Technology - A boon or a bane?

Question

Please provide details to support your answer to my question to you. Ty

PS. Lots of people asked me this question but i just can't answer them... And i don't know why...

Answer 1

Well, Ty, the answer is ... "It Depends."
The question is really whether Intelligence is a "good thing", since technology is a product of Intelligence over Time.
It sure has been a successful strategy for us humans, but whether that is "good" depends a lot on your perspective. If you think having the population of Homo Sapiens sapiens increase from a few thousand to six or seven BILLION in less than 100,000 years is a "good" thing, then Intelligence and its offshoots - technology, science, medicine, culture, art, literature, architecture, society, etc. - are "Good."
If you think the massive pollution of the planet, the deliterious alteration of the climate, the depletion of vital resources and the extinction of thousands upon thousands of species that have run afoul of those aggressive plains apes with bulgy foreheads and opposable thumbs is a "bad" thing, however, then Intelligence and the technology that it has spawned is "bad."
You pick your side of the playing field, you decide what team you want to root for, and Bob's your uncle, there's your answer.
QED.

Answer 2

Every boon has its problems, we just have to look at the bigger picture. Sure some things do help, but what's the true cost of the benefit? The Hopi indians stay simple, they don't embrace tehnology, the main reason is that when technology fails, we will not know how to survive. How many people know how to get food besides going to the store? This country has only a seven day supply of food on hand, what happens when the supply is broken or inturrupted? We have too many single points of failure built into our technology, that any major catastrophy will be disasterous. I used to work for a company that had to have backup systems in place so in case of disaster they could still function. Not many companies do this, its expensive. My company could only survive for 14 days, (we would need more fuel for the generator).
Chemical pollution is a product of technology, it will also be the last frontier to deal with and it will be the most lethal. Polar bears are the top of the food chain and they are the most polluted animals on the planet. Every chemical ever produced by us is in the polar bear. I can't see us surviving much longer with all the chemicals in the environment. We do not have the technology to filter chemicals out and I doubt that most of the living organisms can mutate fast enough to keep up. Bacteria and viruses are the only things that can and they will be the only things left very soon. They started this planet's life and they will rule once again.

Answer 3

I think that up until the point that technology starts to poison the earth it is a good thing. Unfortunately most technological advances that have been employed have had unintended negative impacts. Such as the use of chemical fertilizers, pesticides and herbicides in agriculture. They have increased the ease with which farmers can raise bigger crops but they create ecological problems. So they can have perhaps a better income and feed more people from the same plot of land but there is an enviromental cost.

Another example might be air conditioning. It makes us more comfortable during the hot months but the chemicals used in the process and the fuel burned to power the unit are harmful to the environment.

Bottom line is nearly every technological development involves a trade-off between its benefits and the unintended harm it does.

Answer 4

Generally a boon! Otherwise we couldn't do this.