9.12

After reading Technology as Social Practice, I wonder whether there is a comprehensive theoretical framework or thinking system addressing the problems we should try to avoid when making critical decisions regarding usage of technologies. As stated in the article, social relations and technologies are intertwined with each other. Technologies are designed and employed by human beings and technologies are also going to affect people in a way that might not be anticipated by their users, like the incident about “piano lesson” in the essay (Bruce, Bertram C. 1996). This makes me curious about how we can foresee potential risks and improve our decision-making process when it comes to the topic of technologies. Are there any similarities between all those real cases in life about unwise ways of using technologies leading to terrible results? Can those similarities be categorized in an efficient and reasonable way?

The other question I want to ask is about an opinion I saw in Moore's Law and technological determinism: Reflections on the history of technology that the author wants to encourage us to “step back from a social constructionist view of technology and consider that, in at least one instance, raw technological determinism is at work” (Ceruzzi, P. E.2005). What is “raw technological determinism” and what implications would there be if someone agrees with it meanwhile he or she is a cultural determinist?

I am eager to hear some insightful explanations about the two questions above because personally, I always find getting to modify decision-making process as both necessary and exciting since a superb thinking pattern could be applied in numerous areas. In addition, I would like to be in a position where I deal with policy-making process and program implementation for my future career. Also, from the angle of academic interests, I think what I am asking here are basic or fundamental questions and I would be lost and confused in class without knowing the satisfactory answers. Besides, definitions and theories are quite appealing fields for me since I believe without accurate and appropriate definitions and theories, certain practical actions would be hard to execute.

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