Summary

In Chapter 3, called “Tools of the Mind,” Carr reflects on how peoples’ intellectual maturation is demonstrated through the way they draw pictures and maps. He uses the history of cartography and then the development of clocks to show how these technologies changed the way people thought about space and time. He views new technology as tools that allow people to gain more power and control over the situations surrounding their lives. He discusses the intellectual ethics of a technology, which is often a subconscious byproduct of the inventor’s intent that ends up impacting the user.

Carr reflects on the debate about technology’s role in shaping society. One view is that of technological determinism, in which technology is a force that shapes the course of history and is outside people’s control. The opposing view is that of instrumentalists, who view technology...