human culture

At what point do we cease to claim that we are part of human culture? And how do we restore the humanity to our daily lives? Are we now living in a machine culture? One in which our mechanics have eclipsed our humanity? Consider the following:

"We live in a machine culture; in our daily lives, we are more and more surrounded by and interfaced with machines.  We are no longer, like our ancestors, simply supplied by machines; we live in and through them. From our workplaces to our errands about town to our leisure time at home, human experience is to an unprecedented extent the experience of being interfaced with the machine, of imbibing its logic, of being surrounded by it and seeking it out..." – Phoebe Sengers.

The bigger and more powerful the machine, the less it lies within our control, and as the machine slides from our control (we are losing our grip), the less human and humane the outcome.

When education is no longer hands-on, and thus no longer relevant to students' live, students have little to grasp. When the hands-on exploration of materials through crafts, and further extensions of hands-on learning through scientific experimentation are removed from schooling, we construct a disconnect between the layman and the scientist, allowing political forces to manipulate public opinion to conform to evil machinations. We've become wired for direct manipulation.

What we see in the political community these days is the result of an educational intent expressed in the design of our institutions: Use schooling to shape students to become blind consumers who can be manipulated to do as told by a ruling class that cares little or nothing for the planet nor for the health of its creatures.

And so the question lingers, "How do we restore human culture?" I think there's a simple path forward. Make a direct study of the past and of simpler times. Then:

Make, fix, create, and assist others in learning likewise.