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Advancement of technology affecting modern society
Advancement of technology affecting modern society
Computers importance in today's world
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Humans are Hominids, Primates that have been present on earth, for the last 10 million years. Modern Homosapiens (Humans) have been around for nearly 200’000 years and since their appearance have been constantly evolving. Evolution does not just entail physical appearance but also mental capability and psyche thus leading to a greater social diversity, referred to many as ‘culture.’ Even the most basic of Primates show strong indications of cultural behaviour. With increasing intelligence, our early ancestors adopted tools to make tasks easier for themselves. Whether it was a sharpened instrument formed from wood or a stone shard, Humans were capable of adopting new methods of problem solving. As the use of tools became more complex, the required skill to handle them increased. Humans have developed the appreciation for the creation of objects and art. From the earliest cave paintings of our great ancestors to high end designer electronics that are intrinsic in our lives every day; we have formed personal opinions about the aesthetic quality of all types of artefacts. Around 1820, the ability for humans to create took an upturn. The industrial revolution beckoned what would become the fastest development for technological advancement in human history. Greater tools became available and the ability to manufacture items quickly with diverse aesthetics would soon become common place. Creative’s had traditionally created items, aimed to look good or express an idea or emotion. As industrialisation occurred, people began to invent and create items that had a practical function. Engineers solved problems and didn’t necessarily come from a creative background, leaving their creations to commonly appear purely functional. Today art and ... ... middle of paper ... ... (Microsoft). In popular culture, people born as Digital Natives will probably still remember the first time they tried drawing with a mouse to great dismay at the inaccuracy. Interactive games would also start to become more advanced and attention grabbing to young people and adults alike, increasing the appeal of using their PC. Better hardware allowed full colour displays that appealed to learning tendencies in children [Hobart 1999]. The expansion from commercial to private sectors in computers was important as it called for the simplification of the user experience. When the need arises to perform complex tasks, the capabilities are there. In essence, the personal computer can be as advanced as the user requires it to be. The software environment is an extension of a user’s life, both personal and professional, particularly for specialised interests and jobs.
Humans are not the only species with the ability of making tools. Early on in her research, Jane Goodall observed an older male chimp, she called him David Greybeard. Through her observation of David, she witnessed two forms of the use of tools. The first was the use of grass as a tool to extract termites from their mounds. The second was the making of a tool by stripping the leaves off a twig, modifying it for the same purpose. When Louis Leakey heard this, he wrote her “Now we must redefine tool, redefine man, or except chimpanzees as humans” (Goodall, 2002). There is a definite correlation between man and chimps in this respect. Human culture involves learned behaviors through observation, imitation and practice, the use of tools with chimpanzees show the same ability for learned beh...
There has been an age long debate to whether or not primates have culture. This is based on the idea that primates may have certain behaviors that our taught rather than already being programmed in their minds biologically. Some would argue that a certain action that a primate does wouldn’t necessarily be something that primate was born knowing; but others would argue that it was something that was something they knew in their subconscious mind. Notable arguments that would be in favor of culture in primates would include their use of tools, how a primate eats, and how they interact; arguments against the theory of culture in primates would proclaim that a primate’s habits are determined biologically and not affected by outside sources.
It has been believed that culture is unique to humans and no other groups of animals have culture, but recent evidence refutes this ideology. Before getting into the meat of the argument, it is important to first address the issues regarding the ambiguity of the term, “culture.” What is culture? Many scientists may argue that culture is the way of life for a group of individuals, this definition includes the values, beliefs and traditions of the group (Sapolsky, 2006). Other scientists may argue that culture is the transmission of habits and information by social means (Sapolsky, 2006). Despite the different specifics of what culture is, almost all scientists would agree that culture is transmitted socially through social learning that promotes the transfer of information between members in a group (Boesch and Tomasello, 1998). Based on these notions of culture, it can be justifiably stated that primates have culture. Primates exhibit food preparation techniques, use of tools, communication skills, and most importantly, behaviors of social learning. An exemplar of primates’ capabilities for culture is Koko, the lowland gorilla. Koko, in captivity, was able to learn American sign language, demonstrate self-awareness and the ability to deceive.
11. Relethford, John. (1990) The Human Species - An Introduction to Biological Anthropology. California: Mayfield Publishing.
In the past, races were identified by the imposition of discrete boundaries upon continuous and often discordant biological variation. The concept of race is therefore a historical construct and not one that provides either valid classification or an explanatory process. Popular everyday awareness of race is transmitted from generation to generation through cultural learning. Attributing race to an individual or a population amounts to applying a social and cultural label that lacks scientific consensus and supporting data. While anthropologists continue to study how and why humans vary biologically, it is apparent that human populations differ from one another much less than do populations in other species because we use our cultural, rather than our physical differences to aid us in adapting to various environments.
Under this definition, we are in some ways the last of our kind, though without doubt the most prolific. Yet it does beg the question of what was it exactly that changed us from “upright-walking primates” and turned us into the “wise man” of today. Some Anthropologists argue it is the formation and use of complex tools – except further research has shown all primates and even some other species grasp the concept of making and using tools. Others say it is our capacity for higher, rational thought – except current research into other non-primate species is showing again and again a grasp of abstraction and other cognitive capacities we formerly believed were the domain of humanity alone. So, now, the researchers’ theories have reached further into the abstract. Perhaps it is our capacity, our need, to believe in something; to possess a mythology, a history beyond history, to explain our existence and the existence of the world around us. Our concepts of symbolism, a belief in a spirit world and those people who have the ability to ...
The evolution of Homo sapiens is unlike the evolution of any other species on Earth. The differentiation of physical characteristics throughout our evolutionary timescale is not the only factor of our evolution. Culture has played a vital role. Other sp...
The emergence of modern cognition has been fundamental in separating early humans from our primate predecessors but archaeology and anthropology has provided diverse arguments the precise moment this came to be. There have been separate claims that the modern mind could have come to be when early humans created the first stone tools, the first personal ornamentation or the first artworks. In a deeper analysis it become clearer that the first complex thought came about not from any of those single events but rather a combination of the first two scenarios mentioned as the third scenario supports the claim. The human spark cannot be identified by the development of technology alone but rather by the gradual change that occurs between the innovations of stone tools and personal ornamentation known as the Lower and Middle Palaeolithic Period.
Humans are extremely complex and unique beings. We are animals however we often forget our origins and our place in the natural world and consider ourselves superior to nature. Humans are animals but what does it mean to be human? What are the defining characteristics that separate us from other animals? How are we different? Human origins begin with primates, however through evolution we developed unique characteristics such as larger brain sizes, the capacity for language, emotional complexity and habitual bipedalism which separated us from other animals and allowed us to further advance ourselves and survive in the natural world. Additionally, humans have been able to develop a culture, self-awareness, symbolic behavior, and emotional complexity. Human biological adaptations separated humans from our ancestors and facilitated learned behavior and cultural adaptations which widened that gap and truly made humans unlike any other animal.
The Arts and Crafts movement, led by William Morris, was established in the 1860s as a response against the manufacturing of low quality goods due to industrialization. He also felt that the society was degrading as a result of this. The philosophy behind the Art and Crafts movement was that the Industrial Revolution had taken artistry and design away from of the quality of goods produced. The goal was to advocate a return to craftsmanship and enable individual craftsmen to assert their own creative independence. More importantly, the movement wanted to promote mor...
In today’s society we are overwhelmed with technology. Technology is changing everyday, and will forever be a staple in our lives. The effect that technology has on our children has brought on some concerns and some praises. Children these days have no choice but to some how be influenced by the ever growing technology in our societies. Our common concern has been that although digital technology has boosted children’s talent for multitasking, their ability to process information deeply may be deteriorating (Carpenter, 2010). Many people have a wide range of opinions on if technology is having a positive influence on our children or a negative, there is a vast amount of evidence to support both of these arguments. Technology can refer to so many things, but there are three main parts of technology that are having the greatest effects on our children: video games, television/media, and computers. The modern technologies we have today are so powerful because they attract our genetic biases, that the human brain has a tremendous love for visually presented information. Video games, television, movies and computer programs are all very visually oriented and therefore they attract and keep the attention of children easily.
...ctive, 2nd ed. (1971). The unique capacity for symboling that distinguishes humans from primates is discussed by Leslie A. White, "The Symbol: The Origin and Basis of Human Behavior," in his Science of Culture, 2nd ed., pp. 22-39 (1969); Ernst Cassirer, An Essay on Man: An Introduction to a Philosophy of Human Culture (1944, reprinted 1974); and Terence Dixon and Martin Lucas, The Human Race (1982). The many conceptions of culture are discussed in A.L. Kroeber and Clyde Kluckhohn, Culture: A Critical Review of Concepts and Definitions (1952, reprinted 1978). See also Leslie A. White and Beth Dillingham, The Concept of Culture (1973); and Clifford Geertz, The Interpretation of Cultures: Selected Essays (1973, reissued 1975). The history of theory and method in social and cultural anthropology is traced in Fred W. Voget, A History of Ethnology (1975).
Our world today has many different kinds of tools. I realized this when I was walking through The Home Depot a few weeks ago. On one isle are nails, and screws, the next isle there are power drills to go along with power saws and power sanders. Now imagine the world with no tools, no nails or screws. It would be pretty difficult to do most anything. We would have no houses to live in, no cars to travel to work in, and we would have no place of employment in which to work. Without tools our world would be nothing. This is the world our ancestors faced, and they had nothing but rocks and sticks. Homo Habilis had the challenge of being the first hominid with a larger brain, which allowed him to have the ability to do more things. With early hominids lacking size and strength to kill large animals they used certain objects to kill and devour these animals. This ultimately led to the development of tools.
Human species or in scientific terms know as, Homo Sapiens has evolved drastically in the last couple of billion years. Human evolution all started from our great ancestors, the chimpanzees. Human evolution started all in the continent of Africa. Due to global changes, evolution changed over time. Thus leading to the evolution of mankind. But man didn't just evolve from chimpanzees. There were a lot of scientific processes and different events that led up to final evolution of mankind. But what does it mean humans evolved from chimpanzees? Why is the human evolution such a small speck in the evolution graph of the evolution of the whole earth? These questions that have been asked frequently by curious people has led scientists to dig deeper into this topic. The answers to how humans evolved has led to some great discoveries.
There are many periods in time that have been crucial in the development of human ideals and technology. One of the most important times was the Romantic Era. This period began in the late 18th century, and peaked around the 1850’s. It was embodied most strongly in the visual arts, music, and literature until Industrialization had come fully into effect. Because of all the variables and factors of the time, the world was ready for a new era, a modern era that advanced the world far beyond expectations. The Romantic Era was a time of innovation, social struggles, and major changes in industry and society, all due to Industrialization. One of the most important was all of the innovation that occurred.