Example: Personal Computing
Manuel Castells’ account of the development of the personal computer adheres to the instrumental conception of technology. He claims technology develops independent of other social forces, since “economic, industrial and technological paths, while related, are slow-moving and imperfectly fitting in their interaction”. He argues Ted Hoff’s microprocessor invented in 1971 came out of “knowledge and ingenuity” developed at Intel and in Silicon Valley since the 1950s. This made possible the microcomputer, which was able to function in networks as a result of advances in telecommunications. Thus, he states, computer technology “did not come out of any pre-established necessity: it was technologically induced rather than socially determined".
Read more about this topic: Instrumental Conception Of Technology
Famous quotes containing the word personal:
“Of the modes of persuasion furnished by the spoken word there are three kinds. The first kind depends on the personal character of the speaker; the second on putting the audience into a certain frame of mind; the third on the proof, provided by the words of the speech itself.”
—Aristotle (384–323 B.C.)