I’d like to propose that when we apply theories we do it so that something will change.
Remembering the previous section on Systems Theory, the building of the Pyramids not only changed the physical landscape of ancient Egypt, it also changed people’s image of, and attitude to their rulers, (the Pharaohs).
The Pharaohs’ theory undoubtedly was, if we build these ostentatious buildings, the ordinary people will be in awe of us. As a result we will be able to influence them.
Imagine the effect of these enormous buildings, which were (to the best of my knowledge – because I watched some of those programmes about King Tut – tombs for the Pharaohs) on society at that time. The Pyramids (like, I suppose, royal palaces like Buckingham Palace in the modern world) bolstered the image of the ruling families so that the people in their countries would perceive themselves more as subjects rather than citizens with human rights.
In this respect such buildings were (and are) symbols of power, wealth, status, and above all superiority. It has always fascinated me how Imperial powers (I’ll give them a capital ‘I’ since they were so influential in our world) in addition to the ownership of vast amounts of space worldwide, managed to take ownership of time also, using the names of former kings, queens, emperors, dynastic families etc. to describe time intervals.
In our part of the world these names are Georgian, Elizabethan, Victorian, etc. I don’t know enough about other parts of the world to see if they have equivalent names for eras – though I would suspect that the French might describe a certain time period as Napoleonic, and long Chinese periods are named after whatever dynasty was in power at that time. (These themes were dealt with in more detail on the Chapter on Power and Control in Society).
Getting away from Pharaohs and Kings and ostentatious buildings, consider how the humble laptop, tablet, smart-phone etc. – have all changed the world.
The initial makers of, for example, mobile phones, had a theory that if communication was made easier people would buy large quantities of their products thereby making vast profits from them – because they knew that humans seem to have an insatiable desire to communicate with each other.
And they were right!
They have brought about global connection that would have been unimaginable even a few decades ago, but they also have caused increased isolation and, indeed, unexpected marginalisation that would have been undreamed-of in previous decades.
For example, the increase in electronic type communication means that hardly anyone writes letters anymore. Thus the viability of rural Post Offices is under threat. With closure of rural Post Offices elderly people living in rural areas that do not drive and have no access to cars may become marginalised. This marginalisation is indirectly caused by almost everyone owning laptops, smart phones, tablets etc.
(This is all very systemic – as I am sure you know – if you have read the Chapter on Systems Theory).
And in the early 2000’s a laptop may have been a symbol of technical knowledge or perhaps yuppie type aspirations but – like the motor car in the second half of the 20th Century – laptops (not to mention tablets and smartphones) are so commonplace nowadays that they do not have that image anymore.
I could give numerous examples of how humans applied theories of the physical world to construct items large and small, (from the Pyramids to the smart-phone), and, in tandem, theories of human behaviour to effect change that they intended and/or desired from that which has been constructed.
Applications of theories change both how we perceive the world and live our lives, (and, indeed, our society at large) but what I think is important is that, after a while getting used to them, we don’t really think about the changes that much, we generally take them for granted – high impact-low noticeability again)!