Is technology inevitable or unpredictable?

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HUM 110: Technology and Society Exam Essay #1 Question: Is technology inevitable or unpredictable? Technology is inevitable in that man has always sought to improve life and/or make certain tasks simpler or less labor intensive. It (technology) is also unpredictable, while we may be able to look and see what is on the horizon is respect to current developments, we cannot say for sure what direction they will take or how new high-tech items will be used, or what will come after that. Looking back at the history of the United States of America from the first patent issued in 1790 to today, we can see how every advance in technology seemingly leads to the next one. Starting with the cotton gin, this simple invention allowed for much faster processing time, allowing for increase in profits. The next major advancement worth noting was in 1797 when the idea of interchangeable parts was employed by Eli Whitney in his contract to build 1000 muskets for the United States Army. This concept allowed for much advancement in many areas of technology. The manufacturing process would be stre...

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