Technology: Friend or Foe?

A question has been popping into my head lately, and somewhat persistently, so I'm compelled to give it some air time. Incidentally, I'm a firm believer in the idea that there's usually some reason why certain thoughts or ideas become pesky nuisances. Don't ask me what that reason is. The question is, will technological advancement save or destroy humanity? We arrive at an interesting time. Let's first look at our capabilities as they stand today. We now possess the means to end human life on Earth. Bye, bye. End of story. On the other end of the scale, I think the most you could say is that we have the means to sustain our present condition for a finite, maybe even foreseeable period. What that period is is an open question with as many answers as there are experts willing to talk about it. But the one thing everyone seems to agree on is that our primary energy source, petroleum, is limited and will eventually run out. Yikes, then what? Humanity plunges into a chaotic war for survival that ends in brutal self destruction? What if the Earth's climate is changing in a way that will render our current form of existence untenable? Life threatening diseases appear to be picking up some momentum too. Famine and poverty seem to be spreading as well, but maybe that's just my impression. Anyway, all these problems and threats don't seem to be going away by themselves, and some great all-powerful force from above doesn't seem to be taking a very active role, so that leaves technology to come to the rescue. The beginnings of some possible solutions are underway already, but will they come in time? Will they come at all? Remember Ted Kaczynski, the Unabomber and presumptive founder of the so-called anti-technology movement (aka homicidal crackpot)? He saw technology as humanity's ultimate undoing, a sort of Great Satan, if you will, steadily eroding our souls from the inside out. In a college sociology class I once took, the professor cautioned with great earnest against placing faith in technology to solve the world's problems. Far better, he preached, we should modify our behaviors. Helping one another via the great social instrument of government was a far safer bet. (Why anyone would place that much trust in an organization that's proven itself to be hopelessly vulnerable to corruption is quite beyond me.) Looking back now, I realize that people rarely modify their behaviors in order to help their neighbors. (They either naturally possess that trait or they do it only by coercion.) They may do so to save their own skins, but even that is looking a little iffy these days. So, if not socialized philanthropy, and not technology, and not the almighty, then what? Uh . . . er . . .

Innovation is what brought us out of the caves; gave us food, clothing and shelter; allowed us to overcome disease; provided comfort, convenience, recreation, exploration, art and finally . . . culture. Technology has always been the cornerstone of civilization, like it or not. And yes, technology has given us weapons. We've been able to totally annihilate ourselves for well over half a century, but so far we haven't done it. Hmm. When you really look at it, technology is about all we've ever really had. But luckily, it's one of the things we do best. My money's on technology. Sorry, Prof. Someone once said: what doesn't kill you, only makes you stronger.

-Terrab

New Year Arrives, Experts Conflicted

Two thousand and seven years in the making, it's here at last:  2008, day 1.  It promises to be a year with plenty to talk about, lots more media, tales of terror, abundant celebrity scandal, better faster computers, and . . . oh, yes, a presidential election. Yippee!

How many debates have there already been?  Frankly, I've lost track, and I don't feel any closer to knowing which candidate will truly be the best choice to lead the U.S. into the future.  As tiresome as all the media attention on the upcoming election has been, I suppose it's a good thing if it gets more people involved in the process.  So called, Get-Out-the-Vote movements are all well and good so long as the voters have made the effort to understand what they're voting for. We might do well to "Keep-In-the-Vote" when votes are cast purely for the sake of casting votes (easing consciences?). Truly, the uninformed vote can be far more damaging than no vote at all.

But therein lies the difficulty.  The candidates say that they themselves are the only good choice, and all the others are hopelessly corrupt, misguided, unprincipled, unqualified or just plain stupid.  If you believe the smear campaigns (and what self-respecting presidential candidate would dare lie?), then you must conclude that the current field of presidential hopefuls is the biggest bunch of losers our nation has ever had the misfortune to choose from.

So who's the best choice?  I think picking a president is a bit like picking a stock. You do your research, learn all you can, put up your money and take your chances.  With some homework and a little good luck, you won't get burned. If you really know what you're doing, you might even make out. I suppose a good start is to look at the general principles that the candidates stand for, in much the same way you might target a business sector for your precious investment dollars.  A candidate can, of course, say whatever he/she wants: it's usually whatever the immediate audience wants to hear.  So too will a company offer only rosy projections for future revenue. The only thing we voters (investors) can know for sure is what a candidate, or stock, has done in the past.  And even that can be a hard thing to determine with the smoke and mirrors games so deftly used to obscure misdeeds. However, assuming you've accomplished that much, you then must try to determine what the true consequences of those actions have been.  Finally, analyze that impact relative to your own interests/objectives/values, and then you can form an opinion: buy? sell? hold? Easy, right? But remember:  past performance does not guarantee future results. Invest with caution. And good luck.

Happy New Year.

-Terrab