The Culture of Technology

by Arnold Pacey

Book Overview

The Culture of Technology examines our often conflicting attitudes toward nuclear weapons, biological technologies, pollution, Third World development, automation, social medicine, and industrial decline. It disputes the common idea that technology is "value-free" and shows that its development and use are conditioned by many factors-political and cultural as well as economic and scientific. Many examples from a variety of cultures are presented...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0262660563
• ISBN13: 9780262660563
• Release Date: September 1985
• Publisher: MIT Press
• Length: 220 Pages
• Weight: 0.70 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.5" x 5.9" x 9.0"
• Age Range: 18 years and up
• Grade Range: Postsecondary and higher

Customer Reviews

Technology ? The Cause and Effect

The Culture of Technology examined many viewpoints of how technology is developed and used by people. The book by Arnold Pacey reveals how different cultures view technology such as nuclear weapons, biological, pollution, medicine and industry. Pacey illustrates how complex technology is clashed with culture and values. The Culture of Technology examines the effect of new technologies on cultures. The book analyzed such technology advances as snowmobiles, water pumps, and electrical generation. It showed how water pumps in India allowed for different methods of farming, and therefore changed the culture because they were now able to grow crops anywhere in the country, instead of just near water. How the invention of snowmobiles allowed for a faster method of transportation across cold climates and how it changed the way people work in Canada and Alaska. The electrical generation plants in Britain were setup to provide a power reserve for a large community, and how this setup acted as a template to spring plants in all of Europe. These are just the surface of what Pacey shows; technology has improved culture. Political and social issues also effect how technology is developed. The book goes into detail about how political, social, cultural and economics play a key role in the developing, and implementing technology. Technologies use is also important to a culture and this book brought up the challenges and economic sacrifices that many third world countries live through in the name of advancement. Going from the small impact of electronic toys to the hydroelectric nuclear power plant, this book shows the impact of technological advancement accurately and thoroughly. This book was an eye opener for me because I had never realized how the smallest technology advancement could become a huge part of people's everyday existence. Pacey presents the technological findings in an easy to read yet clever manner that keeps the reader focused and informed. Technology literature is stereotyped as "dry", but this book is filled with so many interesting facts as well as cause-and-effect scenarios that it was fun to read. I would recommend this book to technology professionals or anyone with the desire to see the impact of the scientific advances that have occurred in the last century. Pacey is clever because he leaves the reader thinking about how we take all the small things for granted even though they have the largest impact.

A good context for understanding the culture of technology.

Arnold Pacey argues that technology is not value free, and that an understanding of the values involved are needed before a decision can be made as to how a problem can best be solved. In the end we must balance competing values in a way that provides the best, most appropriate use of technology for serving human needs. I think that this book is important because it provides a good scheme for analyzing the different values that different groups of people have relative to problem solving through the application of technology. Pacey is generally fair and objective and is not a technology basher. According to Pacey, values in the practice of technology include: virtuosity values, economic values, and user or needs values. Virtuosity values are closely associated with scientists and technologists. They are the values of the expert culture. The pursuit of technical achievement and mastery over nature are the driving forces. The goal is to extend the frontier of knowledge and technology, to be recognized as tops in their field, and to improve performance. Risks are seen as challenges which are offset by technological innovation. Economic values are closely associated with the businessman. They are the values of economists, capitalists and financiers. The pursuit of profit through organization and management of the means of production is the driving force. The goal is increased output and economic growth. Risks are balanced by potential gain. User values are the values of those most affected by technology. Pacey sees these users exemplified by women. The pursuit of improved lifestyle through maintenance and subsistence are the driving forces. The goal is to achieve stability through the care of people and nature. Risk is to be avoided and prevented. These different sets of values are evident in each individual and are often in conflict. The result is that one set tends to dominate the others, and is dependent upon an individual's own inclinations and personality. The individual will need to work to balance these different sets of values in a way that is tolerant of ambiguity when they conflict rather than to make one the dominant set. For example, Robert Oppenheimer was able to accept social conscience and technical creativity without one dominating the other. Edward Teller, however, could only accept the values of technical creativity, and would use any means of persuasion to advance his own agenda. Pacey argues that it is essential to tolerate a wide range of values and to make certain to make creative use of the tensions among them. The proper role of scientists and technologists is to help society understand science; it is not to dictate what the choices should be. The danger is that the expert can often present knowledge selectively so that people get a biased view of what their choices are. Instead of imparting understanding, the expert ends up giving instructions. All of this illustrates the need for open dialogue. D