Features: All Features of SWD
Region: Southwest Desert
Topics: C - O - T

This page features an abstract of a paper from STC-Link's Materials Archive. To view the entire paper, click here.

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Technology:
Practice and Culture

Questions of Neutrality

Is technology culturally neutral? If we look at the construction of a basic machine [snowmobile] and its working principles, the answer seems to be yes. But if we look at the web of human activities surrounding the machine, which include its practical uses, its role as a status symbol, the supply of fuel and spare parts, the organized tourist trails, and the skills of its owners, the answer is clearly no. Looked at in this second way, technology is seen as a part of life, not something that can be kept in a separate compartment. If it is to be of any use, the snowmobile must fit into a pattern of activity which belongs to a particular lifestyle and set of values.

Pacey, Arnold. The Culture of Technology. Cambridge: MIT Press 1983, 1-12.