Our Explotation of Technology :: Sociology Essays Research Papers

Our Explotation of Technology Human technology is developed to serve a purpose and this reason often is dependent on what needs a particular society has. In the case of war and in other aspects of culture, technology is developed for a particular reason, such as to defeat the declared enemy. This connection serves to influence the type of inventions developed. Ehrlich notes that in World War II during the battle at Midway Island in 1942, there was a difference in capabilities between the Americans and the Japanese. While it would be apparent that there was a direct correlation between the readiness of resources and success in battle this connection turned out not to be true. In reality, planning, expertise, and chance were more of a determinant (Ehrlich, 2000). This result shows that technical knowledge is not sufficient to be successful but usage of available resources is necessary to ensure gains. This combination underscores the need for culture to move technology forward. A new invention without cultural demand would not serve much benefit since it would not be used to improve society. However, a cultural need can lead to the development of an invention since the demand moves the technology to an outcome. Trade provides a primary method of connecting technology to the world. Initially trade was exchanged as items of barter. Cattle, shells, crops, salt, and other items served as a means of providing a fair exchange of goods between parties. The invention of currency has much to do with the needs of trade. It is impractical to ferry a heard a cattle to a place of sale in order to buy the good. However money is more portable than livestock and many other items of barter and helped ease the trade process (Ehrlich, 2000). The importance of trade to culture led to a streamlined process with the invention of currency. While items of barter have value that is tangible, such as food produced by crops, modern currency is only valued by the culture since a government body guarantees it. As a result of the governmental backing, currency can be used a meaningful method of exchanging value. Money that does not contain precious metals is simply a symbolic way of representing value. A culture recogni zes the currency as representing value and can be used as an effective accounting system for trade. Additionally, the influence from the cultural value of trade translates into placing less significance on the intrinsic value of the currency itself and instead considers what convenience the technology can provide to improve trade.