This document discusses the author's experience writing without technology. The author realized that even a pencil is a form of technology. For the assignment, the author tried making a base out of sticks and vines but struggled. The author then had the idea to use berry juice as ink and wrote on a piece of bark, finding this to be a simpler solution. The experience highlighted how much modern technologies like computers, pens and paper have been interiorized, and how difficult writing was before these innovations.

1. Writing with Technology Essay
Writing with Technology
The task was seemingly straightforward; create a piece of writing without using a single form of
technology. I didn't think this would be much of a problem. I figured I could hand–write something
instead of typing it or using a word processor and that would meet the requirements of the project.
However, according to Dennis Baron in his essay From Pencils to Pixels the pencil is, in fact, a
form of technology. Evidently, it was invented "by joiners, woodworkers specializing in making
furniture, to scribe measurements for wood" (Tribble/Trubek, 42). Adding further to my obstacles,
paper, being a created object, was not an option as well. This was turning out to be harder than I
thought. After I pondered and...show more content...
For the base of my project, I arranged rows of sticks that I would tie together with the vines. I tried
to pull the vines apart to make them easier to tie with, as I had seen Tom Hanks do in the movie
Cast Away, but I was unable to tear a strip that was much longer than the length of my finger. The
vines, also being quite slippery from the juice inside the stems, would simply not allow me to get a
very good grip on them. Foregoing the vine idea, I decided to try and pack dirt on top of the sticks to
create a forced base. Although the dirt was moist, it still wouldn't pack well and kept cracking and
crumbling.
After laboring to press grass stems into the dirt, while picking up the pieces of mud that were
accumulating at my feet, I finally got the first word imprinted with the grass and was finally
ready to put the berry stems in it to make the word stand out against the black of the dirt base.
When I plucked the berry from its stem, a deep red juice oozed onto my fingertips. The idea struck
me like a lightening bolt! I could use the berry juice as ink and write on one of the pieces of wood I
had gathered from the yard. I suddenly felt very foolish for not thinking of this much simpler
project earlier. I took a piece of bark and used it as a bowl and smashed four berries onto it with the
end of a stick. I then took another piece of bark and on it wrote, "from this
Get more content on HelpWriting.net

2. Technological Innovation Essay
Technological Innovation
Works Cited Missing
Technological innovation makes daily life more convenient and enjoyable for everyone. However,
technological breakthroughs also produce social and ethical consequences. Computers are no
exception to this rule. These products of modern technology can store massive amounts of
information which help us perform at our best. However, they also generate new ethical dilemmas
regarding who is able to access that information and how they use it. Thus, the ethical issue of
privacy comes to the fore as well as problems associated with privacy like identity theft.
The history of computing goes as far back as the 1600s. However, computers didn't start to look
...show more content...
The right of privacy from electronic 'invasion...has become a serious ethical issue" (Hutchinson and
Sawyer 438) because our privacy is put in danger every time a company enters our personal
information into their computer database. These databases are used by companies ranging from
banks to libraries as a way to track appointments, orders, employees, and our buying habits. In
addition, "various companies also offer services that provide address, criminal records, and
professional histories as well as a list of assets and bank account numbers. They can also obtain your
Social Security number, last six addresses, current phone number as well as names and phone
numbers of neighbors. Lexis–Nexis and West Publishing Company are some of the larger and more
prestigious companies that offer such information." (Hutchinson and Sawyer 418). These companies
are not using our personal information in any illegal way. However, their databases are vulnerable
to being accessed by the wrong individuals which can compromise our privacy. Tom Forester and
Perry Morrison found that,
"Computer crime is a growing problem for companies, according to recent reports. Every new
technology introduced into society creates new opportunities for crime, and information
Get more content on HelpWriting.net

3. Essay on Writing and Technology
Writing and Technology
"The fact that we do not commonly feel the influence of writing on our thoughts shows that we have
interiorized the technology of writing so deeply that without tremendous effort we cannot separate it
from ourselves or even recognize its presence and influence (Ong, 317)."
In this modern age of computers, disposable pens, and mechanical pencils, it is easy to forget that
at one time writing was not so simple or convenient. Most of us have ". . . become so used to
composing virtual prose at a keyboard . . . (Baron 36)," that the thought of writing anything out by
hand with a pencil, or any other implement, would not even cross our minds. The experience of
trying to invent my own writing implements has given...show more content...
My first idea came up short, so I decided to try a different approach. Instead of using a rock as my
paper, I thought I would find one I could use as a pencil. It did not take too long before I found a
rock with some good edges I could use to cut and scrape with. I then proceeded to look for a piece
of wood I could record some very deep and profound thoughts on ("This pen sucks. I miss my
keyboard."). After a while I located a suitable branch, big enough to write on and small enough to
carry around. With my primitive version of the pencil and paper in hand, I set out to work.
It was very hard. Etching words into the branch was a slow and tedious process. I had not finished
three letters before I started getting painful blisters on my hand. It is difficult to write in a straight
line and with even spacing and letter height when you are scraping a branch with a rock. I ended up
cutting my writing short after my hand started to bleed. I don't think that my rock and branch idea is
going to replace the P.C. in American homes anytime soon.
This assignment has definitely made me realize that like many people today, I ". . . take word
processing as a given (Baron 36)." The first writers must have had a very difficult time. Crude tools
are cumbersome and messy. The process is slow, tiresome, frustrating and worst of all, it can be
painful. It is a testament to human perseverance that any strides in original writing
Get more content on HelpWriting.net