“Lovemarks”

What is wrong with loyalty? When we buy a particular brand or product and have had nothing but good to say about it we tend to stay with it, and if we've gone with that brand for some time we continue to buy it even if it's no longer any good or doesn't last as long as it used too. What it boils down to is habits.

I've been a Chevy truck fan ever since I could drive. My dad got me started on that and I have not stopped yet! I always bought Chevy because I know how to work on them, and buying another make of truck would mean having to learn how to work on it, and that takes a large amount of time, time that could be spent doing other things. Another reason I buy Chevy would be pure habit, http://ergonomics.about.com/od/ergonomicbasics/f/what_is_a_habit.htm . A habit that, for me, is very hard to break. Just like some people vote for democrats simply because they have always voted democrat, and their parents before them voted democrat. It's become a habit that's so ingrained that you don't even notice your doing it. Habits can be good for you, they will keep you going down the right road, keep you healthy, help you attain your goals.

Of course those habits can be bad for you as well; and bad for your wallet too. I once bought a lemon and kept it even though the thing was costing me a fortune just to keep it running, I knew I should have got rid of it but I was stubborn and went through the headache of keeping it going. This kind of behavior goes way beyond loyalty and into the realm of The Really Bad Habit. And we keep returning there as well, http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=why-we-return-to-bad-habits.

As far as my habit of buying only one type of vehicle I can honestly say that I see no wrong in this. To me it can be a sign of loyalty to Chevy and a loyalty to me in that I am content with following my "lovemark" through to the end!

Does technology make us smarter or dumber?

Imagine the world today without technology. We would not have defeated many diseases without the help of technology, which allowed us to learn, to understand, and defeat some diseases while slowing the progress of others. We would not have a better understanding of the planet, or how we, as human beings, evolved.

Even if our technology advanced at a very slow pace and not at the explosive rate of today's world, people would still look for tools to help them answer questions, like how do we defeat cancer? Of course that question hasn't been answered yet, but without the help of technology we would not even know what cancer does to the body. Technology helps with how we search for answers. Donald A. Norman said, "Technology makes us smart in the sense of being able to think". Technology has the ability to let us dig deeper and farther than ever before in finding the answers that we can use to improve our health and knowledge.

On the flip side, technology can impede us in growing, emotionally speaking, with all the texting and emails and instant messaging people are starting to lack in developing communication skills and learning how to deal with their emotions when someone says something that can be hurtful or offensive. We seem to be getting lazy as well, why dig through old libraries when we can Google it? Tom Hodgkinson said "Far from liberating us, technology isolates us and makes us stupid. I want no part of your sterile, bloodless brave new world". Technology can isolate us; consider the gamers, the ones that do not leave their house, or the people who cannot speak what's on their mind for fear of being seen as weak or dumb. I've found that for many people who text rather than speak over the phone have issues concerning speaking their minds.

Technology does have its drawbacks, but the pros outweigh the con's. Building sturdier homes in earthquake areas has been possible because of technology. If we had no technology you would not be reading this on a blog site. Mankind has always strived to build a better way of life through technology, if we question something we will find a way to answer that question and technology is a way of searching for answers.

 

 

It Works?

Maybe…

Ok, we'll try this again...!

My name is Joe and my major is Civil Engineering, as far as my Assoc. goes, this is my last semester because I graduate in may and off to NAU, or U of A, or...I'll figure it out before may anyway so I'm not worried about it!

One more thing, I can't tell if this blog is posting or not. So if someone would be kind enough to comment? Thanks.

Hi! This blog has a GO!