Category: Uncategorized

To start this class we were asked to read two articles about whether the human brain could be compared to a computer. In going through both articles taking their arguments into account I found it hard to believe that you could compare our brains to a computer or anything else in this world. There was just to many differences between the two in order to compare them. The question was asked whether we believe that there will be something in the future that will be comparable to our brain and I still don’t believe that we will ever find something that will be similar to the human brain. The instincts that our brain has cannot be recreated.

Yesterday we thought about if we could time travel to anytime in the past. I found it very entertaining to think about where I would go and to create a character for that moment. I decided that I would go back to the roaring 20s to experience that time period of a incredibly exciting moment in the history of the United States. All of the new innovations and technology that we take advantage of today was just starting out back then and I think it would have been awesome to see that.

This brought us into the topic of how technology affects our lives today, whether our generation is optimistic or pessimistic about the future of technology. It was puzzling to try to answer it because people are always excited about the improvements in technology but, these same people never seem to be satisfied with what iPhone they are currently using. Older generations look down on our generation because they don’t like how connected we our with our phones, thinking that it hurts our communication skills and having face to face relationships with the people closest to us. This is an interesting dynamic to look at, how even when a group of friends are together everyone still seems to want to talk to people that are not in the same place as they are.

I am still wondering to myself if our brain is a computer. It is very interesting to think about. Through computer science classes here at Bucknell I have seen how many computer programs, such as Artificial Neural Networks, are designed based on how the brain works. In my own opinion I do not think our brain is a computer. I believe that as of now, the brain is more complex than any computer humans could design at the moment. Computers are just starting to be able to beat humans at games like chess, but thats about as smart as they have gotten.

This assessment of our technology relates to A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthurs court. Technology is so common place/advanced now that if were to wake up in a different time period with less technology it would almost be like going to a different planet. I would even go as far as to say if some people woke up in a less advanced country such as Africa or even some parts of South America, that they would be just as confused as if they woke up in a different time period.

This should concern us, at this rate technology is becoming so prevalent that as a society we are starting to become dependent on it. Thus, technology companies are gaining a lot of power… maybe even too much. Every major country would come to a complete halt if they were to loose power. Which is a very real possibility in the near future with the rate we are using energy now.

As an environmental science major, I find myself often concerned with the concept of societal norms and how these can be altered and utilized to create a more sustainable universal lifestyle. Therefore, I found a particular interest in our class discussion regarding Amish culture, as their “normal” did not overlap with my own. Specifically looking at the use of technology, I found it fascinating to hear that their choice to minimize their use and exposure to technology is rooted in their efforts to maintain the fabric of their interpersonal relationships. This is an interesting contrast to my own culture and accepted norm as I view technologies like social media, telephones, and modes of fast transportation to be the main components of the fabric of my relationships. That’s how I stay in contact with my friends and family, visit those who live far away, and still maintain my normal daily life.

The further we discussed the Amish’s minimal-technology beliefs, the more I questioned my own accepted norm. Yes, my social media and ability to call anyone I need to keeps me in fairly immediate contact with anyone in my life, however I have to pause the current moment I am in to do so. Conversations are interrupted by phone calls, meals with friends are distracted by twitter, and the ability to travel anywhere makes it difficult to maintain a steady community. Although imperfect, this is the norm that my society has established, and it doesn’t take much effort for it to become widely accepted.

Most of the time, I find myself adopting norms just because other people around me are doing so. Trends in fashion, technology, and lifestyle constantly flux, ebb, and flow as people within societies choose to accept specific norms together as a whole. I couldn’t help but notice this throughout the entire first chapter of A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court, as Hank Morgan trespassed into a community much different than his own, with entirely different norms. He gaped at these people as they gaped back at him, since both believed the other to be out of line with their respective appearances. Morgan’s modern wardrobe was startlingly different to those of the garishly old fashioned members of King Arthur’s Court, meanwhile these people found child nudity perfectly typical in daily life.

Morgan has a difficult time respecting these people as he is so distracted by how they choose to live. Being from the future, Morgan is clearly intellectually superior, but he is astounded by how thoughtless these people are. The focus in this society is clearly on brawns, as they tend to challenge each other to unprompted physical fights just for the sake of it, causing Morgan to comment that “brains were not needed in a society like that” (22). These people practice traditions that seem ridiculous and avoidable to an outsider, but are widely accepted by those within the culture and are followed without hesitance. The cycle of prisoner and imprisoner is inevitable to these people, so when it is someone’s turn to be enslaved, “maimed, hacked, carved…” they were expecting this reality and therefore endure it without complaint (20). The cycle is easily breakable, but remains intact as an accepted standard.

The people of this foreign culture of King Arthur’s Court display an exaggerated complacency that I find myself guilty of today. I know that I don’t need specific technologies to maintain the fabric of my relationships, in fact it may grow stronger without certain ones, but I practice regular use of these same technologies anyway.

Coming into this class, I was not quite sure what to expect. Looking back on the discussions we had this week, I am glad I enrolled in this course. Being a biology major, I am used to intense memorization of terms and have never been pushed to think about deeper psychological issues at hand. I think this will give me a new perspective and will encourage me to apply myself in my education in ways that I never considered.

I was especially interested in the excerpt from Sigmund Freud’s “Civilization and Its Discontents” (1913) that we read in class on Thursday. This was written shortly after World War I in which technology showed a significant progression. Although the introduction of these inventions, such as the telephone and the railroad, allowed communication and travel to make great advancements, Freud and others were not as excited. They saw this progression as a hinderance and did not see the point because they created problems of their own. Looking at this dialectically, we can see how technology can both enable happiness and cause suffering. In medicine for example, there is the moral question of whether it is better to extend one’s life so that they have more time on Earth or if this would only elongate the suffering in which “we can only welcome death as a deliverer”. It is also important to consider the consequences of increasing one’s longevity with the planet in mind. If the birth rate continues to increase or even stay at a very high number, the population will climb immensely. This in turn will have such a dramatic effect on the environment, with food and water shortages, increased carbon footprint, and many other problems. This spiral effect poses an alarming reality check and makes us question whether technological advances are actually beneficial.

Connecting this to Mark Twain’s book “A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court”, we speculate the main character, Hank, and his observations of the new time period he has been placed in. There are obvious differences that show how time and technology influences every aspect of life. Hank is awestruck at their fashion, the way they talk, and the way they treat their prisoners like “white indians”. With every new technological advance, society will change and adapt to that technology. Humans don’t have much free will at all. Whatever society as a whole is using to communicate, they feel the need to have that as well. There is a fear of being left out and not being able to be on the same page as everyone else. I think that this shows that as a species, we are always looking for the next best thing because we seem to be dissatisfied with what we have. Hank shows this theory in a different light in which people will change to fit in, even if it is not necessarily better, but to thrive in the environment they are placed in. When trying to get himself out of the numerous predicaments he finds himself in, he utilizing over exaggeration because he knows that the people in Arthur’s court will believe everything he says. He is using the form of communication during that era to his benefit and also trying to fit in and gain the approval of his peers. But, he takes this to the next level in which he uses his heightened sense of knowledge to seem all knowing and powerful. It is clear that technology has given people the opportunity to learn (printing books, microscopes, telescopes, etc) and Hank’s reference to the eclipse and his skills in explosions to destroy Merlin’s castle displays how knowledge truly is power. You can take away things and items from someone, but you cannot take away their knowledge. It become a part of who you are. This introduces another problem that technology brings about. Because people have become so addicted to technology and are even dependent on it, they are not able to separate themselves from it. They seem to lose their identity and it is quite sad to not realize one’s self importance without the help of a device. So, as you can see, there are many ways in which technology has both hindered developement of society and created new opportunites for people to grow.