issue91 首篇习作耗时巨久

云横UID: 3532830

The author holds that to increase people’s efficiency for more leisure time should be the primary goal of technological advancement. While the author accurately points out one of many goals of technological advancement, he fails to figure out the primary one among them. In my view, the primary goal is to benefit all the mankind, including increase people’s efficiency in appropriate situations.

To begin with, we do advance the technology in order to increase people’s efficiency, which can be illustrated during the development of technology. For example, the advancement in the Industrial Revolution in the 1800s made it possible to liberate people’s hands from heavy work. It’s the Spinning Jenney that led to the mass production of yarn, once unimaginative during the days when women span by hand without any machine. Obviously, people’s efficiency has been improved to a great extent after the Industrial Revolution, yet it seems that there is little time for recreation. It’s worthwhile pointing out that the increasing efficiency is not sufficiently determined in the more time for leisure. As the technology advances, the demand from employers is increasingly harsh. For most employees in modern society, to enjoy more leisure time sometimes means that they have to face the risk of being superseded by others who are much more diligent. Admittedly, the physical labor which may harm the body decrease; the other types of work including service and headwork consume no less sap than the former.

On the second place, the target of the technology advancement is not simply restricted to increase people’s efficiency; the ultimate goal is to benefit all the human. While there are many examples showing that focus on efficiency, most advancements focuses on how to elevate the living standard. Artificial rainfall is an example. In ancient, the productivity of the crop is determined only by “God”, what peasants can do for a harvest is to pray for the timely rain in spring. The artificial rainfall, however, compensates for the deficiency of the rain from nature, assuring an average harvest in the arid area or in the droughty year. Without intention of increasing efficiency, artificial rainfall decreases the losses of peasants and avoids the fluctuation of the price of crops, thus improving the living standard of the society.

In addition, to increase the efficiency also serves to benefit human beings. The ultimate goal of technological advancement is to benefit all the mankind which reflect on a series of aspects, such as the increase of the efficiency, the improvement of the environment, the comprehension of the nature and so on. We cannot deny that the invention of the telephone increased communication efficiency. At the same time, the increasing efficiency of communication helps to build a firm relationship between couples, families and friends. In other words, the telephone helps to bring about the happiness by improving efficiency.

Admittedly, in some cases the technology is used for some wicked purpose. For example, during the World War II, German and American scientists were both devoted to nuclear bomb to seize the opportunity of formidable power. Although now used as a source of electric, nuclear bomb was initially designed to destroy. It can also be interpreted as increasing of the destroy efficiency, which is totally a sarcasm for the ruthless result.

In conclusion, while the efficiency increasing is indeed one part of the goal of the technological advancement, it cannot ensure more leisure time to us. What’s more, the target of the technological advancement is a more comprehensive one, one that serves to benefit the human beings. If we insist on increasing people’s efficiency as the primary goal, it’s highly possible that we human beings will become “productive machine” and the society will seemingly grow fast without concerning the internal need for people's welfare.