The computer is a sign of the times. It is something invented to take out the mind-numbing of certain collating, organizing and thinking processes. It has definitely brought about a big change in our lifestyles. Our lives are already getting influenced by this technology.
The view that it is more of a menacethan a blessing seems to be completely out of place in a world which has learnt to enjoy and usecomputers. It is ridiculous. The statement is the typical mourn of a person clamouring for the ‘good old days’.
The trouble with the ‘good old days’ is that though they fill us with nostalgia, they were not all ‘good’. For some reason, people clamouring for them do not see the pain they held. Before the invention of the computer, nearly everything was slow. Data processing was slow, typing on typewriters was tedious, and accounting was done by hand which was extremely slow and highly tedious. It was the computerwhich sped all these processes. Over the past few years, computers have become a vastly popular household item.
What is the advantage of anything being sped up? It is a great blessingsometimes. If simple, but troublesome, tasks like data processing can be done faster it will leave us free to do other more important tasks. It is hardly possible to under how the computer could be a menace.
Perhaps the idea that the computer is a menace is derived from the trouble that it has caused in some areas. There are people who have lost their jobs because the computer has made them redundant. Frankly, this is a matter of looking at the ‘problem’. Is not the fact that the computer is able to replace a person a clear indication that the person should be doing something more important? Many companies where computers have replaced people do not just retrench workers; but go through elaborate programmes to retrain the workers. This is an upgrading and the worker concerned should see the phenomenon as a blessing; since it was the computer which was indirectly responsible for his upgrading.
Another reason for looking at the computer as a menace is perhaps the fact that it makes one waste time playing games on it. This is a ridiculous accusation; as time could just as well be wasted by watching stupid TC programmes. On top of that, playing games on the computer is at least interactive, unlike the habit of staring at the goggle box. Over and above all this, playing computer games is an option that one chooses. There is no compulsion to waste time in this or in any other way. It is not fair to label the computer a menace on such grounds.
Hence, to call the computer more of a menace than a blessing is grossly unfair. The computer is a great blessing indeed. Like everything else, whether thecomputer is a blessing or a menace, depends a lot on how one exercises his or her choices.
It is hard to find a household without any computers or access to the internet. In fact, even for those families who are not well to do, buying a computer might be one of their main priorities. Just what is the allure of the computer that makes it a common fixture in every home worldwide?
Since the invention of computers, these gadgets had been used by us to do a myriad of complicated and obfuscating calculations. With the invention of the silicon chips, a small personal computer these days has more computing power than the giant Cray computers which filled entire rooms in the past. With this explosion of computing power accompanied by the exponential decrease in size, each of us potentially have the ability to do calculations right at our fingertips. That surely is a blessing for us.
However, with this increasing reliance on computers, there is a fear that we might lose our ability to think independently. With the aid of computers, it is easy to crunch numerous data in a split second, but we still need a thinking person, all flesh and blood, to analyse the outcome of the calculations. Most people who use computers do not know how they function. All they know is that if they key in certain inputs, they can get the outputs. Are we putting in garbage into a black box and getting garbage out of it?
Internet makes the world grow smaller. With each person potentially able to connect to another person in another part of the world instantaneously, information can be relayed as the events unfold. During the first Gulf war in Iraq, reporters exploited this information technology to relay the latest news to viewers globally. Gone are the days we listen to delayed radio telecasts after the events had happened. With the use of internet, information is transmitted when the event is happening, not after it had happened. Knowledge is power, as the saying goes.
With this power of information at our fingertips, we must temper it with responsibility, otherwise chaos will reign. There had been cases of hackers infringing on the privacy of individuals and institutions and causing a host of mischief ranging from stealing, vandalizing to sabotaging. As the world grows smaller, our private space becomes smaller too. Skype, a popular internet voice calling software, had its lines tapped by Chinese government recently. Who is to safeguard our privacy when all we need to find out about a person is to ‘google’ him or her?
Computers, like all technological advances, are neither inherently good nor bad. There are always two sides of a story, and which side one chooses depend heavily on the individual. Computers increase our computing power, but would increase our reliance on it and make us less skeptical of the calculation results. Computer makes the world smaller through the inter connectivity of the internet, but it also infringes on our personal space. As such, computers are both a menace and a blessing.
It is hard to find a household without any computers or access to the internet. In fact, even for those families who are not well to do, buying a computer might be one of their main priorities. Just what is the allure of the computer that makes it a common fixture in every home worldwide?
Since the invention of computers, these gadgets had been used by us to do a myriad of complicated and obfuscating calculations. With the invention of the silicon chips, a small personal computer these days has more computing power than the giant Cray computers which filled entire rooms in the past. With this explosion of computing power accompanied by the exponential decrease in size, each of us potentially have the ability to do calculations right at our fingertips. That surely is a blessing for us.
However, with this increasing reliance on computers, there is a fear that we might lose our ability to think independently. With the aid of computers, it is easy to crunch numerous data in a split second, but we still need a thinking person, all flesh and blood, to analyse the outcome of the calculations. Most people who use computers do not know how they function. All they know is that if they key in certain inputs, they can get the outputs. Are we putting in garbage into a black box and getting garbage out of it?
Internet makes the world grow smaller. With each person potentially able to connect to another person in another part of the world instantaneously, information can be relayed as the events unfold. During the first Gulf war in Iraq, reporters exploited this information technology to relay the latest news to viewers globally. Gone are the days we listen to delayed radio telecasts after the events had happened. With the use of internet, information is transmitted when the event is happening, not after it had happened. Knowledge is power, as the saying goes.
With this power of information at our fingertips, we must temper it with responsibility, otherwise chaos will reign. There had been cases of hackers infringing on the privacy of individuals and institutions and causing a host of mischief ranging from stealing, vandalizing to sabotaging. As the world grows smaller, our private space becomes smaller too. Skype, a popular internet voice calling software, had its lines tapped by Chinese government recently. Who is to safeguard our privacy when all we need to find out about a person is to ‘google’ him or her?
Computers, like all technological advances, are neither inherently good nor bad. There are always two sides of a story, and which side one chooses depend heavily on the individual. Computers increase our computing power, but would increase our reliance on it and make us less skeptical of the calculation results. Computer makes the world smaller through the inter connectivity of the internet, but it also infringes on our personal space. As such, computers are both a menace and a blessing.
