The Cost of Technological Advancement Exposed in Faust, Accident, Life of Galileo, Oppenheimer, and The Physicists
Since the beginning of time, man has taken every step possible to advance technology. Advancements in medicine, aviation, science, and other areas, have made our world a better place to live. But there have also been technological developments that perhaps have hurt mankind far greater than any benefit that they have provided. Through their works, five German authors present readers with a very difficult question: Is the technology really worth it? These authors present many common themes. In this essay I will discuss these themes and how they relate to the social cost of advancing technology.
The first play that I read this past semester was Goethe’s “Faust.” This play is centered around the life of the scientist and doctor, Faust. Faust is a very intelligent man who has excelled in life as a scientist and a doctor. Though everyone looks up to him and thinks he is a great man, he still thinks that he does not know enough. He believes that every bit of knowledge that there is to be attained must be attained. This belief coupled with the unhappiness he possesses with life leads him to make the ultimate decision which, in turn, ruins both his life and the life of others, all because he was selfish, and wanted to know it all and couldn’t do it on his own. Faust made a bet with Mephistopheles, the devil. This bargaining with the devil is something that the mind should never know about. Two people ended up dying because of the involvement Faust played in their lives because of this little bet that he made with Mephisto. And the only question that can be asked is “was it really worth watching others die just so he could be happy?” And the answer is no. He saw the woman he loved and her brother die before him because of his selfishness, his desire to milk life and knowledge for all that they were worth. And what did Faust gain? In my opinion, nothing. He only lost. Some things in the world are worth knowing. Some things are even worth going to extremely great ordeals to know them. But in Faust’s case, he was childish, immature, and selfish. He became so depressed and had to know more, even though most people would have killed to be as fortunate as he was.
Wernher von Braun. Idealist and visionary. Braun began his career in 1925 with the hopes and dreams of leading humanity to the stars. Do you know what he said when the first rocket hit London? He said that “the rocket performed perfectly, it just landed on the wrong planet.”
She becomes an active protestor against the feed, as she experiences many issues of her own, and she brings the idea of invisibility to the surface. Violet mentions how she wishes she could be invisible when she says “"What I 'm doing, what I 've been doing over the feed for the last two days, is trying to create a customer profile that 's so screwed, no one can market to it. I 'm not going to let them catalog me. I 'm going to become invisible” (page 98). This quote is significant because it shows her desire to go against this corporation and to attempt to gain her privacy back. She has experienced many issues with the feed, especially when it was hacked and crashed on her. This was essentially what prompted her in trying to hide herself from the constant spotlight, where her every move was watched. Violet is the prime example of my argument that these characters are striving to find their own identity, and definition of being human. She is proving that they have become so accustomed to the feed that they have allowed it to completely take over their lives, to the point that the idea of being separate from technology, as we are, seems almost unthinkable. Her character decides to make a change as she goes against what this futuristic world pushes on people, and her proactive personality marks a major element in this
- Nucor Corporation is the largest steel producer in the United States and had net sales of $11.3 billion in 2004.
During the early 1900’s, the time period in which the story took place, racism was rampant throughout the entire nation. While African Americans technically were equal by law, they were anything but, in action. Laws such as “separate but equal” were used to justify blatant discrimination, laws that were coined as “Jim Crow Laws.” (Wikipedia,
In the past society was able to advance because of science. science has played a major role in discovery. The product of these major discoveries was technology. Technology mankind would use to assist in the search for answers. Used most commonly as an extension of the human biology. The Hubble telescope is a great representation of this phenomenon because it extends our biological sense of sight. But now, in the twenty first century the idea that technology is assisting mankind, has long been abandoned by most people of the twenty first century. Due to ignorance and laziness of humankind, the role of technology as shifted from assisting people in problems, to providing answers to problems. For instance, people depend on google.com for everyday problems instead of solving the issue. In comparison to the society of “The Machine Stops” where technology...
At the beginning of the novel, Sydney Carton presents himself as a drunken attorney. When Carton converses with Charles Darnay, Dickens presents Carton as a drunk, "Carton, who smelt of port wine, and did not appear to be quite sober" (89). Carton appears constantly drunk at the beginning of the novel. Also, Carton has no sense of self-worth. When Carton drinks at the Bar with Mr. Stryver, Stryver describes him as, "[Y]our way is, and always was, a lame way. You summon no energy and purpose" (95). Dickens, also describes Carton as, "Sydney Carton, idlest and most unpromising of men" (92). As most people believe, Carton feels that he himself has no purpose. He agrees with the way other people feel about him and takes no initiative.
Although Wernher Von Braun hated math and science as a child in school, he pushed his teachers. Studying, and nights of hard labor and research led to the greatest space exploration program in all of mankind. Von Braun was awarded with many medals, certificates, and trophies. He launched satellites and astronauts into space, and to the moon. He led over 4,000 scientists to NASA and controlled the space flight center for over 10 years. America’s asset, Wernher Von Braun was a clever, revolutionary man that not only sent our men to the moon, but kick started the entire space exploration program.
In turn everything in the present and the future is judged through the stocks as they hold a high importance in industrialized economies showing the healthiness of said countries economy. As investing discourages consumer spending over all decreases, it lead...
Define the following terms: “job burnout,” “job satisfaction,” “retention,” and “turnover.” Why are they of importance in managing healthcare professionals?
The play Othello is presented as a male-dominated society where women are only recognized as property; objects to own and to bear children. Women in the Elizabethan society and in Shakespeare society were not seen as equal to men and were expected to be loyal to their husbands, be respectful, and to not go against their husbands judgements or actions. Shakespeare presents Desdemona, Emilia , and Bianca as women in the Elizabethan time where they were judged based on their class, mortality, and intelligence. Shakespeare makes his female characters act the way they would be expected to act in an Elizabethan society. The role of these women in Othello is crucial because they show how women were treated and how unhealthy their relationships between men really were in both Elizabethan and Shakespeare's society.
Technology allows culture to evolve by creating solutions to problems by removing constraints that exist. Every invention and concept is expanded on to create the utmost perfect solution. Although this process can take decades, or even centuries, to actually develop a proficient resolution, the end result is what advances society industrially. There are conflicting views, however, if these advances are beneficially or maliciously affecting society (Coget). There are three kinds of people in regards to the attitude toward technology: technophiles, technophobes, and those who aren't biased in either regard (Coget). Technophiles understand that the world adapts to the advances in technology and uses them to improve their lives (Tenner). Technophobes observe technology as damaging or are uncomfortable in using it (DeVany). It is undeniable that technology is ever-expanding, thus peaking curiosity to uncover what fuels the fear behind the technophobes. Our focus is concentrated on the technophiles and the technophobes . I will begin with the latter as they contribute greatly to the ov...
Albert Einstein once said, “It has become appallingly obvious that our technology has exceeded our humanity.” Technology is a controversial topic, some say we are depending in excess from gadgets and devices. However, if it wasn’t for technology we wouldn’t be able to experience many benefits.
There is no doubt that the accomplishments made through technology are astonishing. Technology has made amazing impacts on everything from science in space to medical science to the devices we use every day that make our lives easier. People are living longer and better than ever before, but we can’t forget how to live without it. “Just because technology is there and makes something easier doesn’t mean we should rely on it so much that we can’t think for ourselves,” (Levinson).
The evolution of technology has changed society in both positive and negative ways. People all over the world use and benefit from modern technology. Technology has simplified the access to many tools people need in education, medicine, communication, transportation, etc. However, using it too often has its drawbacks as well. In most cases, the time of finishing projects is cut by more than half with the help of technology. Many people do not realize that technology has its negative affects society as well, and its rapid advances has changed life for worse in a number of different ways.
The first is to encourage economic growth and sustainable development. It emphasizes the need for economic growth, the need to improve the level of contemporary human welfare through economic growth, enhance national strength and social wealth. However, sustainable development should not only pay attention to the amount of economic growth, but also to the pursuit of quality of economic growth. That is economic development, including growth in the number and quality improvement in two parts. Growth in the number is limited, and rely on scientific and technological progress and improving the effectiveness of economic activity and quality, adopt a scientific mode of economic growth is sustainable. Flag of sustainable development is the sustainable use of resources and good ecological environment. Economic and social development can not exceed the carrying capacity of resources and the