Blog Assignment #7

In preparing for this paper I looked through Nye's book and found quotes that related to what I wanted to focus my paper on. I am focusing on if technology does in fact control us and if people can survive with out it. It was a little difficult to find passages that related to the topic I was interested in because Nye uses a lot of passages from different authors to help people understand what he is trying to portray in his writing. Once I found the passages I wanted to use, I didn't find it that difficult to see the connection and why Nye used those specific passages.
I thought that peer editing was just as effectful as it was last time we used it. I like to see what my peers have to say about my work and what things I need to work on to make my paper better. I also like to comment on other people's work and give my opinion on what they did well and what areas need to be worked on because I know that I love the feedback and I'm sure others do as well.
I feel that Nye did use his souces fairly and everytime he had a topic to discuss he had another source to back up what he is trying to say or a source that disagrees with it to show that there are many opinions out there. It is difficult to be a research writer I think, because finding the right quote or passage from a text that fits into the topic you are writing about may be difficult. I feel that Nye does a good job in picking the right texts to help strengthen his writing.
I am not the best writer, I have a hard time putting my thoughts onto paper. Once I find the right texts to use, I don't think I will have a problem finding quotes and passages to use, but being able to connect them to my text to help get my point across.

Assignment #5-2 sources

David Nye has a very unique way of writing his book. He starts out with a question and with in that chapter he goes in to detail different outcomes using his knowledge and the knowledge of other peoples work. In chapter two, it’s titled “Does technology control us?” Nye quotes from George Basalla in “The Evolution of Technology” stating “Maintaining roads for wheeled carts and supplying watering sites for horses and oxen was far more expensive, given the terrain and the climate, than opting for the camel, which can carry more, move faster, and travel further, on less food and water, than an ox, needs neither roads nor bridges and is able to traverse rough ground and ford rivers and streams.” I feel that in this particular chapter Nye discusses in fact if technology does control us and if we are dependent on it. He uses this particular passage to prove that camels are more likely to get the job done and with less money involved. They don’t need paved roads or have to have water every certain hours, a camel is a part of this world and is doesn’t need technology to survive or get the job done. He is showing that things in this world that need to get done, can get done with out the use of technology, which can cause millions of dollars and be confusing to operate to the human eye.
Another source that Nye uses to help answer the question listed is in the chapter “More Security, or Escalating Danger?” Nye is trying to discuss in this chapter when humans and technology mix is causing problems and can be a danger to themselves and everything around them. Nye particularly discusses that when humans try to control nature with technology it can cause more damage then preventing. For example, Nye talks about how making new levees can make floods more destructive, by preventing high water from spreading out and slowing down, instead channeling larger amounts downstream. (p. 1650 He uses the passage from Ted Steinberg in Acts of God, “The Unnatural History of Natural Disaster in America” stating “Human attempts to control nature have not solved a problem but intensified it. The scale of the disaster is often further escalated by human error- For example, building houses on river flood plains or along the Florida coast, where hurricanes regularly blast through.” I feel that Nye uses this quote very well because natural disasters are unpredictable and are going to happen and he uses this passage to prove that human error can occur when using technology to try and control it. Nye Is trying to show that human error is a part of every day life. Humans are going to make mistakes, such as building a house on river flood plains. If people take the time and think about what they are going to do and go over all the consequences with their decision first, there might be less human error.
I feel that a stakeholder Nye is representing is the general population. He is focusing on what is best for the world and if technology is either helping us or hurting us, whether human error can be prevented with dealing with less technology and more with our minds. I feel that stakeholder he is leaving out is all the people who are trying to help fix natural disasters or try to make the world a safe place to live in. there are people who have good intentions to try and make the world better, but technology can be confusing and with human error involved it can lead to a messy place. I feel people have good intensions and Nye is trying to portray that, but also saying that things will go wrong that are unexplainable and unpredictable and maybe less things will go wrong with not letting technology take over our lives.

assignmnet 5

Technology is unpredictable. You never know if it's going to work properly or if it will power out and not work at all. Technology is made by humans, so there is always the chance of human error. "As technology become smore sophisticated in its manipulations of information, both biological and electronic, the possibilities for unexpected effects ramify beyond control."(p.166) In the chapter More Security, or Escalating Dangers Nye discusses how the more greater and powerful the technology is the more serious the failure can be. Such as in Vonnegut Cats Craddle, Ice-Nine was invented not knowing the outcome or what damages it can cause. Ice-Nine is a very powerful, said to freeze people in seconds and going back at what Nye was saying of the more powerful the more serious the failure can be, Ice-Nine could freeze the bodies of water eventually freezing the whole environment.
Nye discuess the human error and how "humans attempt to control nature have not solved a problem but intensified it." I feel that in Vicente he discusses how easily things can go wrong because of human error such as the power plant exploding. Humans try to fix and make these advanced technologies to try and make the world an easier place to live, but they are only making it harder to operate and putting a greater risk of failure with the more advanced they get.