Bridging the Gap Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Bridging the Gap - Essay Example The locks that are commonly installed in most standard automobiles are meant to increase the safety and security of the drivers but have turned against the same users on several occasions. The locks have increased the number of drivers locked inside their vehicles and thus exposing them to thugs that they were supposed to guard against. This has cost the economy over $400 million in the last two decades alone. To some extent Tenner’s argument about the perverse nature of technologies can be compared to Collins and Pinch claims that Science and Technology is very powerful and of great benefit but is still a mean helper to man. Edward Tenner observes that the unintended consequences of technology or the perverse aspect of technology may have resulted from the unknown or unpredictable nature of the world. Certain characteristics of the technological systems make it impossible to understand their functions and thus lead to unpredictability. Some of these characteristics include complexity, dynamics, intrasparence and ignorance (Tenner, 1997). Complexity is associated with the various components that constitute a real system. This also includes the interconnections among the constituents. Failure to understand the functioning of these components in a system and the interrelations between them leads to unpredictability of a system. This limits the users understanding of the entire system which ultimately leads to the system turning against the user. Another characteristic of the systems that limits the understanding of their functioning is dynamics. Technology is ever advancing and changing which implies that systems will at one time change without the control of the users. This makes it difficult to predict the actual functioning of technological devices which leads to revenge effects (Tenner, 1997). Another cause of unpredictable nature of