Instrumentalism vs. Determinism

     In beginning my reading of The Shallows by Nicholas Carr, I was at first skeptical of the prologue's claim that it is not the content of the media that shapes us, but the media itself.  But then I recalled that Maryanne Wolf's Proust and the Squid gives much support that the development of reading has shaped the way mankind thinks.  I have long been an instrumentalist, though I never had seen the word until I came upon it in Carr's work.  An instrumentalist believes: "Our instruments are the means we use to achieve our ends; they have no ends of their own" (Carr, 46).  A technological instrumentalist uses his tools to achieve good.  At the other end of the spectrum, we have determinism.  A technological determinist believes that "technological progress...an autonomous force outside man's control, has been the primary factor influencing the course of human history" (Carr, 46).  The extreme view of determinism says even that our only role is to produce sophisticated technology, until technology is able to reproduce itself.  "At that point, we become dispensable (Carr, 46).

     First of all, I think that finishing my read of The Shallows will likely convince me that the idea that media shapes how we think.  But at the same time, I will still see the way media content shapes who we are.  Both are true.  In regards to instrumentalism versus determinism, I have slightly altered my view and propose a balanced approach.  It should not be unreasonable to say that the internet has made us text skimmers, books promote deep thought, that music gets us to listen to sound differently, and that movies orient us towards visuals and plot.  But technology will never have ultimate control over us.  In fact, instead of thinking so much in terms of control, maybe it would be appropriate to think in terms of a conversation.  People make things that you may see or use, which can influence you via content or form of media.  In turn, you create something which has been influenced by things made past.   This can apply to more than just technology.  It applies to all things - works of art, buildings, music.  But you get to choose what to make, if you make it, how you make it.  You get to choose your tool set and how you use your tools.   Like our Creator, we like to create because its in our nature.  But our creations are based on materials that are around us.  Therefore, we listen and we learn, then we speak.

What Is Progress?

     I recently came across something in "Proust and the Squid" (page 213) which I find to be very profound.  Wolf makes a commentary on a quote from Ray Kurzwel, an excerpt of which you will see here:

"How can we, limited by our current brain's capacity for 10^16 to 10^19 calculations per second, even begin to imagine what our future civilization in 2099 - with brains capable of 10^60 calculations per second - will be capable of thinking and doing?"

The brains in the future that are referred to here are computers.  Wolf responds:

"One thing we can imagine is that our capacities for good and for destruction will also be exponentially increased.  If we are to prepare for such a future, our ability to make profound choices just be honed with a rigor rarely practiced by learners in past generations.  If the species is to progress in the fullest sense, such preparations require singular capacities for attention and decision making that incorporate a desire for the common good."

I completely agree with Wolf here.  This is like a large scale version of Spiderman's "With great power comes great responsibility".  I hope that humanity can make moral progress forwards.  With a sense of common good and technology to assist us, we can do great things.

     I am highly interested in this topic because if I ever have the privilege of designing a piece of technology, I want it to have positive impact and not be abused.  While mankind always has the choice to misuse something which is good, I sometimes wonder: Is it possible to design something which by its very nature encourages the user to use it properly, or use it for good?