Editing Science and technology studies (section)

===Legacy thinking===

Legacy thinking is defined as an inherited method of thinking imposed from an external source without objection by the individual because it is already widely accepted by society.

Legacy thinking can impair the ability to drive technology for the betterment of society by blinding people to innovations that do not fit into their accepted model of how society works.  By accepting ideas without questioning them, people often see all solutions that contradict these accepted ideas as impossible or impractical.  Legacy thinking tends to advantage the wealthy, who have the means to project their ideas on the public.  It may be used by the wealthy as a vehicle to drive technology in their favor rather than for the greater good.
Examining the role of citizen participation and representation in politics provides an excellent example of legacy thinking in society. The belief that one can spend money freely to gain influence has been popularized, leading to public acceptance of corporate [[lobbying]]. As a result, a self-established role in politics has been cemented where the public does not exercise the power ensured to them by the Constitution to the fullest extent. This can become a barrier to political progress as corporations who have the capital to spend have the potential to wield great influence over policy.<ref>, Allison, Bill, and Sarah Harkins. "Fixed Fortunes: Biggest Corporate Political Interests Spend Billions, Get Trillions." Sunlight Foundation Blog. Sunlight Foundation, 17 Nov. 2014. Web. 21 Apr. 2015.</ref> Legacy thinking, however, keeps the population from acting to change this, despite polls from Harris Interactive that report over 80% of Americans to feel that big business holds too much power in government.<ref>, Corso, Regina, SVP. "PACs, Big Companies, Lobbyists, and Banks and Financial Institutions Seen by Strong Majorities as Having Too Much Power and Influence in DC." Harris Interactive: Harris Polls. Harris Interactive, 29 May 2012. Web. 21 Apr. 2015</ref> Therefore, Americans are beginning to try to steer away from this line of thought, rejecting legacy thinking, and demanding less corporate, and more public, participation in political decision-making.

Additionally, an examination of [[net neutrality]] functions as a separate example of legacy thinking. Starting with [[dial-up]], the internet has always been viewed as a private luxury good.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Is the Internet Becoming a Luxury? {{!}} SSTI |url=https://ssti.org/blog/internet-becoming-luxury |access-date=2024-03-17 |website=ssti.org |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Molla |first=Rani |date=2021-06-03 |title=Good internet service is still a luxury in the US |url=https://www.vox.com/recode/22463131/pew-broadband-internet-income-inequality |access-date=2024-03-17 |website=Vox |language=en}}</ref> Internet today is a vital part of modern-day society members. They use it in and out of life every day.<ref name="Net Neutrality 2015">"Net Neutrality: A Free and Open Internet." The White House. The White House, 26 Feb. 2015. Web. 21 Apr. 2015.</ref> Corporations are able to mislabel and greatly overcharge for their internet resources. Since the American public is so dependent upon the internet there is little for them to do. Legacy thinking has kept this pattern on track despite growing movements arguing that the internet should be considered a <!--which kind? - human right/..?-->utility. Legacy thinking prevents progress because it was widely accepted by others before us through advertising that the internet is a luxury and not a <!--basic?--> utility. Due to pressure from grassroots movements the [[Federal Communications Commission]] (FCC) has redefined the requirements for broadband and internet in general as a utility.<ref name="Net Neutrality 2015"/> Now AT&T and other major internet providers are lobbying against this action and are in large able to delay the onset of this movement due to legacy thinking's grip on American{{Specify |reason=This article & legacy thinking relates to the global population not just the American |date=January 2020}} culture and politics.

For example, those who cannot overcome the barrier of legacy thinking may not consider the [[water privatization|privatization of clean drinking water]] as an issue.<ref>Flow. Oscilloscope Pictures, 2008. DVD.</ref> This is partial because access to water has become such a given fact of the matter to them. For a person living in such circumstances, it may be widely accepted to not concern themselves with drinking water because they have not needed to be concerned with it in the past. Additionally, a person living within an area that does not need to worry about their water supply or the sanitation of their water supply is less likely to be concerned with the privatization of water.

This notion can be examined through the thought experiment of "[[veil of ignorance]]".<ref>Woodhouse, Edward. Science Technology and Society. Spring 2015 ed. N.p.: U Readers, 2014. Print.</ref> Legacy thinking causes people to be particularly ignorant about the implications behind the "you get what you pay for" mentality applied to a life necessity. By utilizing the "veil of ignorance", one can overcome the barrier of legacy thinking as it requires a person to imagine that they are unaware of their own circumstances, allowing them to free themselves from externally imposed thoughts or widely accepted ideas.

====Related concepts====

* [[Technoscience]]<ref name="Woodhouse, 2013" /> – The perception that science and technology are intertwined and depend on each other.
* Technosociety<ref name="Technosociety, n.d.">Technosociety dictionary definition | technosociety defined. (n.d.). Retrieved March 20, 2015, from __http://www.yourdictionary.com/technosociety__</ref> –  An industrially developed society with a reliance on technology.
* Technological utopianism – A positive outlook on the effect technology has on social welfare. Includes the perception that technology will one day enable society to reach a utopian state.
* Technosocial systems<ref name="Woodhouse, 2004">"Design by Society: Science and Technology Studies and the Social Shaping of Design", Edward Woodhouse and Jason W. Patton, Design Issues, Volume 20, Number 3 Summer 2004.</ref> – people and technologies that combine to work as heterogeneous but functional wholes.
* Critical Technical Practice<ref name="Agre, 1997">"Toward a Critical Technical Practice:
Lessons Learned in Trying to Reform AI", Philip E. Agre, in Bridging the Great Divide: Social Science, Technical Systems, and Cooperative Work, Geoff Bowker, Les Gasser, Leigh Star, and Bill Turner, eds, Erlbaum, 1997</ref> – the practice of technological creation while simultaneously critiquing and maintaining awareness of the inherent biases and value systems which become embedded in those technologies.

====Classifications====

* [[Technological optimism]]<ref name="Hochschild, 2012">Hochschild, J., Crabill, A., & Sen, M. (2012, December 1). Technology Optimism or Pessimism: How Trust in Science Shapes Policy Attitudes toward Genomic Science. Retrieved March 20, 2015, from http://scholar.harvard.edu/files/msen/files/hochschild_crabill_sen.pdf</ref> – The opinion that technology has positive effects on society and should be used in order to improve the welfare of people.
* [[Dystopia#Science and technology|Technological pessimism]]<ref name="Hochschild, 2012"/> – The opinion that technology has negative effects on society and should be discouraged from use.
* Technological neutrality<ref name="Woodhouse, 2004"/> – "maintains that a given technology has no systematic effects on society: individuals are perceived as ultimately responsible, for better or worse, because technologies are merely tools people use for their own ends."
* [[Technological determinism]]<ref name="Woodhouse, 2004"/> – "maintains that technologies are understood as simply and directly causing particular societal outcomes."
* [[Scientism]]<ref name="Kleinman, 2005">Kleinman, D. (2005). Science is Political/Technology is Social: Concerns, Concepts, and Questions. Maryland: Blackwell.</ref> – The belief in the total separation of facts and values.
* Technological progressivism<ref name="Kleinman, 2005"/> – technology is a means to an end itself and an inherently positive pursuit.