From Bows to Bots: How Humans Invent Technology, and How it Reinvents Us
PSY 1040
Subject & Catalog Number
Course Information
Description
Humans are technological animals. Our species has invented agriculture, the compass, digital computers, large language models, and the selfie stick. This course traces the evolution and impact of these technological inventions, from the earliest wooden bows to the latest large language models. Half of the lectures will treat technology as the effect. We will explore how the human mind made our species into such prolific inventors, and how society amplified our inventive capacities. The other half will treat technology as the cause. We will explore how inventions ranging from food storage to feed-ranking algorithms changed how people think and interact. Grounded in social and cultural psychology, with insights from anthropology, sociology, and computer science, the course follows a key theme: technologies can evolve like living species, and in turn, they shape the evolution of human cognition and culture. By the end of the course, you will understand how language, learning, and institutions paved the way for a world of search engines and air travel—and how that world, in turn, reinvented us.
Recommended Prep
The Psychology Department requires completion of Science of Living Systems 20 or Psychology 1 or the equivalent of introductory psychology (e.g. Psych AP=5 or IB =7 or Psyc S-1) and at least one foundational course from MCB/NEURO 80, PSY 11, PSY 14, PSY 15, PSY 16, or PSY 18 before enrolling in this course; or permission of instructor.
Available for Harvard Cross Registration
NOTE: This course requires additional sections; you will be prompted to choose secondary components during the Add to Cart process
