Technology Determinism

Technological determinism is the idea that assumes that technology develops because of society, its values, and other extraneous factors. This theory argues that technology is not a force of nature, and as such whether something succeeds or fails is a matter of consumer choice and societal ideals. The best technology is not guaranteed to be a success and just because something sounds superior on paper does not mean it will be practical or profitable when it reaches the market or receive the backing of the consumer body that it requires to be successful. The on paper, better idea is often not the technology that is chosen due to consumer preferences, societal values, innovative mistakes, and countless other extraneous factors The copper cooled

While the copper cooled engine showed this, many of its flaws were due to the hubris and marketing decisions of those involved. The QWERTY keyboard is a longstanding relic from the time of typewriters that has become permanently embedded into the modern fabric of technology. Every student learns how to type on a device that requires the fingers dancing across the board to type out even some of the simplest sentences. This setup has been empirically proven to be less favorable than other alternatives for typing. However, due to consumer stubbornness, any attempts to change to a new keyboard layout is met with a fierce resistance. In his article David makes this point saying that, “If as Apple advertising copy says, DSK ‘lets you type 20-40% faster,’ why did this superior design meet essentially the same resistance as the previous seven improvements on the QWERTY typewriter keyboard…. Was it the result of customary, non-rational behavior by countless individuals who had been socialized to carry on in an antiquated technological tradition?” David argues that we keep the QWERTY keyboard for the sole fact that it has become what we are used to as consumers and the idea of changing to a different system seems like such a hassle. Why would consumers willingly relearn how to type when those skills are drilled into their mind as early as elementary school in modern

Even in implementation, an idea that succeeds comes down to chance and whether or not it receives the backing of society. The cultural values and what society chooses to accept as important is due to several factors. Often markets, habits, and past innovations help to shape what technologies are accepted. Yet they are far from the only source that has this impact. Technology is not an unstoppable force. It is a byproduct of a complex modern society. What technologies come to be, and which never move beyond the prototyping stage into market is a complex, multi-faceted issue just as complex as society itself. Technological determinism explains in broad strokes that society influences the technology that is developed whether it be for better or worse from a design, innovation, or cost