Answer in complete sentences, and be sure to use correct English spelling and grammar. Sources must be cited in APA format. Your response should be four (4) pages in length. Carefully study and review the section titled “Approaches to Measuring Technological Progress.” Use your own words to write a short compare-and-contrast essay that defines and explains three distinct perspectives on the evolution of technology. As you write, imagine you are talking to a friend who has no knowledge of this topic. In short, write the way you speak, using a conversational tone. Also, try to alternate short sentences and longer sentences to make your writing more readable. Be sure to create a title and cite yourself as the author. For example: A Comparison of Three Perspectives on the Evolution of Technology Mei Quoran Your essay should include five paragraphs, as follows: Paragraph 1 is your lead paragraph. It will contain an overview of what you have to say in comparing and contrasting the perspectives of Gerhard Lenski, Leslie White, and Alvin Toffler with respect to the evolution of technology. Paragraphs 2, 3, and 4, are your body paragraphs.  In your essay, use paragraph 2 to describe the perspective of Gerhard Lenski. In paragraph 3, you’ll write about the perspective of Leslie White. In paragraph 4, you’ll describe and discuss the perspective of Alvin Toffler. Paragraph 5 is your summary and conclusion. Here, you’ll compare the three perspectives to show how they are, or may be, similar. You’ll contrast the three perspectives to describe how they’re different. You’ll end this process--and your essay--by expressing your view as to which of these theorists (one or more) offer the most useful insights into the evolution of technology, in your opinion. It’s permissible to use direct quotes from your reading, but don’t use too many. One to three such quotes should be your limit. Be sure to put a direct quote in quotation marks. For example: According to Smith, “Carbon dioxide is both our friend and our enemy.” Measuring Technological Progress Sociologists, anthropologists, and other researchers have developed different ways to measure and understand technological progress. In this section, we’ll review the thoughts of four important theorists. They offer four perspectives on the relationship between technological development and our social world. Gerhard Lenski Sociologist Gerhard Lenski (1924–2015) believed that technological progress has been the driving force in the evolution of civilization. According to Lenski, technological progress and civilization are closely related. In fact, the key to human progress is information . The more we know about harnessing and using natural resources, the more we can advance human society. Lenski recognized four stages of communication, as follows: Stage 1 is the passing of genes from one generation to the next. We might call this biological communication . Stage 2 is sentience , o ...

1. Answer in complete sentences, and be sure to use correct
English spelling and grammar. Sources must be cited in APA
format. Your response should be four (4) pages in length.
Carefully study and review the section titled “Approaches to
Measuring Technological Progress.” Use your own words to
write a short compare-and-contrast essay that defines and
explains three distinct perspectives on the evolution of
technology. As you write, imagine you are talking to a friend
who has no knowledge of this topic. In short, write the way you
speak, using a conversational tone. Also, try to alternate short
sentences and longer sentences to make your writing more
readable.
Be sure to create a title and cite yourself as the author. For
example:
A Comparison of Three Perspectives on the Evolution of
Technology
Mei Quoran
Your essay should include five paragraphs, as follows:
Paragraph 1 is your lead paragraph. It will contain an overview
of what you have to say in comparing and contrasting the
perspectives of Gerhard Lenski, Leslie White, and Alvin Toffler
with respect to the evolution of technology.
Paragraphs 2, 3, and 4, are your body paragraphs.
In your essay, use paragraph 2 to describe the perspective of

2. Gerhard Lenski.
In paragraph 3, you’ll write about the perspective of Leslie
White.
In paragraph 4, you’ll describe and discuss the perspective of
Alvin Toffler.
Paragraph 5 is your summary and conclusion. Here, you’ll
compare the three perspectives to show how they are, or may
be, similar. You’ll contrast the three perspectives to describe
how they’re different. You’ll end this process--and your essay--
by expressing your view as to which of these theorists (one or
more) offer the most useful insights into the evolution of
technology, in your opinion.
It’s permissible to use direct quotes from your reading, but
don’t use too many. One to three such quotes should be your
limit. Be sure to put a direct quote in quotation marks. For
example: According to Smith, “Carbon dioxide is both our
friend and our enemy.”
Measuring Technological Progress
Sociologists, anthropologists, and other researchers have
developed different ways to measure and understand
technological progress. In this section, we’ll review the
thoughts of four important theorists. They offer four
perspectives on the relationship between technological
development and our social world.
Gerhard Lenski

3. Sociologist
Gerhard Lenski
(1924–2015) believed that technological progress has been the
driving force in the evolution of civilization. According to
Lenski, technological progress and civilization are closely
related. In fact, the key to human progress is
information
. The more we know about harnessing and using natural
resources, the more we can advance human society.
Lenski recognized four stages of communication, as follows:
Stage 1
is the passing of genes from one generation to the next. We
might call this
biological communication
.
Stage 2
is
sentience
, or the ability to feel, perceive, or experience objectively. As
we begin to develop awareness and understanding of the world
around us, we adapt better to the environment of Earth. We’re
able to share our experience.
In
Stage 3
, we become capable of logic. We apply observation and fact-
based analysis to the world. For example, if we see dark clouds
in the sky, we recognize that rain is probably on the way.
In
Stage 4

4. , we master language, writing, and the ability to create symbols.
This stage is the foundation of civilization.
Lenski also proposed four levels of technological development,
as follows:
At the hunter-gatherer level, we physically work to reduce food
insecurity.
At the next level, we obtain part of the food supply from
horticulture (growing plants).
At the next level, we engage in organized agriculture. Food
surplus allows complex social orders to rise. We experience
social class inequality and a complex division of labor. We
pursue technological advances in arts, crafts, architecture, and
civil engineering.
Finally comes the Industrial Revolution. At this level, food-
based economies are replaced. We experience a new kind of
social class inequality along with revolutionary advances in the
means of production.
Leslie White
Anthropologist
Leslie Alvin White
(1900–1975) focused on harnessing and controlling energy.
White believed that controlling energy is the primary purpose
and function of any culture.
White identified five stages of human development, as follows:

5. Stage 1:
Energy comes from human muscle power.
Stage 2:
Humans harness the energy of domesticated animals. We raise
and herd livestock for food energy. We use other animals,
especially the horse, as transport as well as mounts for warriors
and hunters.
Stage 3:
We engage in the agricultural revolution, which provides
surplus food energy to extend the value of Stage 2.
Stage 4:
Especially as expressed in the Industrial Revolution, we
harness the power of natural resources, such as coal, oil, and
natural gas.
Stage 5:
We harness and rely on nuclear energy. (White was perhaps too
optimistic about our ability to harness nuclear energy, given its
dangerous drawbacks.)
White developed a formula that remains useful:
P = E*T
In this formula, “E” is a measure of energy consumed. “T” is a
measure of the efficiency of technical factors that utilize this
energy. “P” is what we get when calculate these two measures.
For example, when we compare early steam engines to steam-
powered turbines, the efficiency of turbines increases the value
“P.” In White’s words, “culture evolves as the amount of energy

6. harnessed per capita per year is increased . . . or as the
efficiency of the instrumental means of putting the energy to
work is increased.”
Alvin Toffler
Alvin Toffler
(1928–2016) was a journalist, social critic, and futurist. Toffler
stands out among the thinkers associated with the postindustrial
era. That’s because he was able to reach a large audience.
The following quote gives an idea of Toffler’s view of our
current era:
“To survive, to avert what we have termed
future shock
, the individual must become infinitely more adaptable and
capable than ever before. We must search out totally new ways
to anchor ourselves, for all the old roots—religion, nation,
community, family, or profession—are now shaking under the
hurricane impact of the accelerative thrust. It is no longer
resources that limit decisions; it is the decision that makes the
resources.”
Toffler is best known for the concept of
future shock
. He defined this as the personal perception of “too much
change in too short a period of time.” Toffler argued that human
societies are undergoing enormous social and technological
structural change. We live in an unprecedented era in which
industrial society is changing to a “super-industrial” society. In
Toffler’s view, many find the speed of change overwhelming.
Millions of people feel disconnected. We live lives
characterized by “shattering stress and disorientation.” In other
words, we’re “future shocked.”

7. According to Toffler, we’re drowning in
information overload
. (Toffler invented this term.) In Toffler’s view, future shock is
responsible for most modern-day social problems.
Toffler identified three stages in the development of society, as
follows:
Stage 1
is the agrarian stage. This stage began with the invention of
agriculture during the Neolithic period (New Stone Age).
Toffler associated the agricultural revolution with the move
from “barbarity” to “civilization.”
Stage 2
is the industrial stage. This stage began in England with the
Industrial Revolution. According to Toffler, important advances
during this period included machine tools and the steam engine.
Stage 3
is the postindustrial stage. This started in the second half of the
twentieth century. Stage 3 is marked by the inventions of
automated manufacturing, robotics, and the computer. This
stage is also associated with the growth of the service sector.
During this stage, the need for “brainwork” has increased, while
the need for manual labor (such as factory work) has decreased.
William F. Ogburn
Finally,
William F. Ogburn
(1886–1959) was a prominent sociologist who developed the
concept of

8. cultural lag
. This is the idea that it takes time for a culture to catch up to
innovations in technology. Even though Ogburn died long ago,
his ideas are still taken quite seriously by academics.
According to Ogburn, material culture—technology--progresses
much faster than nonmaterial culture. Technology changes more
quickly than social institutions like family, government,
religious institutions, and even the arts.
To quote Ogburn,
“The invention of the automobile . . . freed young people from
direct parental observation [and] made it possible for them to
work at distances from home . . . Half a century earlier, families
were structured … as family farms. Young people were under
continuous observation as they worked right on the homestead.”
According to Ogburn, economic systems adapt more quickly to
new technologies than other institutions. That’s because such
advances offer a
return on investment
to business. For example, adding robotics to an assembly line
can speed up the manufacturing process. Likewise, relying on
advances in electronic communications can help companies to
share information more easily. In fact,
corporate culture
and the profit-driven application of technology tend to drive
technological innovation (material culture).
It’s interesting to note that religious institutions tend to be
particularly impacted by “future shock.” Scientific and
technological advances have historically been opposed by
organized religion. For example, the Roman Catholic Church
continues to oppose birth control. Similarly, evangelical and

9. fundamentalist groups continue to reject long-accepted ideas
about evolution and natural selection.
“We live in a society exquisitel y dependent on science and
technology, in which hardly anyone knows anything about
science and technology.”
--Carl Sagan, astronomer and theorist
Unintended Consequences
Toffler’s insights began an ongoing debate into information
overload. Just how overwhelmed are people by rapid advances
in technology? This debate continues, and we’ll revisit it later
in this lesson.
Lenski, White, and Ogburn offered useful insight into the
relationship between technology and the evolution of society.
However, they failed to address the
unintended consequences
of postindustrial development. This is especially the case
respecting social, cultural, and technological progress in an era
of
anthropogenic
(human-caused) climate change and global warming.
What unintended consequences do we mean? Let’s look at the
basic assumptions of a capitalist economic system. In capitalist
societies, continual growth is desired: sell more, build more,
develop more markets, and cultivate more consumerism. If we
designed a bumper sticker to define consumerism, it might say,
“More, more, more!” or “You are what you can buy!” or
“Whoever dies with the most toys wins!”
Of course, historically, the world has been minimally concerned

10. with ecological issues. When Lenski, White, and Ogburn were
developing their ideas, public awareness of climate change had
yet to emerge. Instead, classic assumptions about economic
progress still applied; that is, economic progress was measured
mainly by its constant growth. Naturally, we now realize this
assumption is unrealistic. The world faces too many ecological
threats from a focus on unrestrained growth. In fact, from an
ecologist’s perspective, unrestrained growth is suicidal. To
draw a parallel, in the natural world, unrestricted cellular
growth is called cancer.
Capitalism is about return on investment. It’s about the bottom
line. It’s focused on reducing costs to increase profits. The
simplest ways to reduce costs is to lower wages or replace
human workers with technology. Consider the difference
between human and robotic workers. Robot can work 24 hours a
day, 7 days a week, and might cost a business 30 cents per hour.
Obviously that’s much lower than even minimum wage.
Across developed nations, digital technology has shrunken the
market for industrial jobs, particularly in manufacturing. Jobs
that paid a living wage are vanishing. For example, in the
United States, giant corporations—like Walmart, Apple, and
Dell—have exported manufacturing jobs to foreign labor
markets in China and elsewhere. As a result, the American
middle class continues to shrink. Jobs that once paid well have
been replaced by less-lucrative jobs in the service sector.
Of course, the situation is complicated. Global productivity has
increased enormously due to advances in electronic and digital
technologies. However, at the same time, in developed countries
like the United States, the ratio of manufacturing jobs to service
sector jobs has changed radically. To quote economist Hank
Robison, “In 1950, 30 percent of all U.S. jobs were in
manufacturing, while 63 percent were in services. In 2011, 9
percent of total employment remained in manufacturing, with 86

11. percent in services.”
Robison continues: “Does this signify a shift in consumers’
tastes from manufactured goods to services? The short answer is
no; if anything, we consume more ‘things.’ The difference is
that things are manufactured with far less labor, and they are
increasingly made somewhere else.”
Wages have either declined or remained stagnant since the
1970s. Thus, cheaper goods (plus high levels of personal debt)
keep the consumerist philosophy alive.
Economically, the world is dealing with two kinds of
unintended consequences. Both have been produced by
capitalist ideology. First, increases in productivity have led to
lower wages and more or less permanent unemployment for
unskilled laborers. Second, continual growth requires ever more
energy. That means greenhouse gas emissions continue to
increase. This, in turn, has led to a global energy crisis.
Scientific Consensus on Climate Change
According to NASA, multiple studies published in peer-
reviewed scientific journals show that about 97 percent of
climate scientists are in agreement that changes to the climate
over the past century can be attributed to human activities.
While scientists continue to interpret data and debate causal
connections, they agree to the basic premise that humans are
negatively affecting the global environment. Scientific debate is
about weighing actual evidence. Scientists pose hypotheses and
test them. They check results and repeat the process to get ever
closer to fact-based truth.
Review the quotes below to get an idea of the scientific
consensus on climate change and global warming. These three
sample statements can be found in the eightee n covered in

12. NASA’s report (“
Scientific Consensus: Earth’s Climate Is Warming
,” NASA. Retrieved May 31, 2018, from
http://climate.nasa.gov/scientific-consensus.)
In preview, here are three sample statements out of eighteen
provided in the report.
“The scientific evidence is clear: global climate change caused
by human activities is occurring now and it is a growing threat
to Society.”
American Association for the Advancement of Science,
2006
.
“The evidence is incontrovertible: Global warming is
occurring. If no mitigating actions are taken, significant
disruptions in the Earth’s physical and ecological systems,
social systems, security and human health are likely to occur.
We must reduce emissions of greenhouse gases beginning now.”
American Physical Society
, 2007.
“The Geological Society of America (GSA) concurs with
assessments by the National Academies of Science (2005), the
National Research Council (2006), and the Intergovernmental
Panel on Climate Change (IPCC, 2007) that global climate has
warmed and that human activities (mainly greenhouse gas
emissions) account for most of the warming since the middle
1900s.”
The Geological Society of America
, 2006; revised 2010.