What Would it be Like to Live in a Time in which We Didn't Have Technology?

I am not used to posting on a blog, but after reviewing the posts from my fellow classmates, I have deduced that this is a place for thought and questions so here are my thoughts and question on this weeks readings from Mary Austin's The Land Of Little Rain After having read the series of short stories and biographies from Mary Austin's The Land of Little Rain, I found myself asking: "What would it be like to live in a land or a time in which there was no technology?" Now I know those of you who are reading this would probably instantly reply to this rhetorical question with another question of your own; "what constitutes technology?" That question is a good one and to be honest i DO NOT honestly think I could provide all of you with an adequate answer in this short of an essay; however the thoughts and conclusions which trying to determine what the word "technology" provoke are something which, after having read these stories, I feel obligated to pursue and discuss. I ultimately hope to change the ways in which your think of technology: DOES TECHNOLOGY HELP OR HINDER MANKIND? WHAT ROLES SHOULD MANKIND PLAY IN SOCIETY AND DOES TECHNOLOGY HELP OR HINDER THAT? IF TOMORROW ALL FORMS OF MODERN TECHNOLOGY; I.E. CELLPHONES, CARS, PLANES, GUNS, COMPUTERS, ETC., JUST DISAPPEARED AND ALL YOU HAD TO PROTECT YOURSELF WAS YOUR OWN HANDS, NATURE AND YOUR INSTINCTS, HOW LONG DO YOU THINK YOU WOULD SURVIVE?

So, what is technology, and what does it have to do with Austin's stores? Well to start off, I would like to first explain a little about some of the connections between each of the short stories starting with the first one we read: "The Land of Little Rain", and ending with "Other Water Borders". As these stories progress, Austin appears to be painting modern humans as being very separate from nature; something which I believe has been caused by the spread of technology. The first story we read gives us a very broad view of the Country of Lost Borders. Throughout the pages we get very vivid depictions of the many beauties of nature in this country, however; humans are almost absent from the image save the slight mentions at the end of Salty Williams and his mules. As the stores progress, humans start popping up more and more. First, in the section on scavengers, Austin makes sly references to modern humans and how poor their instincts have become. She ends her this section on page 22 by stating that "Man is a great blunderer going about in the woods... " as noisy as a bear, but laking the power and instinct. In her later section on the basket weaver, however, she paints the woman Seyavi as a pure, simple and kind person who is in touch with nature. Before Seyavi, Austin also speaks very highly of of a man named Winnenap and the beautiful lands in which he once lived and now longed for. What is the difference between this Seyavi/ Winnenap and us? Technology. Technology is what defines our culture and the cultures of many other modern societies; without it, we would be lost and with it we have lost something far worse.

So as you are reading these beautiful scences which Austin very poetically describes I want you to try envisioning yourself in them; whether it be on a mountain top, amongst the deserts or on the streets of the mountains. Do you fit in? In the image I create I would have to say no. There is no room for me and the shiny little laptop on which I am writing this post atop a mountain with a view that could take your breath away. Similarily, my cool cellphone and my 21 inch monitor just don't seem like the best addition to my mental painting of the coyotes in their caves. Actually very little of what I own would blend in with the images which Austin illustrates. It seems to me that technology has created a barrier between us and nature; consequently, in her opinion, stripping us of our instincts. Is this a good thing, or a bad thing?"What would it be like to live in a time of place where there was no technology?" I don't know all of the answers to these questions, so i will leave them to you guys to ponder and comment on.