Could it be that technology is actually one of the many ways the universe ends up organizing itself? — darthbarracuda
Everywhere else in the world we look, we don't find things like printers, buses, refrigerators or computers. We find the non-technological, the natural. When compared to what we see as nature, technology looks like an aberration, as if it doesn't belong. Technology seems like a mutation of the natural order of things, an artificial aggregate of dissimilar parts and pieces that have been forced into an unnatural symbiosis. — darthbarracuda
Could it be that technology is actually one of the many ways the universe ends up organizing itself? Could what we see as artificial, technological, actually be simply a natural expression of the logic of the world?
In a way, the question comes down to: what differentiates the natural from the artificial? — darthbarracuda
So Nature was full of technology before we even got here — 0af
For me the alienation is really about population. We are all (or most of us) more or less replaceable. — 0af
But aren't bird's nest and beaver's dams technology? — 0af
We are all (or most of us) more or less replaceable. — 0af
Once we begin to be viewed through the collective eyes of "society" we become very much commodified. — MikeL
Technology seems like a mutation of the natural order of things, an artificial aggregate of dissimilar parts and pieces that have been forced into an unnatural symbiosis. The natural world is put under examination and forcibly man-handled into submission; we might even see technology as nature being tortured. — darthbarracuda
A bird that uses grass to make it's nest can not switch to mud, and visa versa. — Bitter Crank
The answer is always the same. Machines are our way of imposing our will on nature. And in doing that, we are being formed as "selves" in turn. We become mechanically minded and disconnected as "human beings". — apokrisis
We want a balance where we are the unpredictable ones and the world functions with machinelike reliability. Or at least we think we do until that gets boring or creates too much responsibility for making up our own individual meanings in life. — apokrisis
It is incredible to think that the very same atoms that make life can be milked in such ways to create our animated technological world. The fact that we can crudely arrange them to achieve our purposes this way really reinforces the idea of just how remarkable these little things are and how far we have to go in truly understanding them. To my mind, it points to a type sentience we don't fully understand. — MikeL
Have you considered a career in writing? :) — JupiterJess
I just want to add to this comment that they can. It's adaptation to the environment, best seen through consecutive generations. — MikeL
The crow comes to mind. — MikeL
And, contrary wise, humans can be remarkably dull and blunt. — Bitter Crank
But man has toyed with hi-tech for only about 70 years. — szardosszemagad
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