I'd have to take the side of Marshall McLuhan on your point that "technology is just a tool." Technology is not just a tool. It is a manifestation of a philosophy and a culture. McLuhan stated that media technology, such as television, could not help but extend the culture that created it. The same idea has been restated, refined and reinforced by numerous other authors like Jerry Mander (cultural genocide by technology) and Sherry Turkle (coined the term "epistemological pluralism" to refer to the multiple ways of knowing). The following paragraph is from McLuhan's 1964 book "Understanding Media":
'In accepting an honorary degree from the University of Notre Dame a few years ago, General David Sarnoff made this statement: "We are too prone to make technological instruments the scapegoats for the sins of those who wield them. The products of modern science are not in themselves good or bad; it is the way they are used that determines their value." That is the voice of the current somnambulism. Suppose we were to say, "Apple pie is in itself neither good nor bad; it is the way it is used that determines its value." Or, "The smallpox virus is in itself neither good nor bad; it is the way it is used that determines its value." Again, "Firearms are in themselves neither good nor bad; it is the way they are used that determines their value." That is, if the slugs reach the right people firearms are good. If the TV tube fires the right ammunition at the right people it is good. I am not being perverse. There is simply nothing in the Sarnoff statement that will bear scrutiny, for it ignores the nature of the medium, of any and all media, in the true Narcissus style of one hypnotized by the amputation and extension of his own being in a new technical form. General Sarnoff went on to explain his attitude to the technology of print, saying that it was true that print caused much trash to circulate, but it had also disseminated the Bible and the thoughts of seers and philosophers. It has never occurred to General Sarnoff that any technology could do anything but add itself on to what we already are.' (p.11) It is no mistake nor is it a coincidence that HTML is written in English (as is Java and just about every other machine language I have ever seen). All technology carries the biases of the creator. I could go on (and bore everyone to tears) but I will let it rest there. Kelvin Wong Department of Computer Science University of Victoria Victoria, British Columbia, Canada My Blog on Aboriginal People and Technology http://nativetech.blogspot.com/ -----Original Message----- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Taran Rampersad Sent: March 1, 2005 1:06 PM To: Steve Eskow Cc: The Digital Divide Network discussion group Subject: Re: [DDN] Re: The digital divide and the idea of "public computing" ... Technology is just a tool. The real problem of the Digital Divide isn't technology as much as it is use of technology in an appropriate manner which increases the quality of life. Giving a farmer in an obscure part of the world an internet connection isn't going to feed him or her. It's the social interaction and imaginative use of technology that will help that farmer to create a better way of life... _______________________________________________ DIGITALDIVIDE mailing list DIGITALDIVIDE@mailman.edc.org http://mailman.edc.org/mailman/listinfo/digitaldivide To unsubscribe, send a message to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with the word UNSUBSCRIBE in the body of the message.
