Creative Writing Question-Technology Elimination
Background
Innovation is all around us and those living 30, 50, or 100 years ago would consider our world
highly convenient (and confusing). However, sometimes we take for granted the history of
innovation and how the objects around us came to be. Even more so, we don’t appreciate what
the world would be like without those innovations as we consider them commonplace – in fact,
an extension of us.
Assignment
Consider an object that you use in your everyday life – every minute, once an hour, or several
times per day. This object can be as technologically simple or complex as you want (but make it
interesting). For a period of time that is relevant – eliminate that object from your life and the
world as if it had never been invented.
For example, consider eliminating the use of a knife. Eliminate it from your use and the world
(meaning: you can’t slide your vegetables when you’re cooking, but you also can’t buy slices
bread because a knife hasn’t been invented).
A significant period of time would be relevant to how often you use the object – so if you
eliminate the use of a knife for a few days, that’s likely sufficient to reflect on what it would be
like if a knife had never been invented. If you are considering a washing machine (you probably
don’t wash your clothes daily), you’ll likely need a longer period to reflect on the difference. Set
your planned time in advance of the starting and see how close you come to reaching it.
(P.S. this is not a challenge to see how long you can go without washing your clothes – your
classmates and profs might not appreciate that after a while…just long enough to reflect on the
difference of having or not having that innovation).
Reflection Report (read in detail before you start your elimination)
Before you start your elimination project (this will become the first part of your reflection
submission):
1. Research and describe the technology, its uses in today’s society, how you will eliminate
it from your life, and for how long considering how often you use this technology. Identify what
your challenges might be and why you might not success.
2. Create a mindmap that addresses the following questions as part of your planning. You
don’t need to describe the mindmap in detail but include it in your submission. For this portion of
the assignment, you are welcome to collaborate with your peers to help you expand on your
mindmap. 1. Where is the technology used today? (think beyond the basic uses)
2. How do you use the technology?
3. What aspects of the technology will you eliminate and for how long?
Once you have completed your elimination (take notes and pictures throughout the
experience which you can review when writing your reflection or include as visual aids):
3. Post-elimination reflection describing your experience and the connection to greater
societal impacts (be mindful that this is not solely a recount of what you did, I’m looking for you
to understand and appreciate the impact of the technology on society).
Answer preview:
word limit:1488