second writing assignment

In looking at the relationship between technology and society, I can only see that our world is moving forward. And in the large scheme of things, where else is there for us to go but forward? In every waking moment that passes throughout time, it is a fact that there will always be a loss of our past in some way or another. Hawthorne and Vannevar Bush seem to see this new coming of our future in two completely different lights and from two different polar angles. While Hawthorne sees the new technology of the wood stove as a corruption of all that has been good and wholesome in his life thus far, Bush envisions a technology that will revolutionize the current way of life.
I believe it is innate in our human nature to have a sense of nostalgia to past traditions and people and things we must leave behind. As Hawthorne reminisces about the way family life used to be, he is sad and a bit angry knowing that he will never again carry out the same activities as he has in the past. If this new fancy woodstove did in fact rob the essence of family talk, social values and his enjoyment of life, I feel he has only one choice before him; he must embrace the worlds changes and find new and better ways to relate to his environment, socialize with the people around him and spend quality time with his family. I also believe that it is human nature to possess the endurance to push forward and to engage in new technology, new experiences and new ways of living. After all, there is really only one option and one direction in which we may go; and that is forward and on to bigger and better things. As Vannevar Bush states in his piece As We May Think, "Consider a future”. In this day and age the World Wide Web or the Internet is our future! Bush saw a “future device for individual use, which is a sort of mechanized private file and library. It needs a name, and, to coin one at random, "memex" will do. A memex is a device in which an individual stores all his books, records, and communications, and which is mechanized so that it may be consulted with exceeding speed and flexibility. It is an enlarged intimate supplement to his memory." The type of predicted technology that Bush speaks of throughout this publication is very similar to the technology that has been invented in our current day. He envisions such similar things as the use of personal computers, the internet, the World Wide Web, speech recognition and online encyclopedias. Also, he mentions a type of push-button linking between documents with runs parallel to our modern day use of hypertext linking.
So looking forward to the growth of the human race and the prosperity of our world as a whole, I have to agree with Bush in that we are completely dependent in this “memex” future abound. The invention of the internet has proven to provide us with access to a global economy, to global knowledge and to global communication and relationships. I feel that it is an absolute positive change in our world that we are no longer confined to our own local rural neighborhoods. Knowing the things that I know now and seeing what is possible with the use of our current day technology, I would not sacrifice it all for a little front porch talk with the neighbors or a forced eight months of fire talk with the with the family on those cold wintry nights. Today, we are lucky enough to have it all and to have choices as to how we spend our time and whom we spend our time with.