The Machine Stops is the idea of the world being ruled by a machine. Due to the unsuitable conditions the people on Earth have created, the live underground where the machine rules their lives. The machine creates new concepts and ideas that eventually change the entire world and shun human interaction. E.M. Forster argues the world is going to turn catastrophic for all humans because it will be controlled by technology. The novels Orality and Literacy, You Are Not a Gadget, and Regarding the Pain of Others supports through ideas, concepts, and examples, The Machine Stop's main idea that technology is changing and will eventually rule the world. Along with the journal articles Is Google Making Us Stupid?, The Shallows, and So Many Links, So Little Time, I will tie together the concept that the replacement of technologies in today's world will continue to destroy humanization and materialization.
Human beings naturally ponder new ideas and concepts on a regular basis. In Walter Ong's Orality and Literacy he compares the written culture with the oral culture. The comparison leads to similarities and differences between primary orality and secondary orality. Ong uses the nature of sound to compare to other “human sensations.” He states the idea that primary orality is speaking “words that are sounds which can only be called or recalled as people of this culture have no place to look for them.” (Ong, 61). His explanation of the lack of text in oral culture explains why their sustained thoughs were tied to communication. “The primary people believed that thoughts must come in heavily rhythmc, balanced patterns, in repetition or antitheses, in alliterations and assonances, in epithetic and other formulary expressions.” (Ong, 62). As ...
... middle of paper ...
...no longer existent.
The Machine Stop's title alone explains the fear of what our world would be today without technology. Yet, it also explains how much more human interaction and socializing would occur today rather than people being so isolated. It reminds me of the story of Frankenstein where the creator was so smart yet Frankenstein overpowered him. The creator, who was in control at first, is now terrified and in danger. “We created the Machine, to do our will, but we cannot make it do out will now. It has robbed us of the sense of space and of the sense of touch, it has blurred every human relation and narrowed down love to a carnal act, it has paralyzed out bodies and our wills, and now it compels us to worship it.” (Forster) If we continually and gradually are dependent to technology, our society will probably end up like the story of The Machine Stops.
Today’s world is full of robots that vacuum the floor and cars that talk to their drivers. People can ask their phones to send a text or play a song and a cheerful voice will oblige. Machines are taking over more and more tasks that are traditionally left to people, such as cleaning, navigating, and even scheduling meetings. In a world where technology is becoming increasingly human, questions arise about whether machines will eventually replace humankind altogether. In Ray Bradbury’s short stories, “The Veldt” and “August 2026,” he presents themes that technology will not only further replace the jobs of humans, but it will also outlast humankind as a whole. Although this is a plausible future, computers just cannot do certain human jobs.
Use of technology is expanding from day to day, more things in life are depending on machinery. Machines are meant to bring us a comfortable life, and technology is meant to enhance our living standard, yet. Half a century ago, Ray Bradbury issued an enlightenment in the short story “August 2026: There Will Come Soft Rain”. In E. M. Forster’s “The Machine Stops”, a similar enlightenment is made. Both edify people that things will go wrong when technology is dominant over humanity; our dependence on technology lead people lost humanity, lead people lost control of human creation, and eventually lead humanity to devastate. The didactic works at the level of form in Bradbury, while in Forester is works at the level of content.
Movies and literature alike have often served to villainize technology. These topics survive and persist, perhaps because we are morbidly fascinated with our own predicted downfall. Many people will admit to being concerned, as cummings is in "of all the blessings which to man," that the world will one day be run by machines. This potential future governing force is "without a heart" and "couldn't use a mind," and that may scare humans most of all (25, 28).
I agree with Ray Bradbury, humanity is doomed. Technology has created so many problems, so rapidly, that humans cannot respond to the changes. Technology has become a tool that makes our lives easier, but the negative effects are far too overpowering, making it almost impossible to stop it before it is too late. Examples from “The Veldt,” and “There Will Come Soft Rains,” show the potential dangers that technology could bring. It may seem unbelievable, but just as George Hadley said, “This is a little too real, but I don’t see anything wrong,” (Bradbury 1). Humans cannot see the problem, only past it. Global warming, antibiotic overuse, overpopulation, and modern warfare, are just a few of the threats technology bestows upon us.
In the past 100 years, the world has completely turned around. The technological and computer revolutions have completely changed the way the world works. Henry Ford revolutionized factorial production through the creation of the assembly line. It increased efficiency and a basic standard of conformity among products, therefore making the company a lot more successful. The rest of the industry creating a nation-wide revolution based on efficiency adopted this new innovation. Following the innovation of the assembly line, a new era of development came into existence. In the 1970’s, computers were first introduced. Although they were as large as a room and could only play tic tac toe, they were the start of the technological revolution that made our society what it is today. Hundreds, if not thousands, of new inventions were thought of each year, creating new jobs and a new way of life. Records and files previously kept in file cabinets are now all computerized. Every person’s life is computerized: identification, police reports, one’s house and work. Almost every person has a computer, whether it is used for fun, school, Internet connection, graphic arts, or music. Computers have revolutionized our lives, whether that is a good or bad thing is the question. Do we create and control the computers, or have our own inventions taken such a hold on our lives, that they now control us? Aldous Huxley uses Henry Ford as the basis for an omni powerful leader who enforces the new values of efficiency through a totalitarian and mind-controlling government; subsequently, Huxley creates Brave New World to warn us of the effect that technology will have on our lives in the future.
In The Machine Stops, E.M. Forster projects life years from now where people live underground with extreme technological advances. Also, people live separated in little rooms where they find a variety of buttons they can press in order to perform any task they desire. They do not communicate with people face to face as often as we do now. Without a doubt, their society is very different from ours. All of the inhabitants are used to living along with the Machine and it is hard for them to imagine life without everything the Machine is able to facilitate. People are so caught up with technology that they find it absurd to spend time in nature. Because of the dependence people have towards the Machine, they have somewhat lost their humanity and become a machine themselves. The characters Vashti and Kuno perfectly represent how inhumane or humane a person could potentially be in such an environment.
We already have automated machines designed to make life easier for us: vacuum cleaners, car washes, dishwashers, laundry machines, litter-box scoopers, etc. We have many automated technologies that we can set to our personal preference, such as Tv and radio stations, thermostats, lighting, etc. Bill Gates even has a feature in his house that will switch out different paintings depending on who is standing in the room. We humans like shortcuts and simple luxuries, but with technology taking away so much of our workload we are enabling ourselves to be lazy. We are already dependent on technology. In the least, we are already severely addicted to it. How many hours are spent wasted glued to our cell phones, watching Tv or surfing the web? How would you communicate with your friends and family without telephones or email? How would we cook without our gas/electric stoves and microwaves? How would we store our food without refrigeration? How would we see at night? How would we get around? Obviously, we are already in over our heads with our relationship to
As a result, the society of this scary inhumane, Brave New World is full with technology that is destroying humanity form us. Yes it is a perfect world and there no war, disease, crisis but also there is no emotions, feeling, love and especially any hope which are some of the necessary part of human nature. As a conclusion, technology controls the life of everyday people from the day they were born till the day they die in this Brave New World.
E.M Forster’s “The Machine Stops” draws a comparison to Plato’s “Allegory of the Cave”. Just like the prisoners, they do not get to see and feel the people or objects. They used ‘The Machine’ as a tool to experience reality. We live in an age of deception today where everyone has their own truth, or where other people, and you, convince yourself that something is true. In the allegory of the cave, when one of the prisoners left, and later came back to tell the others what he had seen, they decided to believe their own version of the truth, just like Vashti and her son Kuno. Today our way of interaction is through machines. In Forsters story, in their reality the people do not communicate with their mouth or ears but use machines for interaction. Forster’s writing about communication is similar to communicating in today’s society. We live in a time where technology/networks are being integrated into the lives of people, like Vashti. Forster used Kuno and Vashti’s relationship as an example of how much technology has complicated the lives of
A dependence on technology will not create a utopian society. Relying on technology for everything can create disruption of people’s bonds and love towards family members, disruption in people’s emotions and feelings and disruption to people physically.
...this dependent and addicted to technology can be very bad for us due to how clueless and lost we would be if it all stopped working or if it disappeared. We need to understand the difference between what’s truly helping us and what’s really hurting us in the long run when it comes to technology.
The robots are taking over and planning to destroy humanity as it currently stands. They’re smarter, faster, and stronger making them superior to humans in every way. Because humans were too lazy and put all their faith in technology it was easy for the machines to rise up and take over. Soon all of humanity will be enslaved by robots and computers. This is the plot for thousands of science fiction movies and novels in which humans make computer, personal robots servants, and other technology that are so advanced and make life easier that in the end humankind has lost most of its intellect and physical abilities dooming the world to a fate that has inspired many armageddon theories. In the early 1960’s the world was introduced to the first ever supercomputer marking the era of the technological age in which it is not only possible for an ordinary person to do complex mathematic equations in mere moments but then share it with another person half way around the earth in nanoseconds. In the modern world the personal robot servant is still just a dream in the minds of scientist. Humanity made spectacular advancements when it comes to making life easier using machines. From the first computer to the latest handheld cell phone technology has helped in the daily life of mankind but at a great cost. By building and creating modern marvels that think for people and takes the muscle strain out of physical labor. Humankind has become weaker and completely dependent on these creations. A high price made by humans to have technology do things that with our own abilities we could achieve. The advancement in technology has made humanity’s intellect and physical strength decrease. Humankind has made great advancements in technology such as comp...
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.
...e over every aspect of human life, meanwhile, people are forcibly stopped doing stuffs by themselves. Finally robots dominated human race, not in the way of military forces but in lifestyle behaviors. The story was interesting yet it also hilarious. Human’s intelligence created technology, and they are created to serve human. No matter how smart the technology will be, they are still the intelligence of humans. I wonder why sometimes people are afraid of their intelligence. Don’t imagine your life without technology because the progression of technology will never stop, and it will continue to benefit us.
Speaking is a natural ability given to most reluctant individuals. Since the beginning of time, it has been assumed that we have a right to speak and use words, thus we naturally begin our development of language during the early stages of live. After years of grasping and perfecting our vocabulary and language, it seems unnecessary to study the purpose of our development. Why, then, should we study “oral communication?” There are many purposes, benefits, and institutions that branch from oral communication. Of course, communication is the basis of interaction with other individuals through the use of expressions and words; however, through studying oral communication, one can take the words and expressions being used and apply them to his or her own life. After all, the most effective and useful knowledge is applied knowledge.