Technological Culture

Technology will kill us all. Photo: Dave

The relationship between technology and culture, as Murphie and Potts have pointed out, is a highly contentious debate. One with many vastly different views and opinions. Amongst the differing theories and studies behind this relationship, there is an underlying factor. That is that there IS a relationship between culture and technology. It is without a doubt that they interact. They quote Marcel Mauss with a valuable idea:

we are everywhere faced with physio-psycho-sociological assemblages of series of actions. These actions are more or less habitual and more or less ancient in the life of the individual and history of society

This idea ties technology, techniques and society into each other. The technologies shape and are shaped by the techniques surrounding them, that become imbedded in society, passed down through culture and ancestory, as well as instinctive behaviours.

Murphie and Potts also teach as some valuable definitions for terms; technique, technology and culture.

Technique is expanded upon, from simply being a skill or way in which a technology is used, into the entire tree of thought stemming from a technology. The psychological thinking, the way it’s used, the way it is thought of and the way society and the individual utilises it.

As for technology, they offer us a number of definitions, from respected theorists and academics.

Lorenzo Simpson:

That constellation of knowledge, processes, skills and products whose aim is to control and transform

Arnold Pacey:

Ordered systems that involve people, organisations, living things and machines

It is clear that technology has been interpreted differently since the inception of the idea, and as Murphie and Potts state, the word has been broadened to include a greater arc of thinking.

Culture is dynamic and multiple in its meaning. It can be applied to a wide range of ideas, thus Murphie and Potts argue that it is always changing, hence dynamic. Culture changes with society and technology.

These ideas are all intertwined, for better or worse. There’s no yes/no, but we can definitely acknowledge the relationship that exists between these ideas.

Mapping the World

A hole in the ground, what a swell place to dwell. Photo: Rachel Lovinger

A great pick up by Adrian here. While it is clear that there is some bias in these representations (Let’s have a look at who’s conducting the surveys and the fact that some countries aren’t even surveyed at all), it is also easy to glimpse a pretty simple graphical breakdown of a number of key aspects of society, global relations and the economies of the world.

Although it is only a debatable study as I previously mentioned, it does yield at least a few main ideas that I took away. I guess they come from the more contestable maps, but still, its nice to think that they’re accurate, because the results are promising.

For me, aside from economies – which point in a similar direction– it reassures me of my beliefs that Canada, Australia and New Zealand are the three preferable places to live in the world. Canada it seems, outshines even Australia in liveability and happiness. As we consider our futures, possible moves (both international and nationally), these are probably three of the most important things to consider. Nothing will make you more productive than feeling happy, loved and having a positive mindset. It does highlight that we are among the luckiest in the world. While we complain and protest a lot about our current statuses in certain areas (health, education, all the regulars), it’s important to note the reason we care so much about these things is because we have had a ridiculously high standard on a global level for our lifetimes. We only want more because we’re used to having more.

In this sense it’s important to remember empathy and to consider that despite us having more and wanting more, there are people who have consistently had less. I’m not saying we should devote all our finances, interests and energies into helping other nations. That’s not a feasible solution. What I am saying though, is that we should take great pride in where we are, how we got here, and continue to note the positive effect that it has already had on our lives, whether we realise it consciously or not.

I’ve always had an interest in New Zealand and Canada (I’ve been to New Zealand once and plan to go there again soon, Canada – never). They seem prosperous and full of opportunity and beauty. They are rich in culture and experience, and I guess that relates once again back to me being an experience based person. Even the horribly biased and sensationalised travel advertisements for these countries seem incredible realistic and tangible. I guess that’s because the countries are actually so rich in these aspects. Peter Jackson and Lord of the Rings come up again on contributing to New Zealand’s culture and prosperity.

With that I guess, I look forward to future exploring in the world and the exciting experiences and opportunities such places possess.

Symposium Mark I

Perhaps this is what the symposium would look like if it were dumbed down and lost a bit of its creative edge. Photo: Maryland Govpics

Promising, real promising. This is what life is all about. Discussion, contributions, feedback, analysis, speculation. The first official symposium contained all of these, plus more. They’re all things I don’t do enough of. It’s really inspiring stuff. Particularly the last points made by Adrian.

It’s about the experience. We’re in an experience based world. Well, we’re not in an experience based world, rather there are experience based “things” in our world. I posted about this earlier on in my blogging career. It’s something I’d like to touch on again. I am a big believer in experience. I buy things, lots of things. I might regret it one day, but I buy lots of things that I am able to use to immerse myself in experiences. They’re material possession’s sure, but I don’t just think of all material objects in the same way. There is a line between material possessions and experiences that is met well by a number of items in the world.

Movies are one thing, books another. Both material possessions, you can collect, buy, sell, trade, keep, etc. But they give you experiences. Some people choose to repeat these experiences and keep them, treasure them. Others choose to sell them after they are finished consuming. Owning a movie to me is not just about the movie, but the packaging, the collectables, what comes with it, as well as the memories.

Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings movies and The upcoming instalments in The Hobbit trilogy are a perfect example of this. They release numerous editions of the film. “They’re grabbing for money!”, some shout. “Peter Jackson wants a new private jet”, others proclaim. I think of immense happiness and joy. The collector’s edition Lord of the Rings and Hobbit extended edition movies are beautiful. The packaging itself is an art. But inside, the statues, work of the famous Weta Workshop, of course, are even more gorgeous.

I don’t just get a movie. I get to immerse myself in the experience of the film. I don’t just buy things that are marked “limited edition”, I want something that goes that extra mile and provides me with such an experience that the over priced tag is justifiable.

It’s the same thing as the Barbershop example I posted about earlier. I want an experience. I don’t want something disposable. I want something that will tickle my senses, evoke memories and provide me with a greater quality of life.

That’s what I took away from this symposium, more than anything. I love experiences, it seems people want that more than ever in the world. To succeed as a person, organisation, etc, we have to provide an experience.

Exploring

Pumping blood. Photo: David O

Thanks to Elliot for his fantastic idea of organising the student blogs into tutorials on his blog. As a result of this I have been able to do some exploring of the blogs belonging to my fellow classmates. Something that caught my eye was Prani’s post about rape culture and how society handles the issue. What she discusses is the way in which we as a society teach women that they are at fault, that it is their responsibility to protect themselves from rape. This is a perfect example of single-loop behaviour in action. Rather than trace the issue back to its foundation, we choose to notice the fault and create reactive measures, instead of attempting to resolve the roots of the problem. As a society in contemporary times we have a tendency not to speculate the future, or think about longevity. Our whole culture is based around our knowledge that we can build things and create ideas that are disposable or reactive, rather than behaving in a proactive manner and thinking about how things can be used into the future.

It’s hard not for us to act this way, we’re surrounded by disposable plastic containers and packaging. We’re accustomed to buying products that have a one year life (the life of a standard warranty most of the time, it’s not a coincidence that they break just after the warranty expires). We’ve been brought up to believe that their are unlimited resources, or more importantly that we can continue to harvest and consume, because there will always be another resource to take it’s place (Well, our generation at least). It’s no surprise that we’re depleting our valuable minerals, such as petroleum. I myself have tried to step out of the overconsumption chain, and have begun making choices that are based on the future. (Like buying this fantastic leather briefcase. Made of natural materials and has a 100 year warranty. That’s not something you see every day.) Buying for the future is not all of it though, even more important is thinking for the future.

Back to the main point – this example of rape culture – ties in exactly to  what we’ve been exploring in Networked Media. There is an ideology in society that women are not safe on their own – especially at night. There is a narrow-minded point of view towards the idea of rape, that it is somehow the fault of women. When we criticise women for walking home alone, or dressing in sexually alluring clothing, we don’t stop and think about trying to resolve the issue completely, or improve society’s attitude towards women. We simply put in reactive measures (ie, those “How not to get raped” classes Prani mentioned). Issues like this bring to perfect light the fact that society as a whole needs to change its behaviour, and begin to function in a manner that is more embracing of the future, and double-loop learning practices. As Adrian has said, we are a single-loop learning society. Speculation, adaptability and proactivity are words that spring to mind once again. They’re the sorts of thought processes and actions we need as a society in order to advance and prosper.

That was long and rambling. Some interesting issues were discussed. Some I’ll elaborate on further in future blog posts – I’m big on the idea and study of overconsumption and that sort of stuff – others, perhaps might be explored and discussed by my peers in the future. We’ll wait and see.

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