this world.
Furthermore, in the idea of discussing Nye, Teich, Heath and Tuff’s reasoning and understandings for their novels, Nye’s information, as stated before, is the abstract version of the other authors. This means that Nye tries to aim at the audience of everyone. His information causes the readers to think about the subject involving technology. With that information and that new thinking process the reader can then look at the other authors, that Nye uses, and find further information on the subject through those authors. In reguards to the other authors, Teich seems to focus on the audience of many ages. Since he talks about tools and information concerning the technological tools that form over time, it’s to my understanding that he is looking at people of all age levels. Heath and Tuff on the other hand forward their information on the concerns of technology socially toward business people who form the new technologies that affect our social lives, but also only older individuals. I say only older individuals instead of younger individuals because Heath and Tuff use actual statistics and great amounts of in depth information that may cause some kind of difficulty comprehension for someone at a younger age.
After reading, analyzing, and comparing Nye’s information to Teich, Heath and Tuff’s information throughout their novels a series of new questions based off their information have come to my mind. Is there a point in which we should stop updating the tools that have already been presented to the world or, better yet, is there a point that we will stop looking for new tools at all? In addition, as far as the social issues go, I wonder what kind of society we will have once the technology “completely” takes over our lives. Can we stop it before it does, or has it gone to far? Where did we start to get out of control and why didn’t anyone see it before, or, furthermore, why didn’t these authors themselves do something to get the information out to the world in a different way beyond their novels?