Gnosticism & Mysticism

Technology is advancing very rapidly, but is it hurting or harming us? In the article, “ Is Google Making Us Stupid”, by Nicholas Carr, he examines how the internet has altered people’s mental abilities. Malcolm Gladwell writes an article called, “ Small Change”, in which he draws attention to how the internet has changed the engagement of social activism. Carr’s argument that the internet alters a person's mental abilities, changes their thought process, and destroys their concentration complicates Gladwell’s point that the internet loses the meaning of social activism, changes how activist are defined, and it takes over activism on a social level, because the arguments presented are similar but the outcomes of the internet vary between the

Technology is becoming a more significant influence in today's society as each day passes. People become more reliant on technology which can end up being bad. As technology advances, people make more advancements to make everyday tasks easier for people, which can lead to everyone being dependent on technology. In the texts “The Veldt” and “Cooking Time” the two authors Ray Bradbury and Anita Roy talk about technology advancements and the society it creates. Bradbury and Roy use the conventions of science fiction to critique society on how scientific advancements can be bad.

In the novel Rainbows End, author Vernor Vinge depicts a futuristic world that is almost completely dependent on digital technology. Taking place in the year 2025, this “Digital Age” is home to many innovative advancements. Digital technology has become so omnipresent in the world Vinge creates that it has found its way into all aspects of daily life. The idea of a virtual reality where people no longer have to rely on their imagination has now become a normal part of everyday life. Scientific developments in areas including medicine are also a vital part of this society, and have a great impact on the novel’s characters.

They Say, I Say: Chapter Thirteen Exercise 1: • Conventional wisdom claims that internet use is harmful for the brain, and that Americans, mostly millennials, spend too much time on social media and other forms of the Web. In Chapter Thirteen of “They Say\I Say”: IMHO, Gerald Graff and Cathy Birkenstein explains the debate of social media and its effect on students’ ability to read, write, and communicate, also explain that conversations that occur on the Web are not real conversations. Technology is a tool; it should not overwhelm the user. The internet not a dynamic entity with malign or benign intent. The proper utilization of it, however, has improved educations and it should be viewed as a accomplishment of the human mind for improving the human mind. Technology, and most often the Internet, is construed as a malign unit, whose purpose is to corrupt and stultify thought.

Students should think carefully about their choice of major if they want a good return on investment for their college degree. In their reading, For Some, College May Not be a Smart Investment, Stephanie Owen and Isabel Sawhill maintains that, “According to Census’s calculations, the lifetime earnings of an education or arts major working the service sector are actually lower than the average lifetime earnings of a high school graduate," (p. 5, 2013). Basically, Owen and Sawhill are claiming that a person with an arts major is making, on average, less than a person with only a high school graduate degree. People need to be careful about what they are reading on the internet and how often they read on the internet. In his writing Is Google

Nicholas Carr is “an American journalist and technology writer” who attended Dartmouth College and Harvard University. Over the past decade, Carr has examined and studied the different impacts that computers have on our life and the “social consequences” of this new technology (Carr 123). In “A Thing Like Me” by Nicholas Carr, the author claims that technology is overpowering and dominating our lives. Carr expands on this idea further by defining it as people using “tools that allow them to extend their abilities” (Carr 124). To help with his argument, Carr uses a historical narrative about the creation of computer software, named ELIZA.

In today’s society, technology plays a very important role in its ability to function, it helps people find information, communicate with others far away and provides entertainment. In “Fahrenheit 451”, a book written by Ray Bradbury, a dystopian future where books have been made illegal is presented. In the article, “Is Google Making Us Stupid?” by Nicholas Carr, raises many questions about technology and its effects on society. It’s quite evident that we have become quite dependent on technology due to our overconsumption of it.

Technology and Its Control Over Society In many of his pieces, writings, and novels, Ray Bradbury reflects the immense reliance and close connection that humanity has with technology. He also depicts the dangerous effects that could come from having this relationship, such as a loss of independency and self-control over one’s mind and actions. If humanity were to continue to allow technology to have this disastrous power and control, society’s downfall is certain and destined to come.

Neil Postman Rhetorical Analysis Inventions are changing before our eyes and the world does not seem to question what new technology reveals and what its consequences will be. In the future of technology, there are many individuals who see technology as either a sanction or a burden. Many individuals cannot seem to imagine a world with no technology, however, there are many others who argue that humans are becoming too dependent on technology instead of their own observances and cognition. Technology continues to develop and has become affected people’s everyday life. This issue is addressed by an American Critic and an educator by the name Neil Postman.

Owe to the development of technology, the quality of our lives has increased in a great extent. Our daily lives are now more and more convenient and pleasant since most of the tasks can be done more efficiently with the help of technologies like smartphones and the Internet; furthermore, some difficult tasks can even be done completely by robots. However, various social issues appear inevitably along the advancement of the civilization. People started to wonder whether they rely on technology way too excessively as an outcome when they realized one may feel lost and disconnected without technologies like the Internet and cellphones. It has become an universal debate: Is the technology transforming our civilization into Utopia?

Contemporary society is a variety of all things good and bad that one might misinterpret as perfect if glanced upon with a pair of rose colored glasses. While new inventions and scientific breakthroughs, have lead to daily life and communication becoming easier to handle and manage, as a society humanity often times fails to see the adverse effects of these technological pursuits on itself. In the dystopian novel, Brave New World, the author Aldous Huxley focuses a great deal on the idea of technology and control. He does so by grossly exaggerating many of the common technological advances of today and making them seem unrealistic and unbelievable, while in actuality are closer to the truth then far from it. Aldous Huxley showing the reader

This article will compare the point of view of Gerhard Lenski, Leslie White and Alvin Toffler with respect to the evolution of technology. Gerhard Lenski’s perspective on the evolution of technology Sociologist Gerhard Lenski maintained that technological process has been the driving force in the evolution of human civilization; focusing on the societal and cultural basics of society. He viewed human society as something of a process of change involving a society’s level of modernization, communication, and scientific advances. In Gerhard Lenski’s point of view, it is a society 's level of technology that is critical for its survival.

In the article “Where Are the Missing Masses? The Sociology of a Few Mundane Artifacts”, Bruno Latour explores how artifacts can be designed to shape human action and that technology mostly rely on human interaction to function. He argues that technologies shape the decisions we make, the effects our actions have, and the way we move through this world. Providing examples from the door closers, and engineers among others, Latour emphasize the importance of the interaction between humans and technology. He studies the relationship between humans (the creator) and machines (the creation) and shows how the use of technology can help achieve certain goals and values.

As citizens of a mostly democratic era, people are allowed to have their own personal beliefs, believe in their individual god or gods, in some religions. Furthermore this demonstrates the constant opposition of science and religion where once lived a harmony. Most scientific and technical innovations were achieved by societies organized

In only a couple of decades, technology has imbedded itself into people’s lives, to the point it would be difficult to live without using technology. In Neil Postman’s speech “Informing Ourselves to Death,” he explains how not all technology is being used for what its original purpose was, and how people are starting to drown in the useless information technology gives. Postman also makes the claim, “And therefore, in a sense, we are more naïve than those in the Middle Ages, and more frightened, for we can be made to believe almost anything” (5). Though Postman gave this speech about thirty years ago, this accurately describes modern society. Technology was meant to help people learn and improve their lives, but it has instead increased the naivety of the world.