Technology The New York Times

The discovery and utilization of fire, a simple energy source with many profound uses, was a turning point in the technological evolution of humankind. Herbert Marcuse and John Zerzan suggest that technological society will inevitably deprive us of our freedom and psychological health. Technologies have contributed to human welfare through increased prosperity, improved comfort and quality of life, and medical progress, but they can also disrupt existing social hierarchies, cause pollution, and harm individuals or groups. Continuing improvements led to the furnace and bellows and provided, for the first time, the ability to smelt and …