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diff --git a/content/articles/nature-of-technology.md b/content/articles/nature-of-technology.md index 0dd5470..587e846 100644 --- a/content/articles/nature-of-technology.md +++ b/content/articles/nature-of-technology.md @@ -2,11 +2,9 @@ title: "Review of The Nature of Technology by W. Brian Arthur" date: 2026-02-11T08:26:48+01:00 draft: false -summary: ' ' +summary: '"We need challenge, we need meaning, we need purpose, we need alignment with nature. Where technology separates us from these it brings a type of death."' --- -(Writing in progress) - "The Nature of Technology" explains how the inventions of modern science come to being. This book, published in 2009, was recommended to me by my research project supervisor, Prof. Alexandru. Inside, W. Arthur presents from a new perspective how technologies evolve, drawing a parallel between scientific advancements and a Darwinian-like theory of evolution. @@ -32,20 +30,26 @@ _Our deepest hopes as humans lie in technology; but our deepest trust lies in na That is not to say that we should go out and live in the woods instead of cities. Nonetheless, these first 3 quotes play well into why we should be sceptical of technology. -We hope for it to solve our problems, and with this hope come expectations and unconditional acceptance of solutions to modern issues that technologies provide. +We hope for it to solve our problems, and with this hope come expectations and unconditional acceptance of solutions to modern issues that technologies provide. However, this does not mean its correct to do so. I must admit in the recent times I noticed that less and less people, myself included, separate nature from technology. Since I was born (2004), I was surrounded by innovations such as cars, cellphones, computers etc. As a 12 year old, I never felt "uneasy" about using a computer or a tablet. You can almost argue it was natural to me. It was only by becoming a Computer Science student that I was able to become aware of technology as separate from natural order of life. -We accept technology without critical thought, like the one of W. Arthur. +These days: + +_Technology is a Thing directing human life, a Thing to which human life must bow and adapt._ +We accept technology without critical thought, like the one of W. Arthur. +Back in the days of Arthur, people still trusted in nature, not technology. +I would argue these days, it is no longer true. _And so, the story of this century will be about the clash between what technology offers and what we feel comfortable with._ I disagree. I think the clash that Arthur predicts will never come. What we should be comfortable with will be imposed upon us, with little choice for the individual. +Even these days, humans are more at easy with their phones constantly with them, then alone with their thoughts by themselves. Reading further, Arthur elaborates on why the book is needed - that the pure Darwinian model of evolution does not fit technology. He puts forward the premise of the entire book: @@ -78,3 +82,17 @@ In the end, indeed Torvalds won, since Linux is now the most popular operating s However the above quote begs the question: Did he ever stand a chance to win in the first place? If the structure of invention is a wide body and smaller peripherals does this mean that all the inventions that do not follow this principle are bound to fail? I might be misunderstanding the point Arthur makes here, you could also argue that a micro-kernel still includes a kernel, but I think it is worthwhile to reflect upon this, and whether or not all designs (should) follow this principle. + +W. Brian Arthur summarizes: +_[...] all technologies are combinations of elements; that these elements themselves are technologies; and that all technologies use phenomena to some purpose_ +This neatly sums up the entire book and his theory. +Unlike the Darwinian one, where natural selection dictates which species die and which live, the evolution of technology takes place through different combinations of elements that cater to (relatively) current human needs. +A technology always fulfills a human purpose, and the way it does so is through combinations of other technologies which in return use raw natural phenomena at their most basic level. + +_Technologies are acquiring properties we associate with living organisms. [...] We fear technology as a living thing that will bring us death. +Not the death of nothingness, but a worse death. +The death that comes with no-freedom. +The death of will._ + +The only antidote to this, is to take the reins of technology ourselves, as individuals, and harness it consciously and responsibly. +It is not to forget, that it is the individual that makes the decisions about which technology we use, or not. |