IVIV (12): 195-197

[Tore Rye Andersen]

Mark:
 
> When machines are not so bad, as in these examples, workers 
> lose even their dehumanizong work.
 
Yes they do, and that is why Mason rightly rages against the mills.
But something good also occasionally comes of the introduction of 
those mills, and Pynchon presents both sides. I wouldn't necessarily
say that he presents a "balanced" view - I agree that technology on
the whole tends to be presented in a bad light - but he does show
us that the issue isn't completely one-sided.
 
Think also of the whole Longitude-issue in M&D, the war between
Lunars and advocates of Harrison's clock. In the end, of course,
Harrison wins out, and Maskelyne, while personally invested in
the Lunar-school, recognizes the advantages of technology in this
matter as well: 
 
"the method of Lunars being by no means universally lov'd, its
tediousness indeed often resented, and not only by Midshipmen 
trying to learn it,-- many wish'd for a faster way, willing to
cede to Machinery a form of Human Effort they could've done
without." (731) 		 	   		  
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