© iStock/Getty Images RF Culture, Technology, and Superheroes Some superheroes (Superman and the X-Men) are born that way, but others gain their powers the old-fashioned way: they invent them. Characters such as Ironman and Batman appeal to us in part because they rely on human innovation for their strength and stamina. Technology makes them faster than a speeding bullet or more powerful than a locomotive. To what extent does technology provide us with superhuman powers? POPSOC Photo: © Paramount/Courtesy Everett Collection material culture Our physical modification of the natural environment to suit our purposes. technology A form of culture in which humans modify the natural environment to meet particular wants and needs. cultural lag A period of adjustment when the nonmaterial culture is still struggling to adapt to new material conditions. ?Did You Know 50 • SOC 2016 Advances in technology, especially when it comes to the revolutions in communication and transportation, have linked more individuals in a global network than was ever possible in the past. Cell phones, for example, enable us to stay in touch with friends and family from almost anywhere. Planes, trains, and automobiles allow us to travel over long distances in almost no time at all, reducing the historic significance of geographic separation and isolation. And laptops and iPads allow us to bring the workplace with us wherever we go. Sometimes technological change occurs faster than our capacity to interpret and understand the impact of such changes. Because it goes to the core of our perception of reality, nonmaterial culture, including our values, beliefs, and expectations, is often more resistant to change than is the material culture. Sociologist William F. Ogburn (1922) introduced the term cultural lag to refer to the period of adjustment when the nonmaterial culture is struggling to adapt to new conditions of the material culture. For example, the nine-month school calendar was designed with an agricultural economy in mind so that children would be home to help families in the fields during the summer month. Even though only a small percentage of jobs remain agricultural, most schools still adopt it. Or, another example, global climate change has become a pressing concern. Scientists overwhelmingly point to the role carbon MATERIAL CULTURE Because we lack complex instincts that determine our behavior, we must establish a relationship to the natural world in order to survive. We do so by constructing material culture, our physical modification of the natural environment to suit our purposes. Material culture includes the clothes we wear, the books we read, the chairs we sit in, the carpets we walk on, the lights we use, the buildings we live in, the cars we drive, the roads we drive on, and so much more. When such objects become part of our lives, we often take them for granted, thinking of them as just natural. Take cell phones, for example. Back in 1985 there were only 340,213 total cell phone subscribers in the United States. By the end of 2013, that number exceeded 335 million (CTIA 2014). What was once a luxury item for elites has become something that many of us can’t imagine living without. Material culture exists because we as human beings have the innovative capacity to modify our world. The most common term we use to refer to material culture is technology. Technology is a form of culture in which humans modify the natural environment to meet particular wants and needs. It includes not only high-tech items such as computers, cars, and cell phones, but low-tech items including spoons, paper, and chalk. Technology enhances our human abilities, giving us powers we often associate with superheroes, including X-ray vision, healing powers, flight, and more. A pivotal moment in the development of such power was the invention of the steam engine during the Industrial Revolution. It provided us with historically unprecedented strength and stamina—the ability to lift and move extremely heavy objects and to do so over sustained periods of time. It made modern coal mining practical, provided manufacturing machinery with the power needed for early factories, and powered early tractors and locomotives, setting the stage for modern global mobility (Rosen 2010). . . . The United States Patent and Trademark Office issued 287,831 patents in 2013 and has approved over 8 million since the United States began issuing patents in 1790.
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