The Benefits of Technology are Diminishing is a pretty self-explanatory title. In David Cox’s article, he aims
to belittle modern technological advancements based on the fact no recent
inventions matches up to past marvels like the wheel or fire. Rather, Cox sees
all modern inventions as slight improvements over preexisting ones. The author
also relies on statistics to illustrate his point that the peak of mankind’s
creativeness has past and that we are currently heading for another “Dark Ages.”
He attributes this downfall due to the fact our modern society is very wasteful
in terms of resources. Two specific examples of wasted resources the author talks
about are fossil fuels and the creativity of youth.
I find the author’s argument and
support to be a little ridiculous. Claiming that our modern advancements haven’t
been notable improvements upon the preexisting inventions from our grandparents’
era is outlandish. Hybrid vehicle technology is a great example of a necessary modern
advancement that will allow the human civilization to better utilize our
limited amount of fossil fuels. Despite the fact Cox criticizes our modern society
for not conserving our resource we have had inventions that aim to do just that
and the author does not acknowledge these as noteworthy. His extreme exaggeration
can also be seen in the fact that he refers to the year 2024 as the next “Dark
Ages.” In a society with Ipads and the Internet, where we are surrounded by
information; how would another Dark Age even be possible, which was the result
of a lack of information transfer.
Since our last writing assignment
involved thinking about the future I was wondering what you thought the future
would be like. Is Cox right, in that human creativity has reached its peak and
that from here on out everything is going to be a slight improvement over
something we already have? If you think we are following the path described by
Cox, what has caused this downfall in human ingenuity? Or do you think Cox is
wrong and that the future will hold technical marvels that no one can currently
comprehend?
I think that it is a very hard to make a prediction about where we are headed in the future because nobody actually knows what will happen. David Cox’s predictions seem slightly over the top and when you take a step back you can see that this could be said about any period in time. The fact that we don’t have any idea what the future will bring discredits the argument slightly. If a person in the early 1900s could have said the same thing as David Cox, that we have hit an end in technological advances, however soon after the automobile would be invented which is one of the largest advances in history. The point is that anyone can say today that we have hit a technological block but until the future is here there is no way to tell for sure.
ReplyDeleteI think that saying human creativity has reached its peak is a very false prediction. There is no way to predict this, and if humans are able to keep creativity going for this long, why stop now? We have more resources and information than ever to research and create better things. It seems like every year or so we are completely blown away by technologies that come out and it doesn't seem to stop now. It seems like now more than ever humans are able to create things that come only from their imagination.
ReplyDeleteI agree that claiming human creativity has peaked is a false statement. In the short run Cox may be right that new technologies will only be slight improvements on technology we already have. Take Apple for instance. Looking at the first three iPads there are not that many changes other than a sleeker, lighter design and improved camera pixels. And as for the whole 3G and 4G improvements who even knows what the really means. As for the long run, I think it is absurd to think that we have peaked and our innovative spirits are done. In the colonial times do you think people thought they would have electricity? No, probably not until Ben Franklin figured it out. What about flying? Well the Wright Brothers made it happen. So somewhere down the line people we be discontent with what we have a new ideas will emerge to satisfy peoples need. As social standards and conflicts change new rules and technologies will be needed to appease people.
DeleteI have to disagree with his opinion. We are not going to end up in another "dark ages" anytime soon. I also disagree with him saying that we have invented nothing in recent times that's as revolutionary as historic inventions. The creation of the Internet alone is one of the greatest and under appreciated inventions. Because of the internet, knowledge is now free flowing and global communication is easier than ever. Being able to communicate globally is a very important tool that is leading the way to future inventions that are going to revolutionize the way we live our lives.
ReplyDeleteI dont not agree with what he says. I do not think that society will end up in a "dark age". I also do not agree with his belief that society has not had any meaningful inventions. Internet is a very meaningful and useful technology. This has completely changed how we communicate. Even now internet is able to be reached almost anywhere with the use of smart phones.
ReplyDeleteIn my opinion, this guy seems a little off the wall and just anti-progress. How can you even argue that the advancement of technology is a bad thing that does not make any sense? Technology opens so many doors and what we have today was thing of legend and myth in even our parent’s generation. This guy must watch Portlandia because it seems he thinks we should all live like the guy was saying in the clip Ms. Clinnin showed us. I completely disagree with the premise that the advancement of technology is bad, because it does not even make sense. There has to be geniuses out there, but the ones before us did so much that new things are going to be harder and harder to come up with. Cars can now get close to 40 mpg how is that anything compared to my grandparents version the Model T. If this guy didn’t know that now we also have cars that run on electricity that must be no big deal either. I just want to know what made this guy so angry that he hates technology. I bet he had one of those robotic dogs for his kid and it bit him. :(
ReplyDeleteHonestly, I think this guy is putting our minds into a box and saying that nothing good will come out of the future. Back in the actual dark ages I'm sure people didn't even know anything about internet or even have a simple idea of being connected in that way. I believe that this man is doing just that. Saying that our minds won't be able to think of bigger and better technology for the future. We are not done thinking of ways to enhance this earth and we forever will be coming up with new and better technologies. Honestly, how can Cox say that there's not going to be a single mind that will have enough creativity to form a new invention. That's how the internet formed, the laptop computer, even going back to electricity. Therefore, I like a lot of my classmates believe that technology will continue to grow and we will honestly in my opinion never reach the peak of creativity. Who knows who the next Thomas Edison is, but whose to say there isn't one who is being born right now!
ReplyDeleteEven with our slight improvements of preexisting technology no one can say we will go into a Dark Age. Just because most of what see is improvements doesn't mean that someone won't come up with a mind-boggling invention in the near future. We are honestly trying to be more careful with the uses of our natural resources and there is a lot of research happening now about alternatives to our resources. I don't think we'll go into a dark age anytime soon because more and more people are trying to think positively of our future and trying to improve our lazy ways. I don't think we have passed the "peak" or even will ever reach that point. We haven't had a recent scientific breakthrough that changed everyone's life in a while, but I feel like we could soon.
ReplyDeleteI disagree with David Cox with the fact that we are heading towards another Dark Age. When people think about all the new technology advances, we only think about the things we use everyday and that people can afford. There are many more different types of new technology that many people aren't even aware of. These "hidden" inventions are the types of things that are going to advance our lives with technology. The only problem with the inventions that will eventually change our lives, is that they are just way too expensive for anyone to use. Hopefully in the future, inventions will become less expensive and the new technology will actually become affordable.
ReplyDeleteI can see the author’s point, but we have made great advancements in technology in last decade. We are getting very close to being able to use nuclear fusion as a means of power, which will substantially increase the amount of power we can produce. However, many technologies have seemed to stall. The ipad, iphone, etc all just have more and more numbers behind them, but in reality they are very similar to what they were when they were first released. In the automotive industry we have taken a step backward with hybrid technology. Everyone might like the five to ten extra mpgs that a hybrid can get, but the batteries used in the vehicles are some of the worst things mankind produces for the environment. The aerospace industry also has stalled, though companies like GE are producing more fuel efficient jet engines, the technology has been around for over fifty years now. NASA is going back to using rockets that are practically the same as the rockets used in the sixties and seventies. I think modern society is getting way too preoccupied with what celebrity is doing what and what was said on Facebook. Orville and Wilbur Wright had a dream over a hundred years ago and went for it and it forever changed mankind, now we have a dream we put it on the latest and greatest social networking site and then we move on. There is hope for use though as many scientists are working on new forms of energy and other new technologies. However, the largest reason for our stall in technological advancement is undoubtedly the fact that we are blind to how wasteful and inefficient the lives we live really are.
ReplyDeleteCox is wrong when it comes to human creativity. Human creativity is not diminishing in the slightest. If anything, it is increasing. With new inventions opening doors to entire new fields of expertise, more things are being invented and discovered than ever before. The wheel and fire are just as influential of inventions as the internet was in today's time; They completely changed the world. I do believe that society is going to suffer as technology is advancing at such an exponential rate. Soon the expanse of technology will outpace demand and it is going to be difficult to maintain control of it. Although it may not be as serious as Cox makes it out to be, society will feel the effects for sure.
ReplyDeleteI'm still astounded at the technology we're coming up with every day. The fact that new inventions are simply improvements upon the new ones is simply a logical consequence of the inventive process. You make something, and then see what you can make with that, so on and so forth. Making a completely different device out of nowhere would be strange, since nobody has the time or resources to tinker with completely random things to see if they work. We go with what we know works and try to improve and expand upon it.
ReplyDeleteI believe that technology of course has made a great impact in the way we perceive what is and is not creative material. As human beings our potential continues to expand with time and with our technological advances. I also believe that this technology that has supposedly helped us move forward, robs us of the motivation to seek creativity in our everyday lives. I do think that a supposed dark age will come eventually but we have not reached that climax to set us back to the bottom , or origin of our progress, contrary to popular belief
ReplyDeleteThere are always new vantage points and ways of looking at things. New inventions and advances in technology is always being implemented so I don't believe that "humans have run out of creativity" While research such as "finding an alternative for fossil fuels" is still ongoing, isn't because humans aren't creative, it's just certain other processes must have been thought of before going on to it. There might be a period where we reach a utopian like society where all the inventions are fabulous and everything has been invented, but not for a while, a long while.
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