Technopoly

According to Neil Postman's article, "From Technocracy to Technopoly", technocracy frist came about in England with James Watt's steam engine or with Adam Smith's book The Wealth of Nations. Acquiring wealth became the main pursuit in one's life. Tools became the most important item in the culture and everything else, including humanity, came second. "Technocracies brought into being an increased respect for the average person, whose potential and even convenience became a matter of compelling political interest and urgent social policy." This is directly proportional to Brave New World in when they state, "Even Epsilons were useful." Each person had a specific job that they had to fulfill in the society for the betterment of the whole. Technocracies altered the meaning of humanity, people were no longer seen as the children of God who were here on Earth to fulfill their lives as humans, rather they were machines to fulfill the needs and wants of society. Technology, science, and progress were the key items that brought happiness. "Technocracy speeded up the world." Henry Ford and his assembly line gave way to a new era, it removed the necessity for critical thinking of humans, only adherence to the machine of formulaic processes.  In Huxley's Brave New World, Ford is worshipped, they say his name in place of God. They refer to their time periods as BF and AF- "Before Ford and After Ford." The machinery knew better than the people and was therefore to be trusted completely. This was the beginning of technopoly, submission of all forms of life and culture to the sovereignty of technology. Technology was improving the conditions of life and causing happiness. In Brave New World, the citizens constantly repeat "Everyone is always happy." This new ear was in part due to "genious and ruthlessness of American capitalists" they were willing to go to many extremes for efficiency. Technology was a way of life, the only way that was suitable to the demands and needs of the people. "Technology provided endless conveniences and comforts." This concept is deeply portrayed in Brave New World because technology was used in all means of their lives to fulfill their demands. Another key component to technopoly was the defiance of religion and God. "Religion and faith came under open attack." Philosophers denied God. Scientists couldn't prove he existed at all or proved that he couldn't exist. Science and machinery were easier to trust than God, for they were tangible and you could observe them work successfully. There is no mention of God or belief in church and religion in Brave New World. They believe that soma is "Christ without the negatives. "Postman's article has views of technology opposite of Kurzweil. Postman views it negatively whereas Postman viewed it positively due to all the benefits it could possibly provide. 

Singularity

In Lev Grossman's, 1945 The Year Man Becomes Immortal, he states, "Computers are getting faster. Everybody knows that. Also, computers are getting faster faster — that is, the rate at which they're getting faster is increasing."(Grossman). Will humans lose themselves and this Earth to computers? According to Raymond Kurzweil, the answer is yes. When Kurzweil was just 17 years old he appeared on  games show called I've Got A Secret and revealed a computer that composed music. He believes that we are approaching singularity. "Kurzweil believes that we're approaching a moment when computers will become intelligent, and not just intelligent but more intelligent than humans. When that happens, humanity-our bodies, our minds, our civilization- will be completely and irreversibly transformed"(Grossman).Kurzweil believes that this concept of singularity is inevitable and within 35 years there will be an end to human civilization as we know it today. Singularity as described in the article states that, "The one thing all these theories have in common is the transformation of our species into something that is no longer recognizable as such to humanity circa 2011."(Grossman). Eventually, computers will reach a level of intelligence equal to that of man and soon after, a level much higher and unthinkable to man. This highlights the idea of artificial intelligence, the technology will soon be technology based and produced, man will be pushed out of the picture. People believe that we may eventually have to share our planet with these machines that will become far too intelligent for humans. Some people even believe that, "we'll merge with them to become super-intelligent cyborgs, using computers to extend our intellectual abilities. Maybe the artificial intelligences will help us treat the effects of old age and prolong our life spans indefinitely" (Grossman). This idea of an extended lifespan and a possible eradication of aging and sickness and health issues seems very plausible and even inviting to some people. To other people however, this idea of extending your lifespan through technological means is a contradiction to religion and God. Many people simply see this idea and concept as being far fetched and unlikely. However, people like Kurzweil believe it is inevitable and the day is approaching very soon because of technology and its continual exponential growth. Brave New World represents what a society run by technology would be like. The technology has becoming so powerful that even things like a home, a mother, and a father seem far fetched. For instance, in Brave New World, everyone  has a sole purpose and that is to serve the society. They are machines that are simply working or the betterment of the society. Their places in society are predetermined and they are not given the opportunity to be an individual. Bernard, a protagonist in the novel, believes that there is more out there and than simply working for the society. He longs to be authentic and original, he wants to be able to exercise free thought and let his mind render him capable of anything. For instance, in chapter 6 he states, "But wouldn't you like to be free to be happy in some other way, Lenina? In your own way, for example; not in everybody else's way?"(Huxley 91). Bernard believes that true happiness will come from getting free, out of the grip of this society that doesn't allow him any freedom. This civilization is based on artificial intelligence, because as the article stated, technology has taken over. Technology makes people. Technology shapes them into what they should be. Technology controls their thoughts. Technology tells them how they can be happy. And even after they die, technology finds a way to make them efficient. Technology has already merged with civilization in this book. People have become very dependent on technology even nowadays. With the growing reliance, machines and technology are going to continue their rapid increase in growth and power. So long as we want to determine what we do with our lives, how to make ourselves happy, and be the force that controls our own emotions and thoughts, we should be cautious about our over reliance. 

The Performance of Femininity

I did a critical analysis of "The Performance of Femininity"and here is the link. 

This piece was written by the author in order to inform us, the reader, about the story of women and their role in this Utopia created in the novel Herland. The author also informs us about the social construct of sexuality in this novel. The intended audience is analysts of this novel as well as feminists, or just someone who may be interested in reading this novel. The subject of this particular piece would be critics of the novel. This piece of writing may be more appeasing to women and feminists because the novel is such a feminist piece. The main point of the article is the subservience of women and the dominance that males have and believe they should have. The thesis and central idea include women characterized as being the minority and being inferior. The writer achieved the desired affect through quoting the novel directly and mostly through emotional appeal. A women may be able to read this piece and find common ground with it. Women's rights activists could prove to be good evidence for a piece such as this. Each paragraph represents a new idea. And it includes evidence and commentary. The thoughts and ideas are organized in a logical and easy to follow pattern. This helps in advancing the piece and its message. The text is coherent and there is a good sense of unity throughout the piece and throughout the individual paragraphs. There are not unnecessary words thrown into the piece which makes it  very cut ann dry and to the point. The language is eloquent and sophisticated, yet understandable. Some of the words may require a dictionary, however it is understandable to the large majority of people for the mot part. This reflects which type of audience the author wanted to reach out to.  There is a use of symbolism in this piece to describe the symbolism of the novel. Such as, Herland's mother who is symbol of motherhood as a whole. There is also a representation of the imagery that occurs in the novel. This is seen in the phrase, "every tree bears fruit in this fecund land.."The author builds ethos right from the beginning when they use factuary information about the novel. This piece is driven with pathos more than ethos. There is great emotional appeal to women who are able to connect with the idea that the author is presenting. This is an analysis of the book and along with pathos, it has logos. All of the appeals and statements made in this piece are logical and reasonable. They can be proven by the novel. This piece is more of an analysis of the novel and less of an opinion. Yes, opinion shows up in it and feminism can be seen. What develops is a race of mothers, warriors, and intellectuals that develop free from sexual stereotypes and commodification.This line from the text has a lot of appeal to emotion in it.