Enchantment and Cursed Swords

How exactly does technology shape the world and people's perceptions? Philosopher Don Ihde gives a good foundational explanation for how people relate to technology and how technosystems function, but he misses some key aspects of a technology's ability to shape reality. The real question then is: What if technology has more causal power than most people want to admit? Answering this question is difficult. Looking at past societies, one type of object stands out as elucidating the question of technological causation: enchanted objects. Clearly, people do not want to say that technology is identical to a cursed sword, for example. Yet this category helps further clarify the way a technological object can pull users into its locus of power. People's views of both the world and themselves are changed through their use of technology. Moreover, technology has, in many ways, changed the world they live within. It is consequently valuable to see exactly how strong a technology's influence can be.