The Cellular Device: Stewart Brand's Perspective

As anyone who reads the first few chapters of Whole Earth Discipline will discover, Stewart Brand’s perception of the potentially positive impact of technology contrasts with Borgmann’s notion of the Device Paradigm’s devastating effects on ‘focal practices’ and the natural world. One of Brand’s most interesting claims so far is that cell phones prove to be advantageous to the quality of human life. For instance, he notes that cell phones and text messaging are promoting the spread of literacy in developing countries, functioning as “offices” or “middlemen” in small businesses, and “allow[ing] people to be able to own themselves” (Brand 51).

Because I have always seen our current dependence on the cellular device as a predominantly negative attribute, this passage in the text made me stop to consider all of the positive elements of the cell phone. First of all, the capabilities of the cell phone are beginning to be utilized in the classroom. Teachers use it as a time keeper and as a method to let the students know when class is cancelled. In my German class, the cell phone is even part of the curriculum; for homework and in-class assignments, students can call a number that records them as they recite a story in German, which the teacher will later listen to and grade. On a social level, cell phones also allow people to quickly and easily make plans and thus, save time and prevent stress in the midst of chaotic daily routines. Furthermore, cell phones allow distant friends and family to communicate with each other during business trips, academic programs, and vacations at fairly reasonable prices. Finally, cell phones permit prompt emergency phone calls after accidents and encounters with criminals or rapists. Although cell phones offer little physical defense against guns, knives, and brute strength, I always have my cell phone out and open in situations where I am alone and feel threatened by the people in my surroundings; it is the only weapon I have on hand that could potentially deter assault in the sense that it connects me to others who would be able to hear any screams of distress and offer quick assistance.

In light of the fact that the cell phone is transforming academic and work environments throughout the vast global community, perhaps it is possible that the innovation of the cell phone is “as big as fire, the wheel, and the railway” (Brand 51).