Sunday 6 February 2011

The Social Consequences of Technological Change.


A few weeks ago I was thinking about what the theme for this blog should be. Over the last couple of years I've looked at books and films I like, bits of technology that interest me, and the lives of various people I admire. A bit of a mixture. 

I have an interest in science fiction and two of the novels I've written about deal with the changes imposed on people by technology. These pieces were, A Canticle for Leibwitz and Flowers for Algernon.  In the first the change is brought about by a devastating nuclear war which pushes civilisation back to the middle ages. In the second we have an amazing treatment that gives a mentally retarded man genius IQ. Essentially this concerns, In the event of new technology, then what do people do? This, for me, is the essence of science fiction. 

This is not generally the way history is written. While technical types may discuss  the esoterics  of technology, for example, how fitting drop tanks to the Luftwaffe fighter force at the time of the Battle of Britain might have effected the outcome of that conflict. Such matters do not generally feature in the history books. They will feature in this blog.

The blog will look at how changes in technology have effected society.  How technology changes society and how society changes technology will be matters for this blog.

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