Alvin Toffler writes about the fact that technology is advancing much faster today than ever before in history. The symbols of technology are no longer factory smokestacks or assembly lines. As we are headed for the future, the pace will quicken still further.
THE FANTASTIC SPURT IN TECHNOLOGY
A. Toffler
To most people the term technology conjures up images of smoky steel mills or noisy machines. Perhaps the classic representation of technology is still the assembly line created by Henry Ford half a century ago and made into a social symbol by Charlie Chaplin in Modern Times . This symbol, however, has always been inadequate and misleading, for technology has always been more than factories and machines. The invention of the horse collar in the middle ages led to major changes in agricultural methods and was as much a technological advance as the invention of the Bessemer fur- nace centuries later. Moreover, technology includes techniques, or ways to do things, as well as the machines that may or may not be necessary to apply them. It includes ways to make chemical reactions occur, ways to breed fish, plant forests, light theaters, count votes or teach history.
The old symbols of technology are even more misleading today, when the most advanced technological processes are carried out far from assembly tines or blast furnaces. Indeed, in electronics, in space technology, in most of the new industries, quiet and clean surroundings are characteristic-- even sometimes essential. And the assembly line - the organization of large numbers of men to carry out simple repetitive functions - is outdated. It is time for our symbols of technology to change - to catch up with the quickening in technology itself .
This acceleration is frequently dramatized by a brief account of the progress in transportation. It has been pointed out, for example, that in 6000 BC the fastest transportation available to man over long distances was the camel caravan, averaging eight miles per hour (mph) . It was not until about 1600 when the chariot was invented that the maximum speed was raised to roughly twenty miles per hour.
So impressive was this invention, so difficult was it to exceed this speed limit, that nearly 3,500 years later, when the first mail coach began operating in England in 1784, it averaged a mere ten mph. The first steam locomotive，introduced in 1825, could have a top speed of only thirteen mph and the great sailing ships of the time labored along at less than half that speed. It was probably not until the 1880's that man, with the help of a more advanced steam locomotive, managed to reach a speed of one hundred mph. It took the human race millions of years to attain that record.
It took only fifty-eight years， however, to go four times that fast, so that by 1938 men in airplanes were traveling at better than 400 mph. It took a mere twenty-year flick of time to double the limit again. Arid by the 1960's rocket planes approached speeds of 4,000 mph. and-men in space capsules were circling the earth at 18,000 mph.
Whether we examine distances traveled, altitudes reached, or minerals mined, the same accelerative trend is obvious. The pattern, here and in a thousand other statistical series, is absolutely clear and unmistakable. Thousands of years go by, and then, in our own times, a sudden bursting of the limits, a fantastic spurt forward.
The reason for this is that technology feeds on itself. Technology makes more technology possible, as we can see if we look for a moment at the process of innovation. Technological innovation consists of three stages, linked together into a self-reinforcing cycle. First, there is the creative, feasible idea. Second, its practical application. Third, its diffusion through society. The process is completed, the loop closed, when the diffusion of technology embodying the new idea, in turn, helps generate new creative ideas. Today there is evidence that the time between each of the steps in this cycle has been shortened.
Thus it is not merely true, as frequently noted , that 90 percent of al the scientists who ever lived are now alive, and that new scientific discoveries are being made every day. These new ideas are put to work much more quickly than ever before. The time between the first and second stages of cycle - between idea and application-- has been radically reduced. the This is a striking difference between ourselves and our ancestors. It is not that we are more eager or less lazy than our ancestors, but we have, with the passage of time, invented all sorts of social devices to hasten the process.
But if it takes less time to bring a new idea to the marketplace, it also takes less time for it to sweep through the society. For example, the refrigerator was introduced in the United States before 1920, yet its peak production did not come until more than thirty years later. However, by 1950- in only a few years - television had grown from a laboratory novelty to the biggest part of show business. So the interval between the second and third stages of the cycle - between application and diffusion - has likewise been cut, and the pace of diffusion is rising with astonishing speed.
The stepped-up pace of invention, application and diffusion, in turn, accelerates the whole cycle still further. For new machines or techniques are not merely a product, but a source, of fresh creative ideas.
New Words
fantastic a. unbelievably large or great 极大的;难以置信的
spurt n. a short sudden increase of activity, effort or speed; burst 猛增;突然加速;迸发
conjure vt cause (sth. ) to appear in the mind 唤起,使想起
smoky a. giving out much smoke
mill n. factory or workshop
classic a. typical 经典的,典型的
representation n. sth. that represents 代表
represent vt.
symbol n. sign, mark, or object which represents a person,
idea, value, etc. 象征
inadequate a. not adequate; insufficient
misleading a. causing wrong conclusions; causing mistakes
mislead vt.
invention n. the act of inventing; sth. invented horse collar 马轭,炉子
agricultural a. of agriculture
furnace n. 熔炉,炉子
apply vt. put into use or operation 应用,运用
occur vi. take place; happen
breed (bredbred) vt. raise (esp. animals)饲养
vote n. 选票;选举(权)
advanced a. far on in development; modern
blast n. 鼓风;送风
blast furnace 鼓风炉;高炉
electronics n. 电子技术;电子学
surroundings n. (used with a pl. v. ) everything around and about a place; conditions of life 环境
characteristic a. showing the individual character 表示特性的
essential a. necessary; most important
organization n. the act organizing ; an organized bady or system
repetitive a. of or characterized by the act of repeating
repetition n.
function n. special duty ( of a person ) or purpose ( of a thing)职责,功能,作用
outdated a. no longer in general use; old-fashioned
quicken v. make or become quick(er)
acceleration n. 加速
dramatize vt. put into dramatic form; express or represent
( sth: ) in a dramatic or exaggerated way
account n. report or description
transportation n. the business of carrying people or goods from one , place to another 运输
transport vt.
BC abbr. Before (the birth of) Christ 公元前
available a. capable of being got, obtained, used, etc. 可获得的;可利用的
camel 骆驼
caravan n. (往返于沙漠地带的)商队
average vt. have as an average 平均为
per prep. for each 每
mph abbr. miles per hour
chariot n. two-wheeled carriage pulled by horses(古时)双轮马拉战车
maximum n. & a. (being) the largest number, amount, etc.
roughly ad. about; more or less but not exactly
impressive a. making a deep impression on the mind and feelings 给人深刻印象的
exceed vt. go or be beyond a limit, measure, or degree 超过
coach n. large, old-fashioned, closed carriage pulled by horses 四轮大马车
operate v. (cause to) work, be in action
mere a. nothing more than
locomotive n. railway engine 四轮大马车
race n. main division of any living things; nation or tribe属;人种
airplane n. 飞机
flick n. sudden, light blow or stroke; sudden short movement 轻弹;突然的轻快动作
rocket n. 火箭
capsule n. the part of a spaceship in which the pilots live and work and from which the engine is separated when the take off is completed 宇宙密封舱
altitude n. 高,(尤指海拔)高度
mineral n. 矿物,矿石
accelerative a. 加速的
trend n. general direction; tendency 趋向;倾向
pattern n. the way in which sth. happens or develops 模式
statistical a. 统计的; 统计学的
unmistakable a clearly recognizable
innovation n. the introduction of sth. new; new idea, method, or invention
stage n. point, period or step in development 阶段;时期
cycle n. series of events taking place in a regularly repeated order 循环;周期
feasible a. capable of being carried out or done; possible 可行的
diffusion n. the act of spreading out (knowledge, etc. ) widely 扩散;传播
embody vt. give form to, express 体现
generate vt. cause to exist or occur; produce 发生;产生
shorten v. make or become shorter
scientific a. of science; guided by the rules of science
radically ad. fundamentally; essentially; extremely radical a.
reduce vt. make less; make smaller in size, number, degree 减少;降底
striking a. very noticeable; attracting attention 显著的
ancestor n.
marketplace n. square or open place in a town where a market is held
refrigerator n. 冰箱
fridge n. refrigerator
peak n. the highest point or level; the pointed top of a mountain or hill 顶峰;山峰
novelty n. sth. new and unusual; innovation 新奇的事物
novel a. 新颖的,新奇的
likewise ad. in the same way
astonishing a. very surprising; amazing
astonish vt.
stepped-up a. increased in size, speed, or extent
accelerate v. (cause to) move faster 加速
Phrases & Expressions
conjure up cause to appear as a picture in the mind 使联想起
labo(u)r along move slowly and with difficulty
go by pass (in place or time)
feed on (of animals) live on (food); draw strength, support or satisfaction from