Technology?

[Fake Mike]

I was just reading another thread about credit cards….Instead of spending a ton a time (which I don't have) and “trying” to shed light on the topic…I found that it was probably better to ask a “simple” question.

Do you think that technology makes your life better or worse?


Why?

Also Post what you do for a living....and if your male or female...
I'll post my opinion later....real busy at the moment...

Over and out
Mike...

[bb_bboy]

I can't wait for the subjective arguments that will arise in this thread.

I think that technology makes my life better. One reason is that it increases the efficiency with which I can do otherwise mundane tasks and thus enables me to spend more time focusing on the things that I want to do. Focusing on the things that I want to do makes life more enjoyable for me. I consider getting more enjoyment from life as living better than the alternative.

[Ace42]

Technology if one of the few objective and tangible things that distinguish us from animals. Thus I think it is a good thing, as it would suck to be an animal.

[ASsman]

Yah, it's good, just like medical research, but it can be used FOR EVIL!#!@

So, yah, double edged sword.

[SobaViolence]

all my time and energy is currently invested in reading books, writing essays, working at a hotel and loving my girl. technology only helps in my hotel job(except frequenting this board, of course).

technology only helps distract an already simple, ignorant, easily-manipulated populace from matters of real concern. a pox on television.

[Fake Mike]

Also post what you do for a living..... ;) And if your male or female

[Ace42]

Books are an example of technology, they are produced by technology, they are used to convey technological concepts. If anything, books are the cornerstone of modern technology.

And you can't type a formal essay without a PC or type-writer, both technological.

[SobaViolence]

fine. i love technology.

i just hate goddamn television... :mad:

[ms.peachy]

Better.

I am a female.

I develop educational resources on the subject of science and technology.

[jusme1072]

i love technology, it contributes to so many good things, music, knowledge, medicine and creativity. i know it can be said it does the opposite for those things also, but i see the good in it.

account manager for physicians, female

[Fake Mike]

all my time and energy is currently invested in reading books, writing essays, working at a hotel and loving my girl. technology only helps in my hotel job(except frequenting this board, of course).

technology only helps distract an already simple, ignorant, easily-manipulated populace from matters of real concern. a pox on television.


Technology helps your hotel Job?

Say new software hit the streets....you could be laid off....due to technology...and if you dont get laid off, one of your buddies might?

I for one....have to disagree on "technology" making your life better....
Being an accountant.....I have a work load of about 80 people....with out "Peach tree" (accounting program) my company would have to hire 79 more people....hence, 79 accountants don't have a job b/c of software....

So while I enjoy checking my emails, I'm almost positive...that I would enjoy 79 other co-workers.
But fuck the co-workers
Without software and computers...I would be making at least $200,000 :eek:

Just somthing to think about....I'm suprised that everyone seems to enjoy technology.... :rolleyes:

[Funkaloyd]

(Assuming that mathematics and currency aren't considered technology...)

I don't think that there'd be much demand for accountants without technology. What's the point of wealth if you don't have anything to spend it on?

[FunkyHiFi]

Ooooh a favorite subject of mine! But am tired so will say something later (preview: just checked out price today of "normal" phones* for my place, i.e. ones with a wire connecting to the handset because those cordless ones cost too much; what if the power goes out; and who needs more radio waves going through their brain? :) )

* want to get this one (http://www.bellsystemmemorial.com/telephones-trimline-article.html)--only $12 at Best Buy (has pushbuttons though, not that dial). I had one for years (cost $45 in 1991!) but it got zapped by lightning early in '99.

[racer5.0stang]

If it were not for technology, you would not have been able to pose your question.

And don't forget about our treasured electricity. It isn't magic you know.

[yeahwho]

[QUOTE=Fake Mike]I was just reading another thread about credit cards….Instead of spending a ton a time (which I don't have) and “trying” to shed light on the topic…I found that it was probably better to ask a “simple” question.

Do you think that technology makes your life better or worse?


Why?[QUOTE]


I'm a Luddism Counselor....I am a male or female...
I'll post my opinion later....real busy at the moment...

Over and out
Yeahwho...LPLC

[Fake Mike]

If it were not for technology, you would not have been able to pose your question.

And don't forget about our treasured electricity. It isn't magic you know.

Listen Sherlock, :rolleyes:

I'm well aware of the fact "technology" allowed me to pose my question... :eek: However, I personally do not think my "laptop" or "my desktop" makes my life any better....If anything...I'm provided a glut of information..of which I have to weed out useful from that of the "Crap." making my life more difficult...

Computers without a question have "de-skilled" society allowing Monkeys to do what was once considered a valued trade...

my intent was to challenge the majority...People wonder why india and china are taking all of our jobs....

one does not have to be an economist to understand that technology is the main factor allowing for the outsourcing of jobs...not our economy...

So when I asked if technology makes your life better or worse...most dismissed the fact that life was more or less better before Bill gates' empire even hit the scene....

This is not to say that I hate technology....I felt it was an interesting topic...well worth discussing....

Over and out
Mike

[Fake Mike]

[QUOTE]


I'm a Luddism Counselor....I am a male or female...
I'll post my opinion later....real busy at the moment...

Over and out
Yeahwho...LPLC

very funny....I actually don't mind technology....my question was more or less just that...a question...

[yeahwho]

So when I asked if technology makes your life better or worse...most dismissed the fact that life was more or less better before Bill gates' empire even hit the scene....



It was better before Bill (BB), for many reasons, but the #1 reason is most people think computers empower them with the ability for social change, but the same technology that empowers you, manipulates you. A physical presence motivates, an electronic presence has, will and continues to be way down the chain of events for social change. At least with the advent of television, in the 60's most people against the war in vietnam KNEW you had to do something to make change. The internet is rigged, in the sense that it lulls people into a false sense of activism, or worse, it is really rigged.

[Fake Mike]

It was better before Bill (BB), for many reasons, but the #1 reason is most people think computers empower them with the ability for social change, but the same technology that empowers you, manipulates you. A physical presence motivates, an electronic presence has, will and continues to be way down the chain of events for social change. At least with the advent of television, in the 60's most people against the war in vietnam KNEW you had to do something to make change. The internet is rigged, in the sense that it lulls people into a false sense of activism, or worse, it is really rigged.

Its nice to see someone on the left coast has some intelligence!!! :eek:

[Ali]

And you can't type a formal essay without a PC or type-writer, both technological.Dickens managed.

Point taken about books. Without the printing press- technology- no books.

[yeahwho]

As an added bonus, in the 60's the news was real, not fake.

Could you imagine how the Civil Rights movement would have gone via email?

We've got what we got in the nick of time. ;)

[jusme1072]

hmmm, i don't know if i agree with the idea that technology wouldn't have helped the civil rights movement. could have made some great flyers, some interesting, informative dvd's and videos. i don't know for sure, no one does i guess, just a thought.

[yeahwho]

hmmm, i don't know if i agree with the idea that technology wouldn't have helped the civil rights movement. could have made some great flyers, some interesting, informative dvd's and videos. i don't know for sure, no one does i guess, just a thought.
Point well taken and wholly understood, yet I watch the gay's blog and slog through the internet daily and they are still considered lesser than in the Right to Marriage? They've been politically active since Stonewall (http://www.stonewallrevisited.com/) in 1969, though in 2005 what progress I've seen in the Gay rights movement is Sit-Com and periphial characters on TV who potray the Gay community. What would of happened w/o the internet with the Gay movement is what really interests me. Being forced to make an actual presence in goverment makes for a change.

Hey I'm a computer maniac, I pontificate with the best of them, but the rubber hits the road when I'm looking for change...at best the computer is a good sounding board and research tool for social change.

[ms.peachy]

Point well taken and wholly understood, yet I watch the gay's blog and slog through the internet daily and they are still considered lesser than in the Right to Marriage? They've been politically active since Stonewall (http://www.stonewallrevisited.com/) in 1969, though in 2005 what progress I've seen in the Gay rights movement is Sit-Com and periphial characters on TV who potray the Gay community. What would of happened w/o the internet with the Gay movement is what really interests me. Being forced to make an actual presence in goverment makes for a change.

Hey I'm a computer maniac, I pontificate with the best of them, but the rubber hits the road when I'm looking for change...at best the computer is a good sounding board and research tool for social change.

okay this is kind of taking this thread off on a tangent, but you're leaving one very (devastatingly) important thing out of your camparison between the civil rights movement and the gay rights movement, which is the impact of the AIDS epidemic.

[yeahwho]

okay this is kind of taking this thread off on a tangent, but you're leaving one very (devastatingly) important thing out of your camparison between the civil rights movement and the gay rights movement, which is the impact of the AIDS epidemic.

huh? Aids is the reason for Gays not having a right to marriage? I guess I need more clarification.

[ms.peachy]

huh? Aids is the reason for Gays not having a right to marriage? I guess I need more clarification.

The gay rights movement made a lot of progress through the seventies, but was then sent reeling in the eighties by the AIDS crisis. I mean, to this day, you still have people who think it is a 'gay' disease, and some who even view it as sent by God to punish those who in their view live a sinful life.

It is not possible to gauge to what extent the movement would have progressed by now had this epidemic not occurred, of course. However I do think that it was a serious, serious setback that crippled the gay comunity in terms of gaining acceptance and understanding.

[yeahwho]

The gay rights movement made a lot of progress through the seventies, but was then sent reeling in the eighties by the AIDS crisis. I mean, to this day, you still have people who think it is a 'gay' disease, and some who even view it as sent by God to punish those who in their view live a sinful life.

It is not possible to gauge to what extent the movement would have progressed by now had this epidemic not occurred, of course. However I do think that it was a serious, serious setback that crippled the gay comunity in terms of gaining acceptance and understanding.

True, with all the great factual information on AIDS available online it perplexes me how anyone could be so stupid to not understand the reality of AIDS statistics, I think this is how I guage the technical factors of dispensing information via the internet. Technology isn't helping their cause. Is it?

[Ace42]

I mean, to this day, you still have people who think it is a 'gay' disease

Fortunately, the anal sex revolution is helping to combat this misconception.

[Fake Mike]

Not that it has anything to do with technology....but being gay used to be classified in the DSM-IV....I have no clue how anyone could classify being gay as having a mental disease :confused:

[Ace42]

I have no clue how anyone could classify being gay as having a mental disease :confused:

Have you seen some of the clothes they wear? And what about the music? Jeez.

[racer5.0stang]

Not that it has anything to do with technology....but being gay used to be classified in the DSM-IV....I have no clue how anyone could classify being gay as having a mental disease :confused:


Kinda like saying that you are born that way.

[Ace42]

Kinda like saying that you are born that way.

No, it is nothing like that in any way shape or form. There are all manner of non-congenital mental illnesses that are classified under the DSM.

[jusme1072]

Fortunately, the anal sex revolution is helping to combat this misconception.

now we are off onto a whole other thread, but i thought this was hilarious, seeing as lesbians are the least likely out of the population to get AIDS. so i'm not sure how the "anal sex revolution" shows that this is a gay disease. oh, maybe you just meant it is a punishment for the men who are gay, but it's all good for the girls. i get it, nevermind.

[Ace42]

oh, maybe you just meant it is a punishment for the men who are gay, but it's all good for the girls.

Or maybe it was irony, and was implying that men blasting sluts in the ass results in an equal risk of infection as men blasting other men in the ass.

Infact, that is exactly what it was.

[yeahwho]

When is anal sex going to advance? In a technical sense. So lesbians can enjoy it too.

[Ace42]

When is anal sex going to advance? In a technical sense. So lesbians can enjoy it too.

When they find a way to hardwire the clit to the strap-on.

Besides, I've seen some dykes using a double-ender on their respective ring-pieces.

[jusme1072]

Or maybe it was irony, and was implying that men blasting sluts in the ass results in an equal risk of infection as men blasting other men in the ass.

Infact, that is exactly what it was.

aahhh, irony, understood. wow this thread sure went off track, now it is the ass screwin thread. technology to ass screwin, we got it all on this board.

[yeahwho]

When they find a way to hardwire the clit to the strap-on.

Besides, I've seen some dykes using a double-ender on their respective ring-pieces.
Yep. Googled it. Fucking Technology! :D

[FunkyHiFi]

I think SOME technology has improved our lives, and some has caused harmful stresses and certain negative changes in our culture.

For example, computers:

* great for medical research..........as long as they stay away from screwing around with genetics. F'ing with a living thing's DNA scares the shit out of me.

* education: personally I yet have to hear of any real and substantial educational improvements that can be attributed to the kid's use of a computer. The people that put men on the moon had only slide rules and paper/pencil when they were back in school.

* kids. What the heck do kids do for entertainment these days? Is it really just video games and the Internet? I really, really hope not but the fact that pretty much every hobby shop I know of has closed in the past decade must mean something to that effect. My nieces/nephews are amwazed at all the plane, car and ship models I made; the electronic kits on the shelf and stories of me and my friends' hikes across the freeway to go mess around in the bayou. And what about all those overweight kids........

* the Internet: if the entire system burned out tomorrow, I really wouldn't care. And much of the "information" on the Net is just personal opinion stated as facts, i.e. sometimes it can be a huge gossip and proprganda machine causing MISinformation to be spread on a massive scale--not good. And it does make certain things happen faster--finding information; spreading information (the true AND the false varieties); shopping, etc--but most of the things it does faster can be done in more conventional ways. And that leads me to an issue I hope I can describe properly:

I believe that many of the tasks that computers, and now the Internet, allow us to complete so much more quickly than before their creation have caused a lot of stress for society as a whole. Why? Because a human being can never be as fast as a computer. So you never seem to finish your work because the computer always has more for you to do. Kind of like that classic "I Love Lucy" episode where Lucy & Ethel are candy wrappers and they keep speeding up the conveyor belt, which finally goes so fast the women can't wrap fast enough so they start compensating by stuffing the candy down their shirts and in their hats. So in the end they never really do their job properly, they became stressed and basically did all that work for nothing.

I don't understand why everything has to be done so quickly nowadays. Holy crap, they now sell soup you can drink out of a bottle while you drive or sit in your work cubicle. Fun! :( Many people are trying to make money that they really can't enjoy because they are such in a rush to do the next thing on their list (or PDA, Blackberry, etc) that when they finally have some down time, they are too exhausted to do anything.

The movie Contact (http://imdb.com/title/tt0118884/), written by Carl Sagan, is one of my favorite movies and when I heard one of the main characters say the following, I felt like I wasn't totally crazy as far as what I've been discussing. The quote might not be perfect since I wrote it down while the movie played and certain parts trail off because this takes place when the mian character, Dr. Ellie Arroway, is just starting to receive the alien's transmission which becomes very loud.

Larry King is interviewing Palmer Joss about a book he wrote:

King: "Are you anti-technology, anti-science?"

PJ: "No, not at all. The question that I'm asking is this: Are we happier as a human race? Is the world fundamentally a better place because of science and technology? We shop at home, we surf the web, but at the same time we feel emptier, lonelier, and more cut-off from each other than at any other time in human history. We're becoming a synthesized society, in a great big hurry to get to the next big.......scene changes to Ellie listening with headphones at the VLA (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/VLA), then back to the interview.............I think it's because we're looking for the meaning. What is the meaning? We have mindless jobs, we take frantic vacations, [and] deficit finance trips to the mall to buy more things that we think are going to fill these holes in our lives. I mean, is it any wonder we've lost our sense of direction?

Wow.

This movie is really good IMO because it has the main characters representing two opposing views, pure science (Dr. Arroway) and religion (Palmer Joss, who almost became a priest) but has them discuss things calmly and be in situations that show both of their belief systems in what I think are objective ways. It also shows how aspects of both can coexist with each other, something I believe in myself. And it also has some really cool sci-fi moments in it and an awesome soundtrack! :)