CoinsureNZ on Nostr: And for the majority of human history that view wasn't the way that we looked at ...

And for the majority of human history that view wasn't the way that we looked at technologies either. We looked at the important technologies critical to our society as tools, rather systems. These two views of what technology is and why technology is are like the two differing stories about 9/11 we looked at before, different stories we tell ourselves about the meaning of something, with profound consequences for our lives.


The Systems view of technology is a prescriptive, passive view of technology. Good technology tells us what to do to get a job done. Convenience, efficiency, and volume of output are good. They are recipes or instruction manuals. The Tools view of technology is a descriptive, intentional view of technology. Autonomy, user freedom, and the ability of its users to change and customize are good. They allow craftsmanship. Good technology must be wielded by its user and their input reflected in the output, they are instruments.

Systems seek to create predictable outcomes from button presses. Tools seek to combine humanity with utility. Their output should be a reflection of the humans who use them.