Can we escape the clutches of technology?
By Chris Milston
You get up, put the kettle on and whack in some toast - simple enough, but that’s because we do it without thinking, it’s just the right thing to do on a Sunday morning at 11am. This ‘take for granted’ attitude certainly affects all of us, but have you ever stopped to think how much of our day-to-day lives are based around science and technology?
Why should we care? If things just ‘happen’ then there is no point in trying to work out why. This attitude is taken by many, if not most people, but luckily there are a few who do stop and think, and it’s these people who come up with the ideas and know-how for better ways of living.
As a species, Homo sapiens uses a combination of biology, chemistry, physics and engineering to enable it, amongst other things, to stand, think, and breathe. Such complicated neuro-machinery is not found in even the most complex modern computers. We might cut and bruise easily, but the healing process we have to right the wrongs is incredible by even the highest of feedback systems.
Items we take for granted may not at first appear to be that complicated, roads and train tracks being such examples. However, tarmac needs to be hard wearing as well as easy to spread; while the network of rail tracks that criss-crosses the UK have to be solid enough to support 100 tons of train and supple enough to not buckle in frost or extreme heat - however, it seems that we still can’t do anything about those leaves!
So having made tea and toast it’s into the shower then get dressed, in clothes often produced using a combination of man-made fabrics, chemicals and natural biological mater-ials. And so it continues throughout the day: driving to work, vending machines, ATMs, mobile phones, going to the gym, drinks in the pub, turning on the television - all possible as a result of science and technology - you can’t escape it!
Or can you? Are there places where science and technology do not prod with their inquisitive fingers? We’ve all heard of the few as yet untouched tribes that eke out an existence among the inhospitable forests of the world - is it possible that they have managed to survive until now with no science to guide them? If it weren’t for television would we even know they existed? Somewhat ironic you might say given the nature of my ramblings.
For these small villages life is pretty simple, but they still need solutions to everyday problems. Hunting for food is done using bows and arrows, often poison tipped - a technique passed on through the generations. Clothes are simple natural materials and not mass-produced. The clay ovens that are used to cook the meats in open fires are not unlike the slow cookers of modern society, except they use simple earthen materials rather than state-of-the-art steel and Teflon. The only fan-assisted ovens out here are those fires wafted by a palm leaf.
It’s clear that science and technology do not feature highly in the lives of every individual around the globe, however, to you and me in our technology obsessed western world, we’ll never be able to escape the clutches of science.
The next time you get up, have a think about just how much of your day-to-day world is run by science, and thank your lucky stars that it is.
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