In the 18th century, the Industrial Revolution was one of several revolutions that overturned society. Mechanical creatures intruded into farms and homes, but still this invasion had no name. Finally, in 1802, Johann Beckmann, an economics professor at Gottingen University gave this ascending force its name [technology] . . . He hoped his outline [a textbook titled Guide to Technology] would become the first course in the subject. It did that and more. It also gave a name to what we do. Once named, we could now see it. Having seen it, we wondered how anyone could not have seen it.
Source:Â Kevin Kelly, What Technology Wants
Posted: 2025 Oct 18
Or check out this TEDxSF by Kelly.
Timeless words, Isabel. Thanks.
Tom
Tom – Thank *you.*
Well said, Isabel. If you were going to say it again, is there anything you’d add? Subtract? What I didn’t hear, in the broadcasts of various 9/11 remembrances, was any sense that America had learned anything in the last 20 years. Grief, yes. But no sense that American policies might have contributed to the tragedy.
Jim T
Jim – Thanks. As for adding/subtracting, I don’t think I’d get into policy complications in this piece, since the 9/11 attacks weren’t my subject, merely my vehicle, as it were. Terrorism doesn’t arise in a policy vacuum – there is always context, if not exoneration. I suspect these points are better made/considered by folks inside the affected community.
Amen. Thank you for singing about the unsung.
Laurna – Thank you. I find it discouraging, a bit, that I have to remind myself of things I “know” and have to work to keep helpful perspectives (once found) front and centre. Realizations do tend to drift away.
To repeat Jim: Well said
Jim R – 🙂 Many thanks.