Making and Using Technology: Shifting toward Possibility and Vision

Abstract

The problem this article addresses is that we excel at making tools and technologies, yet the things we build and how we build them are often harmful to humanity and the environment. Examples from rocket and chemical technologies show that we continue to use technologies in the wrong way. We build rockets that take us to the moon, yet we use rocket technology to build missiles that attack and kill others. We build chemical compounds to power engines, yet we use chemical technology to create pesticides that cause illnesses. This article suggests that we move beyond building and using technologies in ways that are harmful to humanity and the environment. The research aims to consider whether we can move beyond being makers. It considers whether we can better recognize the possibilities of what things can be made and how we can build and use them. The research further considers that we create visions based on those possibilities. These visions could help guide us toward pathways that are more beneficial to humankind and our planet. The article examines the concepts of possibility and vision from writers such as Thoreau, Gibran, and Huxley. The research considers literature that discusses humanity in the context of making, possibility, and vision. From this research, the article hopes to show that we can understand the possibilities in things and ourselves. Through this understanding, we may create visions that lead us to make the right things while building and using them in the right ways.