The belief that
technology develops (
see development ) by its own
laws, that it realizes its own potential, limited only by the material resources available, and must therefore be regarded as an autonomous (
see autonomy )
system control ling and ultimately permeating all other
subsystems of society. Evidence for the first proposition is largely taken from the natural history of technology, its
progress ive character and the cooccurance of independent (
see independence ) inventions. Evidence for the second proposition stems from the unwarranted generalization that everything that is invented is ultimately installed and ignores human playfulness, individual and collective interests and man's cognitive limitations. The conclusion is nevertheless supported by the
fact that technology has indeed penetrated all spheres of human existence from interpersonal
communication, to definitions of the quality of life in technological terms. (
Krippendorff )
