Methods for Measuring Technological Progress

As demonstrated by some of the most critical cycles, such as hydrological and biomass, as well as species diversity, technological innovation has a profound impact on how humans use natural resources. A plethora of thinkers proposed different methods in their attempt to explain the calculation of scientific change. Gerhard Lenski, Alvin Toffler, and Leslie White are three prominent thinkers who have attempted to comprehend and clarify the scope of technological transformation. Both of these theorists agree that technology plays an important part in human societies and their use of natural capital. Toffler’s Future Shock concept discusses the way people are overwhelmed by information while Lenski and White portray the relationship between the evolution of societies and technology. Apparently, technology has been instrumental in the creation of activities that disrupt hydrogen and water cycles which interfere with photosynthesis and leads to extinction of some plant and animal species thus reducing diversity. Even in instances where the carbon and water cycles have survived overuse by humans, technological innovation contributes to a burgeoning human population which also feed on the existing plant species thus contributing to reduction in diversity. The world has evolved into a capitalist system where constant growth is the projected end and this prompts excessive consumerism that leads to pollution and disruption of the carbon and hydrological cycles.

Gerhard Lenski came up with a postulate that societies evolve in response to variations in the social and natural environments. This is Lenski’s 9th postulate where he further showed that sociocultural change is cumulative and can be in form of innovation which includes technological progress or through extinction (Elwell, 2013). Gerhard suggested that a sociocultural system is made up of three major characteristics; genetic inheritance, biological, social and physical environment and the effect of cultural and social aspects on a society. In lieu to this, Lenski made it clear that historical experiences studied through stored information shape the thoughts and structures of social institutions in a society. A notable conclusion from Lenski’s explanation is that information on civilization and technological change are instrumental in understanding human progress. Continuity and change are both involved in sociocultural change and this varies in various societies thus the variation in evolutionary pathways. In the past few years, societies have grown in terms of technological innovation which has been used to improve productive capacity which has contributed to economic growth through an increase in consumption. Better productive capacity leads to an increase in population. A lot of people feed on the existing plants leading to a disruption of the carbon and hydrological cycles.

White’s Law named after Leslie White focuses on the relationship between the evolution of culture and the amount of energy harnessed per capita. White makes it clear that the evolution of culture is subject to the increase in the amount of energy that is harnessed per capita annually. Culture according to White refers to all cultural activities undertaken by human beings on earth and it is composed of; technology, ideological and sociological (White, 2007). Of all these, White purports that the technological aspect is of great significance in cultural evolution. Technology covers the material and mechanical ways of getting fine-tuned into an environment. It also controls the chemical and physical instruments along with the methods that societies use in the application of the techniques. White looks at technology in 4 ways in order to make these conclusions (White, 2007). First, technology solves the problems of survival by capturing a sufficient amount of energy and using it to meet the needs of human beings. In addition to this, some societies have the ability to store energy more efficiently as compared to others. White explains that this depicts the evolutionary differences in various societies. Human development in terms of energy consumption can be classified into various stages; using muscles, then domestic animals, followed by plant energy, then natural resources and lastly the use of nuclear energy. When human being utilize too much energy, they interfere with the same energy utilized by plants for photosynthesis. When plants cannot photosynthesize, there is no carbon or water flow in the atmosphere. Plants also die and this contributes to lack of biological diversity.

Alvin Toffler was more interested in the future where he strongly believed that the human race was in danger of extinction due to the complete extermination of resources. Using one of the strongest rhetorical appeals in a quote, Toffler made it evident that the human race can easily avert any future shock through gaining adaptation and creating new ways of recreating old traditions, nations, communities, families and professions which were crumbling. In reference to the immense social and technological change, Toffler introduced the concept of future shock which he explained as excessive change that had taken place over a short time. Apparently, societies were being transformed to super-industrial nations with information overload and this was a cause for stress and disorientation in many people. In his postulation, he looked at development in form of three stages, agrarian which took place in the Stone Age, industrial when machines and tools were invented and post-industrial where automated manufacturing reigns. According to Toffler, too much information confuses the current society where they focus on manufacturing. They tend to focus on cutting down vegetation in order to develop manufacturing firms. Consequently, there is a disruption of the hydrological and carbon cycles. This affects the process of photosynthesis negatively. Most plants dies and this leads to lack of diversity.

The human population has gone through a myriad of changes which are evident in cultural, societal and technological innovation. This paper analyzes the views of three theorists who have varied views on the way the society evolves and the impact of technology on the same. In as much as their views differ, the constant factor remains that technological innovation has both positive and negative impacts. One of the major impacts of technological evolution is evident in the disruption of ecological relationships which affect the hydrological and carbon cycles while also impacting the diversity of living organisms especially plants. While Toffler’s Future Shock concept analyses the overwhelming impact of information overload, Lenski and White analyze the relationship between technological advancement and societal evolution. Lenski and White make a connection between technological advancement and the creation of a capitalist society that is more involved in consumerism. Consequently, the human population increases significantly and this leads to them feeding on the few plant species thus affecting diversity. Their concept or theory is based on the pre-industrial period and they confirm that consumerism leads to global warming. Toffler looks at the age of information which also encourages consumerism. The result is a situation where plant species become extinct and this affects the carbon and hydrological cycles. Using this approach, Toffler calls for the human population to go back to their traditional ways of doing things in order to get rid of the impending future shock. Toffler’s view makes more sense considering that it is focused on the current society. Deforestation seems to play a significant role in the disruption of the hydrological and carbon cycles. To this end, afforestation, the punishment of people involved in deforestation and agroforestry can be adopted in order to improve the current situation.

References

Elwell, F. W. (2013). Lenski’s Evolutionary Theory. Retrieved February 20, 2017 from http://www.faculty.rsu.edu/users/f/felwell/www/Theorists/Essays/Lenski2.htm

White, L. (2007). The evolution of culture: The development of civilization to the fall of Rome. Chicago: Left Coast Press.