It’s interesting to me that we discussed the beginnings of the internet in class this week, as it is something I have never put any thought into. This is probably because myself, and I’m sure many in my generation, take for granted modern technology. It’s something we use on such a regular basis that we become desensitized to the amazing things we can do with our computers, phones, recording software, etc. I have never tried to learn anything about how the internet came to be until this class, so you can imagine it was very interesting to find that the first purpose was for scientists doing defense work to be able to communicate with one another. I never would have expected military reasons to be why the internet started but all in all, it makes perfect sense since communication turned to be much faster.
Another part from this week I find interesting is how countries can make such technological strides when it comes to war. From analog machines pinpointing targets to bomb, to the United States’ citizens banding together to work directly or indirectly for the war, it seems interesting and strange how war creates such a push for more modern or better technology. Something about political tension and countries fighting each other bringing about world change is a very curious topic, yet it’s also a point that is to be expected. Just as was discussed about the Cold War during class, the competition between two countries drove major advancements in society. Soldiers were no longer expected to just be soldiers. The GI bill came into effect and pushed soldiers to fight in the war and then return home to get an education and beat Russia on the intellectual front. Again, I find it very curious and interesting how competitive countries can be when there is political tension, which ends up pushing countries to strive to be better than each other in all aspects.