As people rely more and more on technology tosolve problems, the ability of humans to think forthemselves will surely deteriorate.

The statement linking technology negatively with
free thinking plays on recent human experience
over the past century. Surely there has been no
time in history where the lived lives of people have
changed more dramatically. A quick reflection on
a typical day reveals how technology has
revolutionized the world. Most people commute
to work in an automobile that runs on an internal
combustion engine. During the workday, chances
are high that the employee will interact with
a computer that processes information on silicon
bridges that are .09 microns wide. Upon leaving
home, family members will be reached through
wireless networks that utilize satellites orbiting
the earth. Each of these common occurences
would have been inconceivable at the turn of
the 19th century.
The statement attempts to bridge these dramatic
changes to a reduction in the ability for humans
to think for themselves. The assumption is that
an increased reliance on technology negates
the need for people to think creatively to solve
previous quandaries. Looking back at the
introduction, one could argue that without a car,
computer, or mobile phone, the hypothetical
worker would need to find alternate methods
of transport, information processing, and
communication. Technology short circuits this
thinking by making the problems obsolete.
However, this reliance on technology does not
necessarily preclude the creativity that marks
the human species. The prior examples reveal
that technology allows for convenience. The car,
computer, and phone all release additional time
for people to live more efficiently. This efficiency
does not preclude the need for humans to think
for themselves. In fact, technology frees humanity
to not only tackle new problems, but may itself
create new issues that did not exist without
technology. For example, the proliferation of
automobiles has introduced a need for fuel
conservation on a global scale. With increasing
energy demands from emerging markets, global
warming becomes a concern inconceivable to
the horse-and-buggy generation. Likewise
dependence on oil has created nation-states that
are not dependent on taxation, allowing ruling
parties to oppress minority groups such as women.
Solutions to these complex problems require the
unfettered imaginations of maverick scientists and
politicians.
In contrast to the statement, we can even see
how technology frees the human imagination.
Consider how the digital revolution and the advent
of the internet has allowed for an unprecedented
exchange of ideas. WebMD, a popular internet
portal for medical information, permits patients
to self research symptoms for a more informed
doctor visit. This exercise opens pathways of
thinking that were previously closed off to the
medical layman. With increased interdisciplinary
interactions, inspiration can arrive from the most
surprising corners. Jeffrey Sachs, one of the
architects of the UN Millenium Development
Goals, based his ideas on emergency care triage
techniques. The unlikely marriage of economics
and medicine has healed tense, hyperinflation
environments from South America to Eastern
Europe.
This last example provides the most hope in how
technology actually provides hope to the future
of humanity. By increasing our reliance on
technology, impossible goals can now be achieved.
Consider how the late 20th century witnessed the
complete elimination of smallpox. This disease had
ravaged the human race since prehistorical days,
and yet with the technology of vaccines, free
thinking humans dared to imagine a world free
of smallpox. Using technology, battle plans were
drawn out, and smallpox was systematically
targeted and eradicated.
Technology will always mark the human
experience, from the discovery of fire to the
implementation of nanotechnology. Given the
history of the human race, there will be no limit
to the number of problems, both new and old,
for us to tackle. There is no need to retreat to
a Luddite attitude to new things, but rather
embrace a hopeful posture to the possibilities
that technology provides for new avenues of
human imagination.