DEVICES OF THE SOUL (O’Reilly)

April 25, 2007 by admin

DEVICES OF THE SOUL cover

A thought-provoking title from O’Reilly. I see this in the light of Thomas Homer-Dixon’s THE UPSIDE OF DOWN: CATASTROPHE, CREATIVITY, AND THE RENEWAL OF CIVILIZATION, which (madly simplifying) argues that our civilization is becoming overly complex, energy-dependent, and, therefore fragile. What I feel is missing from the description below is the thought that it is fully natural for human beings to be technological. There is a population of 6.5 billion naked apes on the planet who have appropriated between 4 and 40% of the world’s net primary productivity (Vitousek, 1986) using technology over a period of thousands of years (Penniman, PLOWS, PLAGUES, AND PETROLEUM). We do not just “consume” technology; we build our habitat using technology.

I feel sure Talbott has an interesting take on this situation; I look forward to reading his book.

In Devices of the Soul, Steve Talbott challenges readers to critically examine society’s ever-increasing detachment from its physical surroundings and reflect on its growing dependence on techno-wizardry. Why? In an era when 65 percent of American consumers spend more time with their PCs than with their loved ones, according to a recent study, Talbott insists something vital is slipping away–our Selves, the human spirit from which technology stems.

“Self-forgetfulness is the reigning temptation of the technological era. This is why we so readily give our assent to the absurd proposition that a computer can add two plus two, despite the obvious fact that it can do nothing of the sort-not if we have in mind anything remotely resembling what we do when we add numbers,” writes Talbott. “In the computer’s case, the mechanics of addition involve no motivation, no consciousness of the task, no mobilization of the will, no metabolic activity, no imagination. And its performance brings neither the satisfaction of accomplishment nor the strengthening of practical skills and cognitive capacities.”

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