Electronics and Progress.

When I was having trouble with my car – a modern car run by electronics – it went through computer diagnostic check after computer diagnostic check over a twelve month period. I’ve forgotten how many new components they fitted, but the problem was still there. Both mechanics I spoke to said that since the inception of electronic control, cars have become more prone to problems, they’re more difficult to diagnose and more expensive to fix. They said that often it’s a case of finding something that’s apparently malfunctioning, and then replacing a component in the hope that it will cure the condition. To put it simply, electronics have introduced an air of mystery to the business of diagnosis and cure, so it’s often a case of shrugging the shoulders and hoping. The customer, of course, pays for all the failed attempts.

So it seems to be with computers, which have always been electronic by their very nature. My computer has been through expert diagnosis, which found the hard drive to be faulty. So they replaced the hard drive and re-installed everything, but the problem is still there.

Until very recently, technology consisted of physical components run on power generated by physical or electrical means. Everything was traceable and understandable. The process of repair had a simple certainty about it. We didn’t have the facilities we have now, but we didn’t have the dysfunctionality either.

It makes you wonder whether we’re trying to be too clever, overreaching ourselves and creating an infrastructure we don’t fully understand. I suppose that’s progress of a sort.