Technological Change is Ecological

Technological change is not simply additive or subtractive, but rather ecological, meaning that one significant change can generate total change. The speaker highlights how embracing the logic of machines can lead humans to become tools of their tools, referencing Thoreau's perspective. The real-life postman exemplifies this concept by shunning digital tools and dwelling in an analog world that is fading away. He tends to look back wistfully at technological revolutions, sometimes causing blind spots in his analysis. The postman emphasizes the unpredictability of innovation's effects, such as the unintended consequences of the printing press in disrupting Western Christendom's unity.