Technology is a Benefit to Our Society

Technology is a Benefit to Our Society

Over the last century, our world has evolved so much, because of the growth of the technological field. Although we spend a lot of money in order to gain new information, the reward goes far beyond the cost of money. In this case, the reward is the ability to save the lives of millions of people. In his essay, “The Technology of Medicine,” Lewis Thomas describes the three levels of technology; Nontechnology, Halfway Technology, and Effective Technology (582-583). “Nontechnology” has become the therapeutic part of technology, which helps patients through the emotional and mental effects that a disease can have on them. “Halfway Technology” is the name given to procedures, such as transplants, that prevent deaths of patients from the failure of certain organs of their bodies. However, the most important level is “Effective Technology” which consists of inventions used to help manage, eliminate or detect certain types of diseases before they have a chance to progress to higher levels within patients’ bodies. All these gadgets show that technology can be used as a benefit to humankind, only when used for the correct reasons to avoid such disasters as the cancer caused by bomb testing in Terry Williams’ essay, “The Clan of One-breasted Women.”

Effective technology has not only touched the lives of people living in the United States, but those living all around the world as well. Through the invention of immunizations, we have been able to eliminate many diseases, such as smallpox, that have caused the death of millions of people in past generations. If not for the invention of antibiotics, the time and money that would be spent on treatments for infections would be much greater than ...

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...s made in my life; and if it were not for the different inventions that have come out of technology, many of us would not be here today. How has technology made a difference in your life? Maybe you should think about that question before taking your own decision on this subject.

Works Cited

Gould, Stephen Jay. “The Terrifying Normalcy of AIDS.” The McGraw-Hill Reader. 8th ed. Ed. Gilbert H. Muller. New York: McGraw-Hill, 2003. 594-597

Selzer, Richard. “Sarcophagus.” McGraw-Hill Reader. 8th ed. Ed. Gilbert H. Muller.

New York: McGraw-Hill, 2003.

Thomas, Lewis. “The Technology of Medicine.” McGraw-Hill Reader. 8th ed. Ed. Gilbert H.

Muller. New York: McGraw-Hill, 2003.

Williams, Terry Tempest. “The Clan of One-Breasted Women.” McGraw-Hill Reader. 8th ed.

Ed. Gilbert H. Muller. New York: McGraw-Hill, 2003. 598-607

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