The Last Question by Isaac Asimov
Life as we know it comes and goes. Many, many years have past and the world that we are now living in has undergone several transformations. The story of "The Last Question" is about the future of civilization. It explored the technological advancements that will probably occur many years from now. But even if man had developed ways to make things "happen", a question was never answered until man and all other forms disappeared except the AC (automatic computer). "The Last Question" explored the scientific possibilities of life and showed us that even if we have attained the highest technological possibility there is, in this universe nothing can last forever. But with the helped of computers, something can still be done.
"The Last Question" is all about the changes that humans undergo in every life time; it also makes us see that even computers and the universe can undergo several transformations as the years fly by. It also gives technology an importance because it talks about the value of the "automatic computer" to human beings and how it was able to make life better and easier. The story is divided into many sections, and in every section the characteristics of human beings vary and their relationships with their AC's developed. At the first part (year 2061), humans were still independent and can think on their own without depending too much on the Multivac. (¶18) "I don't have to ask Multivac, I know that" said, Adell." (¶2 & 3)Alexander Adell and Bertram Lupov are faithful technicians of the Multivac and even if the Multivac was self-adjusting and self-correcting, they attended to it, fed it with data, adjusted questions to its needs and translated the answers that were issued. This shows that there was still a give and take relationship between the humans and the AC because the AC still needed the humans to be able to process more information and in return the Multivac helped the human beings solved theories and turned them into facts. Because of Multivac, (¶4) man was able to design ships and plot the trajectories that enabled man to reach the moon, Mars and Venus and other planets. Even though the earth was running out of coal and uranium, Multivac helped solved this problem of humans by giving them the fact about the energy resource of the sun and from then on all earth is ran by invisible beams of sun power.
Have you ever had the thought that technology is becoming so advanced that someday we might not be able to think for ourselves? There is no questioning the fact that we live in a society that is raging for the newest technology trends. We live in a society that craves technology so much that whenever a new piece of technology comes out, people go crazy to get their hands on it. The stories that will be analyzed are The Time Machine by H.G Wells and The Veldt by Ray Bradbury. These stories offer great insight into technologies’ advancements over time that will ultimately lead to the downfall of human beings. These two stories use a different interpretation of what will happen when technology advances, but when summed up a common theme appears. In the story, The Time
Life is just like waves. They are unpredictable and always will exist. Nature is something that humans can’t control. Nature doesn't have control over your faith. Throughout the story the ocean’s conditions never changed. The only thing that change along the story was the way each character looked at the ocean. Humans tend tend to rely on faith, and tend to think that they were put in this universe for a reason. But Stephen Crane demonstrates how the universe doesn't evolve around humankind. This meaning that earth does not care at all about humankind and is going to continue through the ages not caring.
He understands the careful balance that mankind must strike in his essay, "Last Child." Well placed literary devices pull the reader in and keep them interested. Louv's article addresses the conflict between nature and technology by utilizing rhetorical questioning, introducing the topic through nostalgic storytelling, and supporting his argument with eyewitness accounts. Louv teaches his reader about the importance of nature, technology, and real world experience in a well organized essay that incorporates numerous literary devices. In conclusion, mankind can learn more with the careful combination of nature and technology than ever
belived to be new or maybe just a heavier from of nitrogen. Inert gases and
Based on two stories which we learnt these days: “Harrison Bergeron” and “There will come soft rains”, we can see that in the future, technology affects us a lot. Our life will mainly depend on technology, let us see how this changed us from the stories.
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. Machines are meant to bring us a comfortable life, and technology is meant to enhance our living standard. Ours dependence on technology, however, in both stories lead humanity to devastate. The other edification in Bradbury’s story is that the beauty of nature will outlast a world without mankind. Humans are meant to protect our world, but humans have failed to do so and worse, we are the reason world is damaged. Those edifying messages are hidden in the setting and
In this book, Forster is able to portray a reality that could become true if we, human beings, keep depending on technology for survival. Although it is very distressing that people became dependable to the Machine to the extent where they loose their humanity and become like a machine as well, with no mind of their own. It is incredible how people were not able to survive when the Machine stopped working; it is understandable that people nowadays will also have a hard time surviving without technology since we were born into a technological world. But the World will be well when people like Kuno remind humans what is really important in life.
When talking about the future of technology, one can only imagine what it will be down the road. The future of technology evokes many questions about the preservation of human existence, human advancement and intelligence. Some writers even discuss their positions on the future of technology and human kind. Writers such as James J. Bell, who explains the theory of the ‘Singularity’. In summary, he states that the rate of technological advancement, compared to human intelligence, will one day reach the ‘singularity’ were it will surpass the human mind (pg. 52). We may never know if technology will ever have the power to surpass the human intellect or what the consequences will be if it does attain these capabilities. Will humans still maintain control over them, or will they control us? Theses eight articles illustrate the implicit and explicit control that technology holds over humans in the future.
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.
In the history of mankind, there were many inventions that changed the lifestyle of humans. The inventions and discoveries by many great ingenious minds simplified our life today. Man has addicted to the technology to such an extent that the use of various technologies has become part of his life. Could we envision a day without utilizing a cellular phone or a computer? It is sometimes astonishing how people in the olden times used to lead their lives, before these inventions were made. Of all the inventions that were made, a very few inventions caused a sharp turn in the way we are living today. Thomas Edison is one such person who brought an influential change in the world [1].
The universe, and what it means to be alive is almost impossible to define; yet that does not stop humanity from trying. “Lonergan’s philosophy of the human person reveals that being human means having an unlimited number and variety of questions about life and the universe.” (Morgan, 1996). There is no limit on the number and variety of questions the human person will ask, "the most subversive people are those who ask questions” (Gaarder), as a result there are many varied and opinionated answers. This essay will explore three different theories on how one might find answers to life's ultimate questions. At one point or another, every human being has asked the question why: Why am I here? What is my purpose? What is the point? It is in our nature as human beings to reason, to think, to ask, it is what separates us from the rest of creation, and with this ability to reason, we are left with one question: Why? Throughout history many have tried to answer this question, some have come to the conclusion that meaning is found through God, and one’s faith. Others feel that life begins meaningless, and it is up to the individual to give life meaning; then there are those who believe that life has no meaning, and we are all essentially, just waiting to die, "The meaning of life is that it ends." (Kafka).
Whether or not A.I. does replace mankind one should not dismiss that this rapidly approaching technological singularity phenomena is reality. Great change has happened, is happening, and will continue to happen as long as the ability to learn exists, organic or artificial. So when humanity reaches its climax and does end, it is known that it is not the end of knowledge, it is a new direction towards knowledge.
The author's point of view was to inform the reader of the technology change and how everyone will be affected by this change in every social aspect. I thought this chapter was helpful because it informed me of the past, and I realize we came a long way as far as technology is concern.
Since the beginning of time, humans have thought and made many inventions. Repeatedly the newer one is better than the older. Our minds have created many remarkable things, however the best invention we ever created is the computer. computers are constantly growing and becoming better every day. Every day computers are capable of doing new things. Even though computers have helped us a lot in our daily lives, many jobs have been lost because of it, now the computer can do all of the things a man can do in seconds! Everything in the world relies on computers and if a universal threat happens in which all computers just malfunction then we are doomed. Computers need to be programmed to be able to work or else it would just be a useless chunk of metal. And we humans need tools to be able to live; we program the computer and it could do a lot of necessary functions that have to be done. It is like a mutual effect between us and he computer (s01821169 1).
In the 21st century, we live in the era of technology-driven world. Humans never stopped the development of technology, because we always have a natural tendency to pursue a higher level of human being. Technology is the best evidence of human intelligence, which has shown that we are different from other animals. We have lived with technology since we were born. Although it has intervened heavily in our daily lives that we can’t no longer live without, nobody can deny the achievements it has brought to us.