House Professor Garrick Blalock led an interesting an interesting discussion in the Rose Cafe about the adoption of new technologies and tools in today’s world. He began by asking us about our beliefs regarding global warming and whether human beings contribute immensely to this unfortunate phenomenon. Everyone in the room recognized that human beings play an immense role in causing global warming, yet when asked how many of us actually drive a Prius to be environmentally friendly, only a couple people indicated that they own one. The professor then focused on this seeming discrepancy, and students provided a range of justifications, such as the lack of style and social status associated with driving a Prius and also the fact that an individual’s actions in all likelihood would lead to practically zero difference. He then discussed how one of his research projects was centered around the adoption of new technologies and tools in Africa. Specifically, one incredibly problematic aspect of life in many villages is the use of what as known as a three-stone cook stove, which releases a profuse amount of smoke and thus causes a lot of health and lung problems for humans who operate them. The professor discussed how his team sought to introduce a safer and healthier cooking stove through various means such as demonstrations and various trial periods, but in the end, the adoption and usage rate was close to 0 percent.

I think the discussion definitely revealed that human beings are creatures for whom change can be tremendously difficult. Even if the proposed change seems highly beneficial and reasonable, for one reason or another, we often times do not accept it. In some cases, it could perhaps be a result of the presentation of the proposed change, although the various mechanisms and presentation formats that Professor Blalock and his team utilized to introduce the new cooking stove seem to suggest otherwise. Indeed, I suppose that all human beings possess some type of innate stubbornness that makes accepting change difficult.