[Tech] Technology as a scapegoat

[hugix]

This is something that has been bugging me for the last few years, and recently hit the headlines again.

our whole world consists of technology, we use it every day. From the local weather news that gathered its data from satellites, to the HD television with the weatherman on it. All the way to the ingenious machines in the hospital to cure your illness. Technology has made our lives better and better. And continue doing so every day.

But nowadays people seem to have a fear for technology (whilst still using it). Recently there was a news article abut a study performed by a few young Danish girls about the efffects of Wi-Fi on Cress. For me as a Computer network architect this is a direct insult. I do share the conclusion that young girls with an Iphone close to bed have trouble sleeping. I do agree that the suspect is radiation, but not the Wi-Fi / GSM / GPRS signals. but the Light radiating the Facebook app into their eyes.

The WHO hasn't found a single cellphone related cancer yet. And we use cellphones quite a lot. Yet I do not understand why people have this big fear / hatred towards a force for good.

This is the same hatred / fear that uor beloved space organisations have to deal with. People get upset when they read how much money we spend on the ISS or Curiosity or whatever cool space toy they build. When I think of Apollo my heart skips a beat, not just because of the beautiful images I see inside my head but also because Apollo was a huge technology boost. Without Apollo I wouldn't have the chance to type this! Yet still people whine "What did Neil ever do for us!!!", "Why spend so much money on space when there are people starving here on Earth..."

What is your opinion as technology as a scapegoat. Is the blame fair? Does anyone know the reason for these reactions?

[comham]

If you're a professional (or just an adult) you should know how crappy the media are at reporting health or science stories. Partially this is due to how the media is structured and partly it is just plain old ignorance.

I recommend these two books

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Flat-Earth-News-Award-winning-Distortion/dp/0099512688

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Bad-Science-Ben-Goldacre/dp/000728487X

If I had more dosh I'd buy copies of these two books for every school within 50 miles of me. (Also, Sophies World, and A Short History of Nearly Everything).

[nhnifong]

10 years ago I was called a nerd and 9 out of 10 people I know thought I was a freak for having a PDA. Now, everyone I know has a "PDA" and the only people who are scared of technology are the ones with mental problems. I'd say things are looking up

[hugix]

10 years ago I was called a nerd and 9 out of 10 people I know thought I was a freak for having a PDA. Now, everyone I know has a "PDA" and the only people who are scared of technology are the ones with mental problems. I'd say things are looking up

This struck me to as odd too. Nerd was defined as someone who spends to much time behind a computer, nowadays when I'm out in the town I'm the only one not staring blanky into my cellphone.

[3_bit]

I think if EVERYTHING was open-source (except for things that should be closed-source, ie games like KSP and other professionally-developed software) like device drivers made by manufacturers (non-security devices of course), programming languages, software that is free but is for some reason closed-source, etc. people might not be so scared. If you can freely modify such things, beautiful things can be done. Regarding the concern of hacking, ID theft, etc., you should look at the number of viruses for linux. There are virtually none. Why? It's a thing of honor, as Linux is free. You get my idea....

[nyrath]

Hugix, the term you are searching for is Future Shock.