Technology
Technological Determinism vs. Social Shaping of Technology
Quick fact
The QWERTY keyboard layout was designed to prevent typewriter jams, but it persists today even though it is slower than the Dvorak layout—a classic example of social forces, not technical superiority, dictating technology's fate.
Why this is interesting
You've probably heard that the internet makes us smarter or that smartphones make us lonely. But is technology really the boss of us, or do we decide what it becomes?