IEEE Technology and Society Magazine - September 2015 - 88

Last Word
Christine Perakslis

Technological Expeditions
and Cognitive Indolence
he Greely Expedition
of 1881 is a harrowing tale of starvation
and the death of all
but six of the crew
who embarked on an exploration
of the Canadian Arctic. Historians
and anthropologists identify poor
decision-making as a central component of the tragic outcomes.
In one monumental decision that
seemed to lack well-thought, reasoned judgment, Lieutenant Greely ordered his troops from Fort
Conger to Camp Sabine. Greely's
men deemed the move insane
and foolish. Fort Conger afforded
them all they needed to survive
for years: plenteous game, and
warm, safe shelter. Yet Greely was
determined to obey orders transcribed by superiors who lacked
comprehension of the emerging
context. Greely's decision would
prove disastrous. Camp Sabine
was a barren wasteland without
purpose, provision, or protection
to sustain the life of those now
utterly depleted and demoralized by

Digital Object Identifier 10.1109/MTS.2015.2461195
Date of publication: 16 September 2015

the perilous transfer. Greely erroneously took his orders "to-the-letter,"
rather than balancing and synthesizing multifaceted elements of
the context [1].
College students often graduate without apt complex-reasoning
skills. When I present dilemmas with
which my students must grapple, I
often observe disproportionate frustration if I will not resolve dilemmas,
or when I deem dualism (it's either
right or wrong) as inadequate. The
literature supports my anecdotal
experience; this generation seeks
to have dilemmas resolved by an
external societal force rather than
by contending with quandaries and
crafting resolutions on their own [2].
Technology that enhances decisionmaking should be applauded; there
are advantageous social implications. Perhaps Greely would have
averted tragedy by using predictive
analytics. Yet, a cognitive foundation should be laid and well-developed within humans to cultivate the
art of self-guided, self-disciplined,
self-monitored, and self-corrective
thinking. With such underpinnings,
dualism will give way to an internal
processing system of "constructed
knowledge" (what's right is contin-

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gent upon varied, multidimensional factors and certain choices are
better) [3]. As technology delivers
more and more algorithms and
analytics to inform decisions, will
we impede the development of
critical reasoning? Could we create a culture of Greely-like thinking
in which computer-generated guidance is unquestioningly obeyed by
those lacking higher-order thinking? Perhaps we should pursue balance, leveraging technology while
also designing safeguards to prevent cognitive indolence.

Author Information
Christine Perakslis is Associate Professor in the MBA Program, College
of Management, Johnson & Wales
University, Providence, RI. Email:
christine.perakslis@jwu.edu.

References

[1] R.D. Rapley, American Experience: The
Greely expedition. [Motion picture]. United
States: Apograph Productions Inc., 2011.
[2] The Futures Company, Millenials
Ahead, 2009 [Online]. Available from: http://
www.lifebenefits.com/lb/pdfs/Millennials_
Ahead_Report.pdf.
[3] W.G. Perry, Forms of Intellectual and
Ethical Development in the College
Years: A Scheme. San Francisco, CA:
Jossey-Bass, 1999.

∕

september 2015

http://http:// http://www.lifebenefits.com/lb/pdfs/Millennials_

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of IEEE Technology and Society Magazine - September 2015