TEC154 2010S, Class 19: Where We've Been, Where We're Going Overview: * Quick summary: Where we've been. * Quick summary: Where we're going. * Exam format. * Planning: What questions on the readings did you find particularly good? * Exam questions. Admin: * Leftovers! * Two copies of Technology and the Future, 9th edition, are missing. (One was the copy I was using; one was a borrowed copy.) If you find one, please return it. * Because I didn't have a copy (whoops!), I wasn't able to do as much preparation for this session as I would have liked. But, hey, I can rely on you folks to support each other. * I'm hoping that any remaining EBoards will be available this evening. * Reading for next week: The Design of Everyday Things. Plan to have the whole book read by the end of the week. * EC: Tuesday, 4:15, ARH 102, Learn about Internships in Detroit and support B. * EC: Thursday, 4:15, Hate Crimes Symposium * EC: Rosenfield Symposium (any part thereof) Where we've been * Explored definitions of technology * Explored ways of asking about technology * From Technology and the Future: All sorts of questions from different perspectives, generally considering societal issues * From to Engineer is Human: How is technology designed? How do Engineers approach the problem of making technology? * From individual technologies/technologists * Explored three (more?) particular technologies (among the oldest technologies) * Stone tools * Writing * Music (making and "preserving") * Ate, drank, discussed, and were not-so-merry because it's hard to be merry at 8a.m. or when the prof calls on you. Where we're going * Two more sets of perspectives * Donald Norman (Psychologist) on how we interact with technology * Something other than "White, european, males" * Lots of technologies! * Art * Bridges * Solar Power * Biotechnology * Computers * Ones you choose Exam format * Goal: Give you encouragement to better master the stuff you've learned * Two parts: * Almost simple facts (ten questions, fifty minutes) * An opportunity to show you've mastered the basics * Long essay (one question (from a menu), fifty minutes) * An opportunity for you to show your strengths * Assume that you'll write something similar to a compressed version of a five-paragraph essay (maybe four short paragraphs) * You may bring a sheet of notes, you must turn it in. 8.5 x 11, double-sided, hand-written (or photocopied from hand-written) (or two single-sided) * I will not be here to answer questions. Planning: Good Questions That You'd Like to See on the Exam * Short questions * What does it mean when Mesthene says on p. 97 "It leads some people to conclude that technology is inherently inimical to human values"? * Joy mentions "complex systems" (109). What does he mean by this and how does it relate to his claim that "advances in information tech. come from physical scientists"? * After looking through the vast array of musical instruments, I am a little confused as to how one is defined. ("What is a musical instrument?") * How can archaelogists decipher when stone tools carry symbolic meaning or nnot? * Why might we think of Schumacher as a total bozo? * Essay questions * Whittake says stone tools are "technology that developed along with humans and influences their evolution." How did stone tools influence human evolution? How might modern technology influence humane volution? * Petroski explains that failure is an inevitable part of the engineering process; however, the consumer public expcts designs to operate w/o failure. Don't we have a right to be upset at the engineers of failed products? * One of the main arguments Brown & Duguid use aggainst robots is te fact that they cannot think, but what would happen if we put a human mind in a robot? * How might a particular system of writing music affect the way composers and musicians think about it? * In terms of sound quality and aesthetic appeal, what does live music give us that recordings do not? Your questions for me * Do we have to use direct quotations? * Certainly not * Can we go over the main theses in the last few readings? * Goodman: Can Technology be Humane? * Boring version: "Technology can be humane." * In his words "It is necessary to change the relationship between science, tech, etc. by changing the organization" (presumably to be less hierarchical and big-science oriented) * Schumacher: Buddhist Economics * By using a Buddhist view we can be more "economical" in our use of technology. [Not quite] * Economics should be focused on the worker, and not the tangible product. Similarly, technology should be designed to focus on how it makes people's lives better (including those who make the technology) * Sclove: Technological Politics as if Democracy Really Mattered * When evaluating a technology, we should ask whether it positively influences democracy. There are a variety of criteria we can use: Does it build decomcratic community? Does it support "democratic work" (similar to Buddhist work)? Does it support democratic politics (giving everyone a voice)? Does it support self-governance? (Can local impact be decided locally?) * We (TEC154) think that it's important that votes be *informed* * Chapter 11: Of Bus Frames and Knife Blades * What's the thesis? * When we make changes to a design in reaction to changed requirements, those changes may have significant effects, even though we don't expect them. * Public perception matters a lot.