Perhaps, the most difficult form of technology that has yet to be replicated is the Greek Fire. Used by the Greek navy, it would usually burn the ship (that’s affected)down with no way of saving it. Infact, its horror came from the fact that the more that one tries to extinguish it with water (that’s what the ship is surrounded by anyway), to bigger it gets. Instead of controlling the situation, it gets out of hand. In other words, the mould becomes a mountain- a very hot one indeed.
Look around! Everything that one sees is like greek fire. The more one tries to extinguish the development of technology, the bigger and better (and badder) it becomes. There is simply no stopping it. Technology (what has become to know of it) is intertwined to our lives. Imagine if one’s mobile phone is to be taken away. That person wouldnt simply be able to survive in any society. Not even those in developing countries. That is how dependent the individual is to technology.
One does have to wonder? Why the dependedcy? What causes all this? Is there a way to revert all this back? Technology which is one of the forthcoming institutions which has been shaping the society is in fact shaped by the very society itself. Without other social institutions, scientific knowledge wont be taught, research won’t be funded nor legislated. Education, political and economic institutions are very base which technology are born from. But, why? Well, it is simply to benefit the society through the service of convinience.
Think of it! What technology has not been invented with the idea of convenience in mind? Planes, trains, cars, the telephone, computers and the list simply goes on. They were all invented with the big picture of a futuristic life! And this consisted of flying cars ( planes and cars become one thus labeling their former forms as obsolete) or teleportation ( cutting down the troubles of a lengthy journey). Indeed is the power of convience that has erorded one’s mind thus eliminiating the bodily funcitons one by one (think WALL.E).
This however might lead to consequences that one wanted to avoid when the invention of such technology was taught of in the first place. Already, there the rampant problem of pollution that is running riot on earth: causing the earth’s natural ecology system to destabilize. The earth’s temperature is rising, causing the ice caps to melt thus raising the sea level. On the bright side, perhaps this is why thinkers had a flying car in mind. This might result in a highly destabilized society as people no longer have large spaces to live and have to cramp together in dense urban areas. It is only a matter of some unhappiness to spark of the fuel of packed populace into a chaotic frenzy. Not so convenient now after all huh?
The Greek Fire is not so different at all. It was, indeed, invented on the basis of convenience. Instead of boarding the enemy ship to fight ( it might get a lot of them killed), instead, they would light up a jar containing an unusual mixture and then throw it onto the enemy ship. It starts out as a small fire, one that causes the enemy to laugh at the Greeks for their incompetentness( thus lowering their guards). But once they tried to extinguish the fire with water, then they realized the sort of problem they are in.
Thus, technology would only benefit those who invented them because they invented them with their own convenience in mind. The Greeks did it, so did other inventors. The others simply benefited from using these new found technology to their own benefits. This was what they taught, because the way they used it, is causing more harm then benefits. And the more the tired to solve these problems, the more problems are being created by their actions. This is like Greek Fire.
