Theory of Knowledge - Course Companion for Students Marija Uzunova Dang Arvin Singh Uzunov Dang

I. Scope
reach of human-made objects is also
The
if only barely. The human artefacts
interstellar,
from our home on Earth are the Voyager
farthest
two probes launched in 1977. Attached
spacecraft,
each of them is the Voyager Golden Record, a
to
sent to the stars and intended for any
message
that might intercept it one day. The
intelligence
carry the cultural portrait of humanity
Voyagers
a technologically advanced civilization,
as
greetings in various languages, natural
including
music and images. The concept and
sounds,
of the record are every bit as interesting
contents
its engineering, an instance of technology
as
how we understand and portray
reflecting
back to ourselves. Follow the link to
ourselves
out more.
find
we explore the scope of technology
Before
consider what we mean by the word
let’s
which can refer to physical
“technology”,
(such as bridges), human activities
artefacts
as the construction of bridges) and
(such
(such as the engineering concepts
knowledge
terms: Carl Sagan Annie
Search
aeon
Druyan
short film linked here tries to
The
some of the cultural background of
capture
Golden Record Project. From a present-day
the
point, the project provides a glimpse
vantage
the spirit and values of the technological
of
of Western thought approximately
enterprise
What might a project such as this look like if
1.
were started today?
it
Do you think it would resonate culturally
2.
be widely endorsed, or be met with
and
these various types of technologies,
support
types of communities emerge around
various
in which people play different roles.
them
for example, what it means to be a
Consider,
native and in which ways this anchors
digital
individual’s identity and orientation
an
3
half a century ago.
doubt, disagreement and/or fear?
Figure 3.2
The Golden Record, attached to each of the Voyager spacecraft, is a 12-inch gold-plated phonograph record,
containing sound and images from Earth (right) and a cover (left) containing instructions about how to “play” the record
and where it comes from
towards the world.
that guide the construction of bridges). To
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