Some Thoughts on Technology and The Absurd

In the Myth of Sisyphus Albert Camus describes the absurd as human beings’ desire for meaning and the lack thereof in the (material) world. He identifies this gap as the cause of human frustrations. I couldn’t stop but think about technology.

Technology enables us to understand and manipulate our environment beyond our genetic predisposition. It is an extension to our rather limited human hard- and software. Ultimately we hope to translate our ideas seamlessly into reality. Think and it exists. The only limits are the laws of nature.

One can easily see the connection here. Through technology we are closing the distance between our sense of meaning and the shape of reality. Or in a more poetic way, we are trying to make „the unreasonable silence of the world“ finally sing to our own tune. From this perspective our attachment to technology goes beyond „just“ comfort and economic development. It is more deeply rooted in a basic human struggle.

You can hear this tune left and right. Words like „purpose“, „passion“, „fulfillment“ rarely fall of the lips of entrepreneurs. It’s quite a joyful song. And by no means have we climbed high enough already to worry, whether this rock will ultimately roll over. I am thinking about climbing along.