How the Computer Made a Difference

It made a difference in how we work with the world. A difference we have not taken seriously enough.

We have never taken any of our technologies seriously enough - and have always let them control us, instead of us controlling them.

We are basically religious beings, and believe there are spirits in everything, that make them work. And we see every technology as a kind of spirit - that must be obeyed. Any idea that we must control them - strikes us as ridiculous.

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But let me return to the Computer, and its effect on us.

By the middle of the 20th Century, we had been profoundly influenced by the Industrial Revolution, with its revolutions in Manufacturing and Transportation. Machines had taken over - and they had not treated us kindly, but produced WWI, the Depression, WWII - and the Holocaust. Nevertheless, we continued to be ruled by them. Because we had no other alternative.

This changed drastically with the Computer - a different kind of machine, controlled by Software. Which had effects just as profound - that we ignored, as usual. Once again, we invited other forces to take control. Because this helpless was so thrilling!

We no longer worshipped the Golden Calf - but something we could not see, or understand. But we knew it was there, and it was powerful. And we went crazy over it. This produced an economic boom, and then a bust.

That no one understood, but only had a vague idea that something was different - and this made them uneasy. What followed, in the first decades of the 21st Century - was very strange. And we cannot even pretend to understand it. But it resulted in the election of Trump.

At the same time, the Computer (especially Software) advanced enormously. Everyone now has a laptop connected to the Internet - and a Phone, with the same connections.

I can summarize this easily - we have advanced technically, but regressed socially.  And we have not noticed this at all.