Model Summary “Computers and the Pursuit of Happiness” Essay

In his article Computers and the Pursuit of Happiness, David Gelernter examines the w everyop of computers in the breeding of mankind. He addresses three questions whether computers and the net profit started a novel nurture age, whether computers hit been uncorrupted for the world race, and whether they will have a cocksure jolt in the next half century. For the offset printing question, Gelernters answer is no because, according to him, computers harbort reduced our basic unavoidablenesss for things such(prenominal) as food, clothing, shelter and one another, nor has it decreased our need for physical stuff. He looks at the three arguments that mass who claim that we are in a in the altogether information age make we have refreshing-made machines that can create, store and de personifyr information, that computer networks have conquered geography and that these are natural machines.He contradicts all three claims. First, he says computers are only the in vogue( p) in a series of inventions that started us in the information age in the early twentieth century. Second, mankind had already started to conquer distance through with(predicate) infrastructure and technology. Finally, there had been many other profound machines before computers such as the thermostat, the electrical carcass in a car, flying machines, radio, TV, electricity and so on. However, he concedes that computers have had a big impact in science and engineering since it is cheaper and to a greater extent(prenominal) efficient to use computational models in research in those fields. Next, Gelernter addresses the question whether computers have been good for mankind. He contends that if human beings are poor or ignorant, they need more wealth and information.In this country, most people are above the threshold of poverty and ignorance hence, what computers bring into their life doesnt matter much except plot of land people are in the process of getting more wealth and i nformation. Despite the wealth and information computers have generated, human happiness hasnt increase on the whole. Although technology does change social structures, the historic question is whether those new social structures are snap off than the old ones. Gelernter says it is impossible to compare the two because the new ones have more machine ingredients whereas the old ones had more human ingredients.Finally, to the question whether computers will benefit human race in the next half-century, Gelernter responds by grammatical construction that computers and software are bringing in new possibilities and structures. Online schools make it possible for lessons to be presented and learned in ways that would not be possible otherwise. Although he would prefer face-to-face direction by live teachers, he thinks due to the state of affairs in the American school system, software based teaching seems like the best hope.Gelernter concludes the article by give tongue to that compu ters may be stronger, faster and more intelligent than humans, but the uniqueness of mankind lie beyond strength, speed and intellect and he hopes in the in store(predicate) computer technology will show us how human beings can build extraordinary machines and, ultimately, how empty these machines are.