“Technology in the Present Tense” – Notes from a Weary Luddite
“The future is not a blank page; and neither is it an open book.” – Lewis Mumford 1. Here is a confession from a weary, self-identified Luddite: For someone … Continue reading
Stop Using “Google” as a Verb
Here is a hypothetical for you: imagine that someone asks you a question to which you do not know the answer. However, it is the type of question that you … Continue reading
“The End of the World by Science” – an English translation of Eugene Huzar’s “La Fin du Monde par la Science.” Part 1
Remember these last words, they are the entire story of man in the past, they will also be his entire story in the future. – Eugene Huzar Translator’s Introduction Near … Continue reading
Challenging the Tech Companies from Within
“The myth of technological and political and social inevitability is a powerful tranquilizer of the conscience. Its serve is to remove responsibility from the shoulders of everyone who truly believes … Continue reading
“Why don’t you go live in a cave?” – when technophiles cry troglodyte
Someone came to the stones and said: Be human The stones replied: We are not hard enough yet – Erich Fried[i] 1) Regardless of where arguments about the impact … Continue reading
A chip off technology’s block
Of the various characters who populate our computer dominated society, one of the most curious sorts is the “early adopter.” These are the figures found sprinting headlong to the frontier … Continue reading
What could go wrong? Another question to ask of new technology
Those who spend a lot of time traveling by airplane steadily grow accustomed to the standard spiel issued by members of the TSA and airline personnel. Yet, recently, a new … Continue reading
Prefixes in Uncertain Times: Reconfiguring the Human in the Human-Built World
One could be easily forgiven for thinking that the present is a troubling time to be human. The specter of catastrophic climate change looms larger by the week, rapidly appearing … Continue reading
There’s an Apparatus for That – Reflections on Vilém Flusser’s book Post-History
Critiquing this or that aspect of society can be an invigorating experience. One simply selects a specific topic and sets about excoriating it, methodically ripping it apart with a mixture … Continue reading
Towards a Bright Mountain: Laudato Si’ as Critique of Technology
“We hate the people who make us form the connections we do not want to form.” – Simone Weil Repairing Our Common Home When confronted with the unsettling reality of … Continue reading
The Good Life or “the Goods Life” – The Thought of Lewis Mumford
Possessing tremendous foresight is not always an uplifting attribute. Likewise, a keen sense of hindsight may provide as much of an education in ruins as in woebegone romance. Yet it … Continue reading
Tilting at Windmills
To be critical of a society is to invite a variety of staid, boorish, and simply hostile responses. Common amongst these retorts are those that do not attempt to engage … Continue reading
“The attempt to keep conscience alive” – Reflections on the book Burning Conscience
The threatening shape hanging above the horizon these days does not resemble a mushroom cloud. This is not to suggest that the potential threat of nuclear weapons has completely receded; … Continue reading
Response Ability or Responsibility?
The decisions that one makes in the course of a day are subtly and overtly influenced by a host of factors. From the opinions of others to long term goals … Continue reading
The Luddite Response
Would it be fair to call those who advocate for online privacy Luddites? It seems a rather absurd question. After all, those who encourage people to use TOR, encryption, or … Continue reading
Can We Have Our Cake without Soylent Goo?
What we are eating often remains a bit of a mystery. We may know what it says on the packaging or what it says on the menu – but when … Continue reading
Are We Technologically Literate?
Some of the appeal of new technologies is the ease with which they can be used. Though we may recognize, on a subconscious level, that these devices represent impressive feats … Continue reading
The Flawed “Frames” of Google Glass
It is premature to compose an obituary for Google Glass. While there are many who would be eager to hear Google announce that the eyewear’s full launch is being indefinitely … Continue reading
The Plan is Obsolescence – Defining Our Machine Wrought Maladies (3)
1. If there is to be a great anti-technology bogeyman, that dubious honor may belong to General Ned Ludd: the great marauding miscreant, armed with a sledgehammer and an army … Continue reading
Will Technological Critique Emerge with Emerging Technology Librarians?
Despite what seems to be a constant chorus foretelling their doom, libraries hold steady. This is not to say that libraries are not shaken by the storms of technological change … Continue reading
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