Technopoly: The Surrender of Culture to Technology

Postman gives examples of how technology has unintended consequences, such as the telescope and the mechanical clock. Choose another technological invention and trace its impact on society in terms of economics, religion, social relationships, or any other area. What was it originally designed to do? What unintended effects did it have? 

In Chapter 6, the author explains how the invention and use of medical technology in the United States actually changed how medicine was practiced. Do the same for computers and education. Since the widespread availability and use of the personal computer in the 1980s and 1990s, followed by handheld devices in the 2000s, such technology has been increasingly used in classrooms. How has it changed methods of instruction and even the definition of education itself? What are the advantages and disadvantages of this?

Postman criticizes intelligence tests and the SAT as unable to meaningfully accomplish what they purport to do. Choose either the IQ test or the SAT and review its history. For what purposes was the test created? What decisions went into its design? What inherent flaws or biases does it have, according to critics?