William Fielding Ogburn argued for the existence of both "cultural lag" and "technological lag." Cultural lag is like what you're discussing here, Rex. Some fundamentally important new technological system appears, such as the Internet, but the society starts out not having any laws to regulate it, or any understanding of its unintended consequences, etcetera. So it has to develop the cultural elements that relate to it. Technological lag happens when a society desperately needs some new technological fix but doesn't yet have it. A good example was the development of catalytic converters on motor vehicles to eliminate smog in Los Angeles. Or the rapid development of Covid vaccines. These lags are especially important when they involve the technological systems that connect lots of humans and make them interdependent upon each other. So communcation and transaction technologies like the Internet and worldwide instant currency exchanges are one such sector. So are transportation technologies that move material goods around, now involving the whole planet, especially after Malcolm McLean in New Jersey in the mid-1950s introduced containerized modern shipping, which has revolutionized the material interdependence of the whole planet. And third are various technologies of production that change the way the material goods in a society are made, such as robotics. We are in fact in the middle of a massive worldwide cultural transformation on all three of these fronts, and until we figure out how to adapt our cultures to these fundamental disruptions, it's gonna be the Wild Wild West writ large, around the planet. I'm working on a book about all that, Rex, tentatively titled "Leaving Kansas" (a reference to Dorothy and Toto not being in Kansas any more in "Wizard of Oz." Would be happy to discuss it further with you over lunch some time if you're interested. My treat. By the way, FYI, it's spelled "axle." An "axel" is one of the basic varieties of jumps in figure skating. I don't think the "axel" is all that ancient.... Please don't kill the messenger. Tom
William Fielding Ogburn argued for the existence of both "cultural lag" and "technological lag." Cultural lag is like what you're discussing here, Rex. Some fundamentally important new technological system appears, such as the Internet, but the society starts out not having any laws to regulate it, or any understanding of its unintended consequences, etcetera. So it has to develop the cultural elements that relate to it. Technological lag happens when a society desperately needs some new technological fix but doesn't yet have it. A good example was the development of catalytic converters on motor vehicles to eliminate smog in Los Angeles. Or the rapid development of Covid vaccines. These lags are especially important when they involve the technological systems that connect lots of humans and make them interdependent upon each other. So communcation and transaction technologies like the Internet and worldwide instant currency exchanges are one such sector. So are transportation technologies that move material goods around, now involving the whole planet, especially after Malcolm McLean in New Jersey in the mid-1950s introduced containerized modern shipping, which has revolutionized the material interdependence of the whole planet. And third are various technologies of production that change the way the material goods in a society are made, such as robotics. We are in fact in the middle of a massive worldwide cultural transformation on all three of these fronts, and until we figure out how to adapt our cultures to these fundamental disruptions, it's gonna be the Wild Wild West writ large, around the planet. I'm working on a book about all that, Rex, tentatively titled "Leaving Kansas" (a reference to Dorothy and Toto not being in Kansas any more in "Wizard of Oz." Would be happy to discuss it further with you over lunch some time if you're interested. My treat. By the way, FYI, it's spelled "axle." An "axel" is one of the basic varieties of jumps in figure skating. I don't think the "axel" is all that ancient.... Please don't kill the messenger. Tom
Dr. McLuhan foresaw technology’s impact and quite a lot of today’s societal issues, the good and bad. He’s worth revisiting.
Best 15 minutes spent today. Thinking, thinking..
Thank you.
I love the sweeping perspective melded with contemporary examples and relevance.