Innovation

In the brevity of a history class or a history book, I often get caught up in the misconception of the world having been in a constant state of change. In one lecture or a few pages, the causes and effects of centuries can be outlined and appear to be happening almost at once, when in reality the difference from one past generation to the previous one was small as was the difference to the next. Ever steady, history made its mark. However, this misconception is becoming a reality in modern history because of Technological Innovation.

In his article Five Things We Need to Know About Technological Change, Neil Postman takes a deep look at the nature Technological Innovation. He discusses how these ‘enhancements’ have changed the human experience in deep and irrevocable ways. But beyond the effects of the innovation itself, how are we as a culture affected as these society-changing events become increasingly frequent? How will our culture develop if we never have a chance to mature—to take in where we are and where we have been—before we are changed by the newest innovations? Can we stand the neck-breaking acceleration of change without becoming disjointed?