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If we take a look at the evolutionary history of man-kind many will stop and wonder if what we are doing is what we are supposed to be doing. Whether we are or not can be contested, but never known. What must be truly understood and evaluated though, is the nature of technology itself, in terms of its uses for man. In the most rudimentary terms technology is created in order to make life "easier" and in general to extend the livelihood and well-being of mankind. Yet as many things in our history, the true marvel and appreciation for technology has been slowly eroded. What remains is an unearthlyunhuman version of great modern marvels that serve specific purposes, and exist in a world where many do not understand, remember, or care about how we got there. In turn, it generates a great ignorance and again, lack of appreciation, for technology and knowledge itself. For example, nearly all American's use computers. Yet, what percentile of those that use the technology have any concept of how to re-create the very technology they are using? What percentile of those that use computers know how to create a memory chip, or a processor, even worse, how many of them even know what materials they are comprised of? As we continue on our path, towards maximum efficacy, we are slowly and steadily loosing the knowledge that has gotten us there. And while this knowledge may be located in a database, or in the minds of those that have specialized in that field, the common man does not understand nor even could begin to comprehend some of the more advanced technologies in our contemporary society.

However, it must be remembered that unquenchable thirst for knowledge will never dissipate. It is in itself the greatest human deficiency. With out it, we would still be living in the Stone Age, but with it, we may end up destroying ourselves. And this is where the problem lies, in the human condition. Deep down inside we are all striving to understand ourselves-not only in the ego sense of the word, but to understand mankind and its purpose. Like a squirrel looking to save nuts for the winter, we gather and gather and gather until there are no more nuts to be found. And then what becomes of us? We starve on our own desire to get MORE? Essentially, instead of growing the tree that produces the nuts, we are chopping it down and stripping it bare.

What we see is what we want. New technology is what we crave for. But, in our journey to find what the "best" really is, will we forget everything that came before? And even if we do accomplish the "best" will we even really like what we find?

Learn more about this author, Garrett Ettinger.
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