Writing Assignment 1

Q1: One of the sub-challenges listed in [1] was overcoming people’s “resistance to new ways of doing things.” Understanding the reasons for resistance will very likely help engineers overcome it. Briefly explain why you think people resist new technology.

One of the main reasons that people resist new technologies is that they fear the “potential risk” of new technologies. “Potential risk” refers to the future danger or side-effects of a new technology. Public need time to accept a new technology. Moreover, to the public, a successful general application is also a basic element of a successful technology. People cannot forecast the future risk of using a new technology, so it usually takes a period of time for people to accept it. For instance, genetically-modified (GM) food has become a main source of food; however, some people still refuse to eat it. Conventional food is more acceptable for these people. One reason may be that our ancestors have eaten conventional food for centuries. People who consume GM food are alive and healthy now. But the people who resist GM food are worried about what will happen in the future. Therefore, people resist GM food technology because they fear its future risk. Moreover, a new technology needs to be used successfully by many people for it to be easily accepted by the public. For example, when the computer was invented in 1946, few people or companies wanted to buy it because people were concerned about the possible low reward for their investment in this new technology. With the development of technology, computers are now more have an increasingly wide application in all fields. Since computers have been accepted by the public and have become an irreplaceable part of our daily life. In conclusion, many people resist new technologies because they are concerned their potential risk. A new technology needs to be widely applied so that it would be more easily accept by the public.