Technology Secures its Spot in Society
Robert Spahr
Issue date: 9/9/09 Section: Gadget Inspector
We live in a world resplendent with technological marvel and splendor. Generations before us could scarcely have imagined the conveniences and abilities granted to mankind by its own ingenuity. Technological progress has seen backbreaking work performed at the flip of a switch, even absent human touch. As time passed, technology began seeking - in more cases than was seen earlier - to provide pleasure and amusement instead of performing essential industrial or agricultural tasks.
Whereas the earliest machinery often endeavored to increase the efficiency of industrial tasks, new gadgets and inventions began to entertain. At first these entertaining devices were few and far between, and unavailable to most; but over time the economies of scale allowed entertaining gadgets and gizmos to be afforded by much of the population. As a result, once rare and marvelously entertaining devices became commonplace or even passé. One form of entertainment that now is almost entirely taken for granted is music.
Before the invention of the phonograph, there were but two options for a person wishing to hear music; he could play and sing it himself or attend a live performance. This would have made music relatively rare hundreds of years ago, at least among the common folk, and certainly something to be celebrated. With the invention of the phonograph by Thomas Edison in 1877, a person could finally listen to music that had been previously recorded
In the beginning, even hearing a record play was an experience. People traveled to town to listen to songs through a tube for a fee. As with most devices, time and innovation allowed the phonograph to become affordable to the average American, and the devices began to appear alongside radios and telephones in the home. Bit by bit, music became more commonplace and began to lose its luster and splendor.
Now, well more than 100 years later, music is ubiquitous. It is in everyone's daily life to one degree or another, especially in America. Musak plays forth subtly and dutifully in elevators and shops, cars roll by with bass notes pouring haphazardly forth rattling molars, and even telephones now play songs when they ring. Perhaps nothing signifies how commonplace music has become than the Apple I-pod; as of 2007, more than 100 million units had been sold.
Whereas the earliest machinery often endeavored to increase the efficiency of industrial tasks, new gadgets and inventions began to entertain. At first these entertaining devices were few and far between, and unavailable to most; but over time the economies of scale allowed entertaining gadgets and gizmos to be afforded by much of the population. As a result, once rare and marvelously entertaining devices became commonplace or even passé. One form of entertainment that now is almost entirely taken for granted is music.
Before the invention of the phonograph, there were but two options for a person wishing to hear music; he could play and sing it himself or attend a live performance. This would have made music relatively rare hundreds of years ago, at least among the common folk, and certainly something to be celebrated. With the invention of the phonograph by Thomas Edison in 1877, a person could finally listen to music that had been previously recorded
In the beginning, even hearing a record play was an experience. People traveled to town to listen to songs through a tube for a fee. As with most devices, time and innovation allowed the phonograph to become affordable to the average American, and the devices began to appear alongside radios and telephones in the home. Bit by bit, music became more commonplace and began to lose its luster and splendor.
Now, well more than 100 years later, music is ubiquitous. It is in everyone's daily life to one degree or another, especially in America. Musak plays forth subtly and dutifully in elevators and shops, cars roll by with bass notes pouring haphazardly forth rattling molars, and even telephones now play songs when they ring. Perhaps nothing signifies how commonplace music has become than the Apple I-pod; as of 2007, more than 100 million units had been sold.
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