In Plato’s Phaedrus we find a fascinating and instructive story that prompts us to think about the ubiquitous technology in our lives today; are we shaping technology or is technology shaping us?
Listen as Socrates tells the story of King Thamus entertaining the god Theuth, the inventor of numbers, calculation, geometry, astronomy, and writing.
Thamus inquired into the use of each of them, and as Theuth went through them expressed approval or disapproval, according as he judged Theuth’s claims to be well or ill founded. It would take too long to go through all that Thamus is reported to have said for and against each of Theuth’s inventions. But when it came to writing, Theuth declared, “Here is an accomplishment. my lord the king, which will improve both the wisdom and the memory of the Egyptians. I have discoverd a sure receipt for memory and wisdom.” To this, Thamus replied, “Theuth, my paragon of inventors, the discoverer of an art is not the best judge of the good or harm which will accrue to those who practice it. So it is in this; you, who are the father of writing, have out of fondness for your off-spring attributed to it quite the opposite of its real function. Those who acquire it will cease to exercise their memory and become forgetful; they will rely on wrting to bring things to their remembrance by external signs instead of by their own internal resources. What you have discovered is a receipt for recollection, not for memory. And as for wisdom, your pupils will have the reputation for it without the reality: they will receive a quantity of information without proper instruction, and in consequence be thought very knowledgeable when they are for the most part quite ignorant. And because they are filled with the conceit of wisdom instead of real wisdom they will be a burden to society.
From this story come several observations that can instruct us 21st century technophiles. We’ll explore each observation with later posts in detail.
Technology promises a better world for it’s users. Think about the last commercial you saw. It probably went something like this:
The Old Spice guy gives a great outline for what most commercials tell us:
Things ought to be a certain way (Your man should smell great.) There is a problem (Your man smells like feet.) There can be a solution ( Buy old spice body wash for him.) After this all of your problems will be solved (You can ride off into the sunset with a man that at least smells like this guy, even if isn’t remotely as handsome and muscular.)
Extreme example, but each commercial follows this same pattern- ought- is- can will. Try looking for it the next time you watch TV.
Culture moves at the speed of technology. The images from the screen you’re staring at move at the speed of light.
Music moves at the speed of sound.
Culture moves at the speed of technology.
The creators of technology and producers of commercials want you to buy their technology with out pausing to think about the trade offs of that particular technology. Chris Cox, the VP of facebook, puts it this way, “facebook solved this problem of getting all your friends in one place, and created the problem of having all your friends in one place.”
Each technology- old spice body wash, automobiles, Facebook, the latest mobile device, will solve existing problems and create new ones.
Technology invites to outsource our lives. Google invites us to outsource our brains.
Texting outsources face to face conversation.
Auto correct outsources our spelling.
Audiobooks outsource our reading.
The flexbelt outsources disciplined exercise.
Imagine you lived in an era before calculators. All of your calculations had to be written down, shown on a abacus and worked out in your head. You spent long hours each day adding, subtracting, dividing, and multiplying without the aid of any tools. When the calculator comes along, the hours are cut in half and the math becomes easier. At the same time, your brain’s capacity for math becomes smaller. You have outsourced your brain to the calculator.
Some of this outsourcing may be good, some of it bad, but none of it is neutral. Technology is never neutral.
Technology creates appearance without substance. Armed with a calculator, even a math failure like myself could make large calculations previously unimaginable. But, I have not acquired the mathematical wisdom that would be needed to make these observations without a calculator. Anyone can look who the first King of England was on wikipedia. This is information. To understand the dynamics that bought about the founding of England and the history behind the country, this is wisdom.
Scripture speaks about wisdom as “paying attention.” Technology creates a disjointed world that invites us to do the opposite. Reflecting on our use of technology and asking deeper questions is a good step toward paying attention.
In what ways do you notice technology around you shaping you and changing the way you live?
What are some new problems (#1stworldproblems?) created by the technology in your life?
How does technology blur the line between information and wisdom in your own life?
C3 
I’ve noticed that texting hinders our ability to love people in interpersonal settings. In a small group setting, the person who takes out their phone to text is absent to the conversation, thus inhibiting their ability to be present. To love both God and people, our wills and affections must be active and present. Cell phones sometimes remove both, and thus diminish our capacity to love.
Technology blurs the line between “can” and “should” in my life. Just because I “can” text someone doesn’t mean that I “should.” Perhaps a face-to-face conversation would be better. Just because I “can” easily download music for free doesn’t mean that I “should.” The producer of the music has the moral and legal right to be compensated for his work.