1. Technology a boon or bain
Technologyisnecessarybutnotalwaysa positive influence inmodernlife.Thisissuehasespeciallycome intovogue inthe last
decade due to the mind-bogglingpace of technology.Also,thisissue isacomplex one because it involvesaconflictbetween
the traditional andthe modern.
First,itgoeswithoutsayingthattechnologyhasmade our liveseasiertothe extentthatrepetitive andmonotonoustasksne ed
not be performedmanually.These tasks,bytheirverynature,are irascibleandreduce the productive potential of anindividual.
To give an illustration,considerthe taskof an accountanthavingto compute variousstatisticsasa part of his job.Before the
adventof computers,he hadto do thisjob"by hand".As isobvious,the jobinvolvestediouscomputationsonhispart.Such a
jobwill,nodoubt,leadtoirritationandthe personwill soonlose all motivation.Onthe otherhand,if such tiresome task sare
automated,notonlywill itmake the accountant'sjobeasier butitwill alsoimprove efficiencyandaccuracyof the job.
Comingto largerissues,technologyasawhole canbe classifiedintovariousgroups.Some of the importantonesare
InformationTechnology,Biotechnology,NuclearTechnology,Medicine etc.Ish
In the fieldof medicine,itisdifficulttoargue that technologycanhave negative influences.The lastcenturyhasseenthe
eradicationof suchdiseasesassmallpox withpoliobeingnextonthe list.Ithas increasedthe average lifespanof ahuman
beingbya decade.Diseaseswhichhadnocure till recentlycanbe easilycurednow.Butjustlike everythingelse,medicine too
has itsill effects.Anindirectnegative influenceof medicine isthatone can relytoomuch on it.He can resortto an unhe althy
lifestyle withthe knowledgethathe can alwaysfall backon medicine tosolve hishealthproblems.Alsomedicinemaybe able
to keepa personalive butmaynotbe able toallowhimto leada normal life.Some wouldargue thatthisisworse thatdeath.
I shall elaborate oneachof themindividually.
Probablythe mostcontentioustechnological issuetodayisinthe area of nucleartechnology.Ithasveryobviouspositiveas
well asnegative influences.Nucleartechnologyisarich source of energywhichcanbe usedto produce electricitytopowerup
our homesandoffices.The obvioussource of contentionisinthe areaof manufacture of nuclearweapons.Itisscaryto thin k
that the phrase "weaponsof massdestruction"hasbecome acliche.Mankindhasseenthe destructive powerof this
technology,notonce buttwice inthe space of three daysinthat fateful periodof Augustof 1945.