Researching a Critical Social Issue in Computerization Term Paper

Researching a Critical Social Issue in Computerization - Term Paper Example With the same inspiration, the chosen book encompasses details about the journey of technology and how it has successfully made mankind its slave rather than the opposite. Neil Postman was a technology critic, who doesn’t favor the uncontrolled growth of technology and the reliance on technology more than human intellect and judgments. His book â€Å"Technopoly† has addressed various professions ranging from medicine to education, advertising to business management etc. The current technological trends are troubling and causing impact on the lifestyle of individuals, culture, language and personal relations. Its gradual invasion has been unnoticed by many and has just been accepted as the eventual change of times. However, some people, like the author of the book, are conscious about the changes and try to repel them as much as possible to ensure that they are not overpowered by it. The book stresses on few main adverse effects that have been discussed in the paper. B. Main Concepts from the Book The book explains the gradual technological changes that have taken place in the history of mankind; the main factors that are considered harmful by Neil Postman are: Effects on cultural values Effects on human intellect Effects on social capabilities These three aspects are very important as they effect the social and mental development of humans, alongside the morals and traditions of societies. The power of technology overpowers the intellect of humans, changes cultural values and reduces the need for personal relations. These effects will be discussed in detail in the later sections of the report. These changes have not been sudden. On the contrary, man has witnessed varying degrees of integration of technology with the passage of the years. The author termed these changes as â€Å"ecological† i.e. the original form of something is altered due to some change. The author categorizes the changes into three main eras; tool-using culture, technocra cy and technopoly. Tool-using culture has been defined as the era in which tools were invented to solve problems. The tools did not threaten the cultures, traditions and mental capabilities of humans. Technocracy saw the integration of technology in the lives of the individuals; however industrialism and technical incorporation were still not strong enough to drive away culture, language and morals. Technopoly is explained as the prevailing era in which technology has overpowered human intellect as machines are considered more reliable than humans. It is due to the technological integration in the society that machines are considered more dependable than humans. 1. Effects on human intellect The advent of scientific management took place in 1911 by Frederick Taylor. The principles of scientific management were originally developed for the production processes in industries but soon the respective concept intervened in the whole society and started being followed religiously by peopl e who weren’t even a part of the industrial sector. Scientific management provoked the employees to perform their jobs strictly according to the rules and laws that had been laid down for their specific positions. This created the dependence on technology and freed the people from the responsibility of thinking creatively and making