James Drogan

The title of this post refers to a recent article by Christopher Caldwell (Caldwell, C. (2011, February 18). Jeopardy is Just the Start for Watson. Financial Times, 7).  In the past I have commented on the impact of technology on the human (Turkle + Technology = Something to Think About, et. al.).  I invite you give some though to what I found to be the provocative paragraph from Caldwell.

This misrepresents the way computers change social relations and individual human beings. They do so not by replicating human judgment and reasoning but by offering tempting alternatives to it. In many areas, reliance on computers erodes human inventiveness, curiosity and perseverance to the point where human judgment becomes less reliable [emphasis added]. Industrial technology has enabled us to unlearn all sorts of primal things our ancestors knew – how to recognise rain by looking at the sky, how to make a fire without matches.

This is happening at a time when human inventiveness, curiosity, perseverance and reliable judgment is increasingly in demand to address the significant issues we face.

"We have met the enemy and he is us."  Pogo