Overspecialization
Specialization in any area is a double-edged sword; it is useful provided conditions remain unchanged. Consider the Dinosaurs. They flourished for millions of years in a warm, oxygen rich climate, but became extinct when that climate changed. The Saber-toothed Tiger, Mammoth, Giant Beaver, etc. all flourished until the climate warmed during the beginning of the latest interglacial. They are now extinct. This is true of technology as well. The clipper ship was the fastest wind-driven ship ever built, but was replaced after only a few years by steam ships. The Airship died with the Hindenberg explosion. Specialization in profession can likewise be deadly; how many people work as firemen on locomotives? How many telegraph operators enjoy employment in their fields? How about Key-Punch operators (for those of you too young to remember, key punchers used to type programming for computers onto memory cards by punching little holes in them.)
We live in a high tech world. We rely on computers for virtually everything (including our automobiles)and communicate via satellites through cell phones and the internet. Without satellites, or electricity to run our gadgets, our civilization would grind to a halt.
That is what is so troubling about articles like this; they point out the very real weakness in the technological monster we have constructed. Generally, the more specialized a system is, the more likely it is to succumb to inherent flaws. Our modern technological civilization relies too heavily on electronics. If someone can crash ALL of our networks...
Can America survive a nationwide technological disaster?
(Thanks to Townhall)
We live in a high tech world. We rely on computers for virtually everything (including our automobiles)and communicate via satellites through cell phones and the internet. Without satellites, or electricity to run our gadgets, our civilization would grind to a halt.
That is what is so troubling about articles like this; they point out the very real weakness in the technological monster we have constructed. Generally, the more specialized a system is, the more likely it is to succumb to inherent flaws. Our modern technological civilization relies too heavily on electronics. If someone can crash ALL of our networks...
Can America survive a nationwide technological disaster?
(Thanks to Townhall)
posted by Timothy Birdnow | 5:15 AM
1 Comments:
This falls under the category of just too scary to comtemplate. Seriously, like the threat of nukes raining down during the Cold War - what were we average citizens going to do about it other than digging bomb shelters to make us feel like we were doing something real. EMP in my opinion would be bad - but I believe it would not be a total wipe out. Not that Gaffney deals in scare tactics, but are there not people living in Hiroshma and Nagasaki today? I thought "the bomb" would render a place uninhabitable for ten thousand years!
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