Eldritch Posted February 19, 2003 Share Posted February 19, 2003 Which form of technology (anything man-made, essentially) do you think has had a negative impact OR will have a negative impact in the future for mankind in general? Examples would be : atomic bomb, cloning technology, cars, etc Personally, I don't like all this biometric security they're talking about implementing in airports here in the U.S. I have nothing to hide, but I don't want to be screened like a potential criminal, and I don't like the idea of all this information about me accessible to the gov't. I don't feel like trading away bits of my freedom for the illusion of safety. What do you all think? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reborn Outcast Posted February 19, 2003 Share Posted February 19, 2003 Why do you think cars are a negative impact? If they are then planes and boats have a negative impact and we'd still be riding on bikes. Naw, cars aren't negative. But I agree that the A-bomb and clones will and have had a negative impact on society. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eldritch Posted February 19, 2003 Author Share Posted February 19, 2003 I don't necessarily think that cars have had a negative impact, I was listing them only as examples. I was looking for people to come up with their own examples of what they think is negative technology, not just to agree with the samples I listed, lol. But about the cars, one could argue that although they've helped us get around, their impact on the environment has been CONSIDERABLE, not to mention what all the various oil spills have done over the years. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mace_sundancer Posted February 19, 2003 Share Posted February 19, 2003 if you have nothing to hide, you have nothing to worry about...or do you? something you wanna share? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eldritch Posted February 19, 2003 Author Share Posted February 19, 2003 I don't have anything to hide, but I don't feel it's necessary to invade my privacy that much just to prove it. Besides, each time they do something like that, they bring us that much closer to the total lack of freedom written about in 1984. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
C'jais Posted February 19, 2003 Share Posted February 19, 2003 Originally posted by Reborn Outcast Naw, cars aren't negative. Once the polar ice caps melt and the earth is covered in a huge flood, I suspect you'll find cars a "negative impact on society as well", at the least. You can't stop science. What can be invented, will be invented. But we can prevent their use. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reborn Outcast Posted February 19, 2003 Share Posted February 19, 2003 Originally posted by C'jais Once the polar ice caps melt and the earth is covered in a huge flood, I suspect you'll find cars a "negative impact on society as well", at the least. You can't stop science. What can be invented, will be invented. But we can prevent their use. So you don't want cars? Should we scrap em cause the polar ice caps are going to melt in 10,000 years? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eldritch Posted February 19, 2003 Author Share Posted February 19, 2003 Originally posted by Reborn Outcast So you don't want cars? Should we scrap em cause the polar ice caps are going to melt in 10,000 years? I don't know where you've been in science class, but the melting of the polar ice caps will happen much sooner than 10,000 years. However, the melting of the polar ice caps will NOT raise the sea level - check in any Oceanography book (or science book for that matter) : ice displaces the same amount of water as the liquid form will. Same principle as ice cubes in a glass of water - if the water is at the top of the glass and there are ice cubes in it, the water will not overflow when the ice cubes melt. However, with a hole in the ozone layer the size of Australia over the south pole, it's certainly not helping global warming. The only way the sea level will rise is if the Continental ice caps start melting - which they have, quite steadily in the last 40-50 years. Global warming is what causes the contintental ice caps to recede (melt) like that, and global warming is caused by greenhouse gasses - CO and CO2 are some of the worst - which are provided in large quantities by cars. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
C'jais Posted February 19, 2003 Share Posted February 19, 2003 Originally posted by Aru-Wen However, the melting of the polar ice caps will NOT raise the sea level I stand corrected - thanks Aru-Wen. No Reborn, of course we need cars. But we need to research better alternatives before long. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reborn Outcast Posted February 19, 2003 Share Posted February 19, 2003 Originally posted by C'jais No Reborn, of course we need cars. But we need to research better alternatives before long. Yes I can't wait for teleportation. It would be sweet to be able to say "Beam me up" or something. Also I can see those livable spacestations (like a big ring or something). And Aru-wen I was putting out taht time frame for effect. I think guns have deprived from society. I know its impossible to take them all away but to limit the amount that can go out to the public would be nice... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Commander Bond Posted February 19, 2003 Share Posted February 19, 2003 Technology is wonderful... all aspects. If I could create a perfect clone of myself tomorrow, I would. Cars are brilliant fun and are helpful for those distances that would wear the soles from your shoes (and sometimes wear the legs from your body). The atomic bomb is needed when we find another planet like Earth and invade. Nature is evil. I wrote this little rhyme to illustrate my point of view about all things 'green'... "Don't like trees, don't like grass. Give me steel and give me glass." That about sums it all up... Global warming is a load of old rubbish, made up by some enviromentalist scaremongers who think we have a debt to pay back to the planet which gave us life. I tell them to get a life. Simple. Yay for all things mechanical and yay for all things which produce toxic fumes. I'm off to breathe in some carbon monoxide... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eldritch Posted February 19, 2003 Author Share Posted February 19, 2003 Originally posted by C'jais I stand corrected - thanks Aru-Wen. No Reborn, of course we need cars. But we need to research better alternatives before long. No problem. We do need cars Reborn, but haven't you noticed that most major automobile manufacturers have been scrambling to come up with a more fuel efficient car? They're also looking down the road for other power sources - there is a new concept car by GM whose prototype was just completed that runs on Hydrogen cells and by-wire technology. You should actually take a look, as it looks more like a plane or ship from SW then it does a car. It has no pedals, the acceleration/braking is all handled from the wheel! GM Hy-Wire Prototype Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reborn Outcast Posted February 19, 2003 Share Posted February 19, 2003 Originally posted by Commander Bond Technology is wonderful... all aspects. If I could create a perfect clone of myself tomorrow, I would. Cars are brilliant fun and are helpful for those distances that would wear the soles from your shoes (and sometimes wear the legs from your body). The atomic bomb is needed when we find another planet like Earth and invade. Nature is evil. I wrote this little rhyme to illustrate my point of view about all things 'green'... "Don't like trees, don't like grass. Give me steel and give me glass." That about sums it all up... Global warming is a load of old rubbish, made up by some enviromentalist scaremongers who think we have a debt to pay back to the planet which gave us life. I tell them to get a life. Simple. Yay for all things mechanical and yay for all things which produce toxic fumes. I'm off to breathe in some carbon monoxide... I hope you were joking or I would consider this trolling. Clones cannot be perfect, the memories of one person cannot be transmitted to a clone which is why no-one would essentially have a "double." Without nature we would have oxygen or BEAUTY in this world. Maybe we should throw you in a cell, nothing green there!!! Global Warming is a fact. Take it somewhere else please. P.S. (Toxic fumes (according to my knowledge) are what cause global warming which you don't believe in.) Thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reborn Outcast Posted February 19, 2003 Share Posted February 19, 2003 Sorry for the double post but I just now saw your post Aru-wen. Yes I agree with everything you're saying its just that I didn't understand why cars was down under things that you thought took away from society. That car is pretty cool btw. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eldritch Posted February 19, 2003 Author Share Posted February 19, 2003 They were really just on my list as an example of how varied the technology can be. Not just destructive stuff. Enough about cars, though. What else do you all think has been negative? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mace_sundancer Posted February 19, 2003 Share Posted February 19, 2003 the internet mobile phones (and yes, i do own a mobile...) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pedantic Posted February 19, 2003 Share Posted February 19, 2003 I don't think that any technology is intrinisically good or evil. However, I do believe that the way in which the technology is used can be good or evil. In other words, the human element determines the how good or evil the technology is. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DC | Dark Luke Posted February 19, 2003 Share Posted February 19, 2003 Originally posted by Pedantic other words, the human element determines the how good or evil the technology is. That`s right, humans uses for a determined kind of technology it`s what it makes the tech great or evil. The desire of being better and powerful than other is what i think that makes technology a threat to human kind. There is technology created especially for a good porpuse, like solar cells for cars or for other vehicles, that makes no harm to the world. Salu2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Katarn07 Posted February 19, 2003 Share Posted February 19, 2003 Technology isn't good or evil. The way they are used is what will be judged. Internet is great and useful for fun/ rec and school. Then again, you can get your financial info stolen off of it if you're not cautious... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tyrion Posted February 19, 2003 Share Posted February 19, 2003 To rephrase some guy... "Technology doesnt kill people. Humans kill people." (The theme was some guy's, the words mine.) Technology is great...but our selfishness,greed,and lust for powah is why we use them for evil. Of course, someone without the bad traits wouldnt be human in my eyes(perfect,yes.But they would deserve they're own species),but unforturnatly for nature,we survive like cockroaches,so we're here till a meteor comes... Me? Pessimist? nah.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pedantic Posted February 19, 2003 Share Posted February 19, 2003 Originally posted by Tyrion "Technology doesnt kill people. Humans kill people." Ironically, I was thinking of the same sort of phrase because I was thinking about guns when I was reading this thread. Or arguments against gun control, if you will. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darklighter Posted February 19, 2003 Share Posted February 19, 2003 The advancement in technology, full stop, is evil. You can't single out things like atomic bombs, industrial factories, oil tankers and such as evil and forget the rest. All technology as a whole contributes to the destruction of our planet and our species. Technology is human being's downfall; we have used it to eat away at the planet, like Ty said, merely out of greed. Our lust for power has destroyed us, and it is still happening today, more than ever. I really believe what Agent Smith said now in The Matrix: It seems that when i came to classify your species I observed that you're not actual mammals. You see every mammal on this planet instinctively develops a natural equilibrium with the surrounding environment, but you humans do not. You move to an area and you multiply. You multiply until every natural resource is consumed. The only way you can survive is to spread to another area. There is another organism on this planet that follows the same pattern: a virus. There you go. That is all we are. A virus, a drain on this planets resources. We have used technology, and through our quest for knowledge exploited it for our own personal gain. The sad thing is, it's too late to fix things now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pisces Posted February 19, 2003 Share Posted February 19, 2003 Technology has an upside and a downside if you want it in basics. There's an upside to pretty much any given piece of technology (even the A-bomb although the size of the upside is arguable), cars which transport us in our daily lives, or even the internet which has greatly broadened and advanced communications. Then there's the downside to almost any given piece of technology. Cars, everyone knows of the heavy environmental damage they've caused over the years. There's the internet which may have resulted in an expansion of communications but also resulted in a large increase of things such as racism, child pornography, and general discrimination (not to mention it causes some serious swearing from me when it freezes). Then there's my last example which was the a-bomb but I don't think I have to get into depth about the downsides of that. Anyway, like plenty of other people have said, it depends on how technology is used, nothing more really. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
C'jais Posted February 20, 2003 Share Posted February 20, 2003 Originally posted by Darklighter All technology as a whole contributes to the destruction of our planet and our species. Everything, including trees, water, mountains and tectonic movements contribute to the earth's self-destruction. No species can work in a symbiosis with its environment unless supressed by other forces, such as predators. Creatures with the resources to dominate others and carve a larger territory out for themselves, will. Creatures with intelligence on our level will eventually want to make their environment more comfortable for them. Since we're by far more advanced than any other species on this planet, it is impossible for us not to use technology (heck, even chimps use technology) to make living easier for us. Technology is human being's downfall While you could argue that this is the case, without technology we'd still be nothing more than primitive animals. we have used it to eat away at the planet, like Ty said, merely out of greed. Every single organism on this planet operates out of greed, and greed alone. There is no cooperation between the species, and the only thing that ensures that the climate remains in status quo is that no species is vastly better than any of the others, or able to conform the surroundings to themselves. And here we are. Our lust for power has destroyed us, and it is still happening today, more than ever. Would you rather sit in a cave, with an average lifespan of 35 years and have your teeth rotting away? I'm content with my "lust for power". There you go. That is all we are. A virus, While we are at heart a virus, every other organism on earth would be same, given the intellligence and ability. a drain on this planets resources. True, but while we drain massive resources, we're also gifted with the ability to create resources. Although distant, the promise of cold fusion and terraforming sure sounds fantastic to me. We have used technology, and through our quest for knowledge exploited it for our own personal gain. We could not have done otherwise. Technology is forged through need and greed. The sad thing is, it's too late to fix things now. Nature and technology go hand in hand. There's no fundamental difference between the human race being destroyed by a meteor impact, a nuclear war, the sun exploding or us being swallowed by vulcanic eruptions and huge earthquakes. We can now circumvent natural disasters to a large degree, protecting our species from being wiped out by random catastrophes. I'd rather take the decreasing risk of destroying ourselves, than the sad fate of being doomed to destruction by "natural disasters". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darklighter Posted February 20, 2003 Share Posted February 20, 2003 And I thank you C'Jais, for picking apart my whole speech and genuinely making a fool of me:)You know if you look at things in such minute detail you really miss out on the bigger picture. What I am getting at is that human beings are killing the world faster than it should be killed. Put it this way; would our planet survive longer if humans had never existed? My answer to that question is a simple 'yes', and that is what my speech was trying to say. The planet would be better off without us. And please don't say the 'you're wrong, we as a species are a great asset to this planet' speech, because in my eyes, it is wrong. What will all of this that we have now and are trying to achieve come to? If we cannot find a suitable planet elsewhere to colonise and destroy like we have this one, the technology will eventually fade out and die, and we will be back to square one. Maybe we will never come back in other universe, in another time, maybe we will, who knows? It's really sad that such an intelligent race could do so much damage. How ironic. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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