face questions and fears such as this when we use technology. These fears will, no doubt, not stop our efforts to make our lives easier and more comfortable because, technology brings us added comfort. Whether it is comfort in our homes or the comfort of knowing that we will not die if we get break a bone, we design most things with comfort as our ultimate goal. Regarding this issue Ms. Rodriguez noted, ?Why would we develop something that make our lives harder??. She is right, why would we, were is the survival advantage? Human nature drives us to find ways to make our lives easier, that is part of what makes us human. However, some argue that the technology we design has a serious down side: stress.Has technology really added stress to our lives? I believe that it changed the nature of the stress. Instead of worrying about cave lions and wolves, we worry about traffic on the beltway and, how much money we have. For the most part, life threatening situations do not cause most of our stress. Instead we have lower level stresses that last longer. Stress in both forms leads to serious health problems.Let?s say that you are walking in the woods. Suddenly you spot a very large bear. Your pulse quickens, pupils dilate, you start to sweat, your body releases adrenaline, and your digestion stops: this is stress. Your body prepares you to fight or to run. Then you see that the bear is walking away from you. You relax a little, but your body remains active, your immune system is suppressed, fat is converted to fuel, and cortisol is released. Cortisol regulates your metabolism and immunity but it is toxic over time. All this is the normal bodily response to something stressful. Now let?s say that you are driving to work and you get stuck in a traffic jam. This is another stressful situation and your body reacts much the same way as if you had just seen a bear. Today, traffic jams occur more often then bears in the woods, traf...
