Humans and technology

I just wanted to take a quick moment to reflect on this past Wednesday's professor dinner. We had two new media art professors over, and it was really interesting to hear their perspectives. It was a brief dinner; I lingered for maybe an hour, yet their thoughts on human technology have really transformed my thinking. I had never heard anyone explain so eloquently the way that humanity is entwined with technology. We are different from most species in regard to our technology - at least indisputably in the extent to which we use it and rely on it for survival. Technology is our evolutionary adaptation, and I'd never even thought of it that way. "Back to nature" and primitivism sound so appealing to my deep ecology heart, and yet it was a reality check to hear from people that had been there and come to appreciate the reality of 'modern' technology. For all its faults, technology is the reason our species is around, and it does important good for our comfort and health - even the advanced technology. While there are obvious downsides to technology, and simplicity is a beutiful thing, we as humans are integrally related with technology. Our evolution (not in the specific biological, but in a broader sense) is intricately linked with the evolution of our techology - for better or worse. It's an obvious point that I feel I often try to deny deep down.

Also, I downloaded the Into the Wild score last night and it's really excellent. Perhaps the highlight of the movie. I'd recommend it.