Pocket computers and other technologies influence human horizons and also affect physical bodies. Assumptions that technology leaves the body untouched are incorrect. Human development has long been shaped by relationships with tools, beginning with early ancestors using rocks and other implements. Modern devices are part of a broader constellation of technological innovations that surround daily life. A historical perspective connects human bodies to machines, tracing how tools and systems interact with physiology and behavior. The focus includes how technology affects corporeal, physical experience and how people relate to devices in ways that can expand or contract perspectives.
"If you're listening to this, you probably have a phone somewhere nearby. Think about that device and ask yourself a question: Does it expand your horizons, or does it contract them? For me the answer is probably a little bit of the former that I use to justify way too much of the latter. Fretting over the relationship you have with your phone is pretty common these days, but our little pocket computers are merely the brightest stars in the constellation of technological innovations that surround us."
"Humanity has been shaped by our relationship to tools since our ancestors first started breaking stuff open with rocks. On supporting science journalism If you're enjoying this article, consider supporting our award-winning journalism by subscribing. By purchasing a subscription you are helping to ensure the future of impactful stories about the discoveries and ideas shaping our world today."
"I wanted to start on something that you say fairly early on in the book, which is something that we're all wrong about. [Laughs.] There's these assumptions that our technology doesn't affect usour corporeal, physical bodiesin this way, and this assumption is incorrect. You say it's a pretty foundational assumption about technological development but that of course our technologies are affecting our physical bodies."
#technology-and-society #human-body-and-technology #science-communication #digital-history #human-machine-interaction
Read at www.scientificamerican.com
Unable to calculate read time
Collection
[
|
...
]