The Computer :: Technology Internet Electronics Essays

The ComputerEven though J. David Bolter wrote Turings Man occidental Culture in the Computer Age in 1984, at least a century ago in computer years, his observations and concerns ab out(a) the electronic geezerhood are in no way obsolete. Bolter examines from a historical perspective how the computer will reshape our understanding of the human mind and our relationship with nature. By comparing the computer with defining technologies of previous ages, Bolter anticipates the some qualities and values of people in the digital age, his so-called Turings men. In doing so, he encourages those in the humanities to take an active role in shaping some of the perceptions of the emerging era.Humankind has created, used, and replaced innumerable technologies oer the past 10,000 years of written record. Turings Man concentrates on only four of these technologies the spindle and potters wheel of ancient Greece, the mechanical clock of Renaissance Western Europe, the steam engine of Indust rial Europe, and finally the computer of the electronic age. According to Bolter, each of these inventions defines or redefines mans role in relation to nature(13). Although Bolter considers the influences of these technologies on many facets of culture and society, his main efforts are devoted to understanding their implications for a cultures view of time, space, thought, and creation. The spindle and the potters wheel of Ancient Greece aim an intimate relationship between man and nature. The tools are seen more as an extension of the human hand than a barrier between craftsman and material. Bolter argues that the physique of the potter, fashioning his finely crafted, but still imperfect vessel on the rotating wheel, made a great impression on the thinkers of that time. The rotating nature of these tools, mimicking the great bankers bill paths followed by celestial bodies, led Aristotle to claim that circular motion . . . was natural, whereas motion in a straight line req uired further explanation(116). As a consequence, the Greeks adopted a cyclical view of time. The world did not progress forward in linear motion but repeated over and over. Rather than progressing, ideas and institutions would remain static or decay.The potter and his clay also served as a metaphor for divine creation. The world and its human inhabitants were fashioned out of imperfect materials by divine force. This material makes up the entirety of the world.