why does it have to be a stratified relationship? perhaps that says more about how you see relationships than it imparts any signifigant new insight into the way humans use technology, no?

When is any relationship a binary? There is no such thing as binaries when involving humans and their emotions into the mix, even if those emotions are so much electrical impulses and chemical compounds.

interesting question, solar.3

i think it must be both, as one cannot exist without the other. in a relationship of knowing, they must co-exist as the same coin.

one cannot know dark without ever seeing the light.

another thought arises from this question: did we invent the microcomputer, or did the microcomputer consciously evolve itself through our existence...?

that is, if you believe *everything* is conscious at some level. food for thought at least.

regards,
fr. artifex

I'd say both.

Technology is, by definition, something created by people, generally to serve them. Basic tools, agriculture, the internal combustion engine, the telephone, the internet are all human inventions to serve some purpose. These technologies become wide-spread because they are useful and popular and people like them.

And they eventually grow and become institutions. Money started as a technology, a way to abstract out value and make transactions easier. Then it became a given part of life. Then people started living their lives to just amass money. The invention became so interwoven with society that people became dependent on it. The servent essentially becomes the master.

But it's all just a frame of mind, no? I think it's important to recognize technology as a valuable tool which can gain us a lot, but don't forget it's just a tool. Don't build your life around tools.

Thanks for asking!

I think that this is a question of balance. nothing is absolute, or binary... its always teetering and tottering between two points. Its cyclical.

Plus!, might i add... the DM lyric is "master and servant", not master or servant. "Its a lot like life"

Every new piece of technology is our baby. We nurture it and put it out into the world. but after a while it grows up and starts to have a life of its own. the older technology gets, and (more importantly) the more prevelant it gets = the more control it starts to have over us. but that's ok because we keep making new and better babies that make us not need our old masters anymore. :)