Issues With Technology

After reading Heidegger (several times) and looking at all of the available secondary sources that attempt to simplify the dense style that he writes in, I began to appreciate the approach he takes to the concept of truth.  Different objects create different truths to different people, and we as a society often limit truth to only what we understand at the time.  As technology develops, it enhances our understanding of the world and what we believe to be true.  This is especially true for non-renewable resources and how we have approached them as tools we can use in every day life.

The first resource that came to my mind that has certainly changed in our society is gasoline.  When car companies discovered the effects that lead had as an additive in gasoline, everyone began to use it.  Adding lead to gasoline boosts the octane rating in gas significantly, and also reduces knocking in older motors and allows them to run at much higher compression without overheating.  This creates a much more efficient engine that produces more power from less space.

All of the car companies began to build their motors with the intent of running on leaded gasoline, and refineries began to add the lead compound into the gas before it was even delivered to consumers.  It took until 1974 for the United States to acknowledge how much pollution and damage the lead was causing, and began a lead phase out program that ended in the late 1980s.

While technology only saw lead and the environment as a resource and focused on boosting efficiency, it took the human component to recognize the danger behind it.  Lead is the most inexpensive way to make efficient gasoline engines, but there would probably be a hole in our o-zone right now if we had continued to use it.  Our constructed truth of lead has changed completely since the early century.

I think this is very similar to the message that Sherry Turkle wanted to convey in her book Alone Together.  We shouldn't limit technology or be afraid of it, but we do need to understand the effects that it can have on us.  Used properly, we can benefit from technology and make our lives easier, but we need to evaluate all possible scenarios that could arise from the use of whatever we create.