Blackberry Fever, Big TVs, and HMOs
This video is a CNN news story on blackberries and their impact on lives.
I love technology that enhances the quality of life. I do not like technology that exists to make you a more efficient worker bee.
To me the difference is time. If a technology frees up more time, or makes a particular period of time more enjoyable, then it's a good thing. However, if the technology requires more of your time, then it either has no benefit or zero effect.
There are many pieces of technology that don't improve life much at all. The size and definition of TVs are a good example of this. Sixty years of technology, and the end result is the same. . . sitting on a couch and paying attention to a series of images and sounds. Granted, the epistemology of those images and sounds have improved, but the resources and time spend on aquiring a larger delivery system for the same effect is just a colossal waste.
At the other extreme, improvements in health technology have given the people of the world plenty of beneficial time. We live longer, more pain-free lives and have a better understanding of our own bodies and minds than we ever had before.
If we could only take the resources spend on TV improvement and somehow convert that into greater health care acess. . . hmm, tricky.
posted by Chris W. @ 1:31 PM
