A scientific determinist will say that any choice we make is merely an illusion of free will. We see the choices we make as free will because of the inherent complexities involved with the mind. Although we do not fully grasp the complexities of the human brain, scientific determinism states that, knowing everything there is to know about the rules of the universe we would be able to determine what a person was going to do. On the other hand, free-willists believe that humans do in fact have free will. There is some amount of causal powers attributed to the brain that cannot be simply by analyzing the electromagnetic-fields and quarks in the brain.
These conflicting views on technological advances in these novels can be related to the modern age that we live in today. Yes, there are numerous benefits to technology, but we humans cannot allow ourselves to become dependent on technology. The benefits are related to The Killer Angels: technological advances have helped make our lives much easier. For example, with the internet, we no longer have to painstakingly research information from books. The dangerous prospect of humans becoming too dependent on technology is seen in Jurassic Park.
David Foster Wallace states, “Learning how to think really means learning how to exercise control over how and what you think (Carr 195). According to Carr, “The seductions of technology are hard to resist, and in our age of instant information the benefits of speed and efficiency can seem desirable beyond debate” (224). Unlike machines, human beings possess free will. People can choose to limit internet usage. They can choose to engage in deep thinking activities.
In what ways does a comparative study accentuate the distinctive contexts of Frankenstein and Blade Runner? The values and morals of society have dramatically changed throughout the course of history, so too has the knowledge of science, its teachings and influences on the world. As new technologies have been under further experimentation into the production of man-made life forms, the debate between science and religion has continued. It is these issues within an author’s context that influences them and the texts they create. Mary Shelley’s gothic promethean novel, Frankenstein (1818), was released during the industrial revolution as romanticism was thriving, while Ridley Scott’s futuristic sci-fi Blade runner (1992) grew with the dawning of a capitalistic increasingly globalised and technologically driven society.
Contrary to Parker-Pope’s assertion that technologies make us more forgetful, they actually help give us access to important memories. Dr. Abouhaoude, a reference in ParkerPope’s article, asks “whether the storage available in email and the internet may be preventing us from letting go, and retain many old and unnecessary memories at the expense of making new ones.” Having access to those older memories, documents and information allows us to have the mental space to make new ones. For example, computers can store passwords and other important information that in the past people would have to remember. Cell phones serve the same purpose with phone numbers. Without trying to remember so much, people can focus on new and interesting information.
Fluid intelligence doesn’t look much like the capacity to memorize and recite facts, the skills that people have traditionally associated with brainpower. But building it up may improve the capacity to think deeply that Carr and others fear we’re losing for good. And we shouldn’t let the stresses associated with a transition to a new era blind us to that era’s astonishing potential. We swim in an ocean of data, accessible from nearly anywhere, generated by billions of devices. We’re only beginning to explore what we can do with this knowledge-at-a-touch.
That before we know it our appliances will be smarter than us one day and that’s not how man intended life to be; humans are supposed to be on top. Not being able to use today’s technology rings in Barry’s purpose. Technology has gone wild and he makes it very clear with several examples. His ability to discredit these technologic advances brings credit to his point. One can always refute anything they’d like, but to be effective, one needs to have appropriate facts for back-up and a dominating style that brings it all together.
Through the years people have had the mentality that the advancement of technology will lead to the advancement of human civilization. However there are others who think just the opposite and one of them is Ray Bradbury. Bradbury uses imagery in both Fahrenheit 451 and The Martian Chronicles to show that the advancement of technology will eventually lead to the decay of human society. Fahrenheit 451 is a book that takes place in the future and in a society that has transformed into almost a dictatorship because of technology. An effect of technology that is shown very clearly in the book was that it made people less social even with their close ones.
I think it possible that we might one day be able to harness outside stimuli in such a way that creativity - surely the ultimate expression of individuality - is actually boosted rather than diminished. I am optimistic and excited by what future research will reveal into the workings of the human brain, and the extraordinary process by which it is translated into a uniquely individual mind. But I'm also concerned that we seem to be so oblivious to the dangers that are already upon us. Well, that debate must start now. Identity, the very essence of what it is to be human, is
The world should not be created to have technology run it solely; humans should be more involved with processes that are in their control. A complete dependency on technology can lead future generations into the direction of lacking life skills. An excellent movie, Surrogates (2009), supports how an extreme dependency on technology can affect social interactions and health decline for lack of physical movement because there is technology that will do everything for you. The polypotency of technology, if used properly, can truly help the world evolve for the better. The lack of extreme dependency can open the door for communities to work together to resolve