As people rely more and more on technology to solve problems the ability of humans to think for themselves will surely deteriorate Discuss the extent to which you agree or disagree with the statement and explain your reasoning for the position you take In

The statement linking technology negatively with free thinking plays on
recent human experience over the past century. Surely there has been no time in
history where the lived lives of people have changed more dramatically. A
quick reflection on a typical day reveals how technology has revolutionized the
world. Most people commute to work in an automobile that runs on an internal
combustion engine. During the workday, chances are high that the employee
will interact with a computer that processes information on silicon bridges that
are .09 microns wide. Upon leaving home, family members will be reached
through wireless networks that utilize satellites orbiting the earth. Each of these
common occurences would have been inconceivable at the turn of the 19th
century.
The statement attempts to bridge these dramatic changes to a reduction in the
ability for humans to think for themselves. The assumption is that an increased
reliance on technology negates the need for people to think creatively to solve
previous quandaries. Looking back at the introduction, one could argue that
without a car, computer, or mobile phone, the hypothetical worker would need
to find alternate methods of transport, information processing, and
communication. Technology short circuits this thinking by making the
problems obsolete.
However, this reliance on technology does not necessarily preclude the
creativity that marks the human species. The prior examples reveal that
technology allows for convenience. The car, computer, and phone all release
additional time for people to live more efficiently. This efficiency does not
preclude the need for humans to think for themselves. In fact, technology frees
humanity to not only tackle new problems, but may itself create new issues that
did not exist without technology. For example, the proliferation of automobiles
has introduced a need for fuel conservation on a global scale. With increasing
energy demands from emerging markets, global warming becomes a concern
inconceivable to the horse-and-buggy generation. Likewise dependence on oil
has created nation-states that are not dependent on taxation, allowing ruling
parties to oppress minority groups such as women. Solutions to these complex
problems require the unfettered imaginations of maverick scientists and
politicians.
In contrast to the statement, we can even see how technology frees the human
imagination. Consider how the digital revolution and the advent of the internet
has allowed for an unprecedented exchange of ideas. WebMD, a popular
internet portal for medical information, permits patients to self research
symptoms for a more informed doctor visit. This exercise opens pathways of
thinking that were previously closed off to the medical layman. With increased
interdisciplinary interactions, inspiration can arrive from the most surprising
corners. Jeffrey Sachs, one of the architects of the UN Millenium Development
Goals, based his ideas on emergency care triage techniques. The unlikely
marriage of economics and medicine has healed tense, hyperinflation
environments from South America to Eastern Europe.
This last example provides the most hope in how technology actually
provides hope to the future of humanity. By increasing our reliance on
technology, impossible goals can now be achieved. Consider how the late 20th
century witnessed the complete elimination of smallpox. This disease had
ravaged the human race since prehistorical days, and yet with the technology of
vaccines, free-thinking humans dared to imagine a world free of smallpox.
Using technology, battle plans were drawn out, and smallpox was
systematically targeted and eradicated.
Technology will always mark the human experience, from the discovery of
fire to the implementation of nanotechnology. Given the history of the human
race, there will be no limit to the number of problems, both new and old, for us
to tackle. There is no need to retreat to a Luddite attitude to new things, but
rather embrace a hopeful posture to the possibilities that technology provides
for new avenues of human imagination.