Historical role of technology in human societies

¶ … Technology on Human Life

Cellular telephones have changed society tremendously, but they are comparatively inconsequential next to other technological advances in human history. Long before the digital revolution, human life and society had been shaped and, in many ways, determined by technological progress. Wars were won and lost because of technology and societies emerged and thrived in inhospitable areas of the world because of their technological capabilities to overcome natural and environmental challenges. Certainly, the digital revolution may be the modern-day equivalent of the Industrial Revolution, but even in that case, the cellular telephone is probably the approximate equivalent of a steam engine, not Spacelab.

The Early History of Human Technology

Undoubtedly, the discovery of fire was the first major important technological achievement of early human beings, long before recorded history of any kind. Throughout early human history, the hunting drive would have been the most natural stimulation for the continued development of technology. In principle, necessity is often regarded as the "mother of all invention." For that reason, the development of horse-drawn carriages, ocean travel, and navigation by astronomy occurred so early in human history and in so many different regions at approximately similar times (Evans, 2004).

The Significance of the Industrial Revolution in Human History

A tremendous amount of human technology preceded the Industrial Revolution, including complex architecture necessary to build huge pyramidal shrines to the dead, temples, churches, and bridges capable of supporting very heavy traffic (Evans, 2004). Much of it is still in existence and some of it is still fully functional more than one thousand years since its construction. Nevertheless, the Industrial Revolution changed human life so much, especially in the 19th century, that it overshadows other previous technological accomplishments (Evans, 2004).

Before the Industrial Revolution, most people spent their entire lives within a few miles of their birth. They knew little about people or other cities, or distant societies, let alone those on other continents. They often went hungry and they owned clothes the way we own automobiles today: wealthy people may own many and change them often; ordinary people may own only one and keep it for a decade or more until it begins falling apart. Before the Industrial Revolution, all work and most other human activity came to an end at sundown because illumination was limited to candle light. (Evans, 2004).

Positive and Negative Consequences of Human Technological Development

There is no question that human technology is substantially responsible for the tremendous improvements in modern life compared to the lives endured by our predecessors only a few centuries ago. However, there have always been downsides to human technological development as well. The most obvious negative association would be the unfortunate fact that one of the most important and universal motivators for human technological progress has been for the purposes of warfare. This also has been true throughout recorded history but, like other aspects of technological progress, it exploded after the Industrial Revolution (Evans, 2004).

Human warfare became much more deadly during the late 19th century when progress in explosives, metallurgy, and industrial processes allowed the development of giant cannons, artillery, and naval guns with tremendous destructive potential (Evans, 2004). By the end of World War I, mechanized weapons such as the machine gun and the battle tank had revolutionized the entire concept of warfare. During the rest of the 20th century, modern industrial methods and production capacity (propelled by another major global war) allowed the development of a simple aircraft powered by a bicycle foot pedal into supersonic aircraft within half a century (Evans, 2004). Ironically, medical technology also tends to accelerate during wartime, driven by the need to treat traumatic injuries and prevent infection (Evans, 2004).

Peacetime industrial progress also sometimes came at a price. The Industrial Revolution resulted in rampant child exploitation in late 18th and early 20th centuries, particularly in textile factories (Evans, 2004). Air pollution and solid industrial waste became major health concerns, and unsafe working conditions sometimes cost the lives of hundreds of workers at a time, such as in New York at the Triangle Shirtwaist fire in 1911. Bridges sometimes failed and damns collapsed occasionally, even wiping out entire towns (Evans, 2004).