Humans have adapted to our new technologies. Adaptation is evident in the notion that “The idea that the world’s environment changed and with it the needs of animals living off of the environment, thus animal’s characteristics changed to suit their environment.” (Saxer) My revelation is how the concepts of adaptation and evolution relate to the technology world of today.
My parents are evidence of adaptation. Computers were not always present in their lifetime, but because they felt that they were of importance and value, they decided to start to use them and become accustomed to them. “All organisms, even human beings, have evolved complex features in response to pressures from their environment.” (Saxer) Once my parents had created a stable life for themselves, particularly after our house was built in 1994, they started to build our family. In 1995 my younger brother was born. But, in this year we also had another addition to our household. That same year my parents purchased the first computer that I had ever known. The earliest one I can remember is one that ran Windows 95.
I am evidence of evolution. As far back as I can remember, we have always had a computer in our home. Because of this I have grown up using it. In particular I can remember playing a Lion King computer game. Although I may not have known it then, but that Lion King game gave me my first taste of what the computer had in store for my life time. From this time on, I used the computer for many tasks besides playing games. “The Internet, an immeasurably powerful computing system, is subsuming most of our other intellectual technologies. It’s becoming our map and our clock, our printing press and our typewriter, our calculator and our telephone, and our radio and TV.” (Carr)
Darwin says that “We have reason to believe…that a change in the conditions of life…causes or increases variability; and in the foregoing case the conditions of life are supposed to have undergone a change, and this would manifestly be favorable to natural selection, by giving a better chance of profitable variations occurring; and unless profitable variations do occur, natural selection can do nothing.” (Darwin) This means that when there is “a change in the conditions of life”, this will cause or increase variability. This means that when there is a change in living conditions, such as the addition of a household computer, variability will occur (evolution of kin). I saw my parents using the computer for various tasks, so as a child, in wanting to be just like them, I started to use the computer.
The uses for computers are endless. When I have to write a research paper the first resource I turn to is the Internet. I wouldn’t say that the Internet is making me stupid, but it may make me a little lazy. “Research that once required days in the stacks or periodical rooms of libraries can now be done in minutes.” (Carr) The use of the Internet is all about convenience; all your news, movies, music, friends and family are all in one place, at your finger tips. Why make the trek to the library to look for a book if you have it all right in front of you?
I would disagree with the statement that Google is making us stupid. “With every technological step forward, though, has come anxiety about the possibility that technology harms our natural ability to think.” (Cascio) Like in Philip K. Dick’s short story, Pay for the Printer, the humans have come to rely on the robots (technology) which create rapid ‘prints’ of objects. Much like this short story, Google is doing some of the leg-work for us, but not all of it. Google rapidly displays our search results, although not always relevant. Google’s mission statement is “to organize the world’s information and make it universally accessible and useful.” (Carr) Although Google does the actual searching for us, it is up to the user to provide the right input. It does take some intelligence to find what you are looking for within a search. For example, I used the Internet to perform research for my Body paper. It was up to me to provide the search keywords, and it was up to me to go through all the search results to find what I was really looking for.
The YouTube video that I chose seeks to illustrate how important adaptation and evolution are. Although it is not directly related to my revelation, the importance is that it delivers the message about what short-term and long-term effects adaptation can have.
Works Cited
Adaptation. Adaptation. YouTube, 12 Oct. 2006. Web. 23 Nov. 2009.
Carr, Nicholas. “Is Google Making Us Stupid?” The Atlantic. 2007
Cascio, Jamais. “Get Smarter” The Atlantic, July/August 2009 http://www.theatlantic.com/doc/200907/intelligence
Darwin, Charles. “Selections from Darwin’s Work.” Pp 67-254 in Darwin. 3rd ed. Philip Appleman, ed. New York: W.W.Norton, 2001
Dick, Philip K. The Philip K. Dick Reader, New York: Citadel Press. 1987
Saxer, Iris, and Alfred L. Rosenberger. "Adaptation." Visionlearning. Visionlearning, Inc., 2009. Web. 30 Nov. 2009.
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