A Discourse on Methods
Alan H. Schoenfeld · Journal for Research in Mathematics Education · 1994
It is widely accepted that cultures are reflected by, and are reflections of, their technologies, and also that changes in technology may both reflect and catalyze significant changes in the societies that employ them. Perhaps the generic case in point is agriculture, where advances in crop cultivation led to fundamental changes in the organization of society. Crop cultivation “encouraged settlement of stable farm communities, some of which grew to be towns and city states. … Early agricultural implements—the digging stick, the scythe, the hoe, and the plow—developed slowly over the centuries, each innovation … causing profound changes in human life.” (Bridgwater & Kurtz, 1963, p. 29.) Similar effects can be traced to the current era: The existence of techniques for mass agricultural production is a necessary condition for the existence of a highly urbanized society, as well as a contributor to the decrease in the percentage of the farming population, and the kind of life associated with it.