Focus on sociosphere-technosphere category

      This model is simple. I trust you will find it deceptively simple and not simply simple-minded. Simplicity is a prerequisite for clarity. There is considerable evidence that the optimal number of categories for human understanding is seven, as in this model [2]. The diagram permits you to grasp the triad of categories and their four interrelationships in one eye gulp.

      The ecosphere conforms to the laws of the natural sciences. the sociosphere to the laws of the social sciences, and the technosphere to the laws of the sciences of the artificial [3]. Traditionally, if the person in the center were a natural scientist (physicist, biologist, etc.), he/she looked out over the ecosphere; if the person were a social scientist (political scientist, economist, etc.), he/she looked out over the sociosphere; if the person were a technologist (engineer, architect. etc.), he/she looked out over the technosphere.

      One encouraging sign of the recent times is that we are beginning to go beyond those specialized views and look at the overlaps among those spheres. Technology assessment studies have looked at the overlap of the exosphere and the technosphere, social impact studies are now looking at the overlap of the technosphere and the sociosphere, and sociobiologists are beginning to look at the relationship between the sociosphere and the exosphere.

      Our focus here is, of course, on the relationship between the technosphere and the sociosphere. This relationship, of course, goes two ways. The emphasis is on the impact of the technosphere on the sociosphere (social impact) but there is some consideration, one hopes, of the impact of the sociosphere on the technosphere (public policy with respect to technology).

      The natural sciences, the social sciences, and, to a lesser extent, the sciences of the artificial," which focus, respectively, on the ecosphere, sociosphere, and technosphere, have a well-articulated set of methodologies. However, those of us who have recently begun to look at the overlaps between those spheres, do not yet have such a body of expertise [4].