From Ralph Waldo Emerson's poem, we can say that he definitely believes that technology has a major control on us.The poem or the extract starts on the lines of technology in a position of control and power.This technology rides the mankind-- controls the way things are done.The second paragraph tells that technology(which is referred to as thing in the passage)is useful and helps us in the day-to-day activities.It makes itself the king above all.

David E. Nye presents various examples in this essay which are quoted by many famous historians or critiques or just writers. If one has to compare both the given passage and Nye's essay, there would not be a single word that could describe the relation between them. There are examples in the essay which go with the given passage.However,there are situations in the book where the given passage by Emerson is proved wrong.But overall, the arguments that Nye presents refutes the given statement "Things are in the saddle/And ride mankind".

This is clear when we start looking at all the examples.For example, 'guns' were a form of technology that were introduced to the Japanese in the sixteenth century. No society could resist them as they proved to be more powerful than the bow and the sword.Yet, the Japanese government,after a while, rejected the production and the use of guns.Soon, the gun disappeared.Another example of this sort is the rejection of home telephones and automobiles by the Mennonites and the Amish in the United States.These two examples show that we are the ones controlling technology by making choices.The above mentioned examples are completely against what is mentioned in the passage.In the book, it also says that people,sometimes, take up the technical choices made for them by their ancestors.For example, during the last 150 years , many societies have adopted electric light or central heating and made them a part of their day-to-day lives. This might seem like technology's control over us but it isn't. It is just that people of later generations are trapped by the choices made by previous generations/ancestors.There are examples in the book which show that technology has a bad impact.Machine was neutral but it was because of it's misuse that led to it's bad impact on the society. "Mechanization led to worker exploitation, social inequality, class warfare , social collapse", as stated from the book tells us this. Finally there was revolution.Even here, it is we who chose this . Therefore, we cannot quite say technology(here machines) took over the whole society.There are some instances where cultures shaped the events that happened in a society more than the technologies shaping them.

According to me, it is "WE" who control technology.Technology, in the first place , is something invented or discovered by us.It can only gain popularity if we use it.In the other words, technology depends on us for it's survival.The moment we reject some kind of technology in the society, it is nowhere to been later on in that society.Technologies are shaped by social conditions, traditions,attitudes of the people, etc.A piece of technology may have different meanings or impacts in different places.For example, in one part of the world, television is viewed as strengthening fundamentalism as it gave women an outside view of the world.But, in another part of the world, it is just mainly meant for entertainment purposes and not education. The difference in accepting/viewing a technology differently is because of the cultural choices made by us.Technology can never be a force.It purely depends on us whether we have to accept it or reject it. It also depends upon the usefulness, pros and cons of that particular tool or machinery. For example, after the invention of the wheel, maintaining roads and taking care of horses and oxen was very expensive.Therefore, some places like North Africa preferred transport of goods by camel as it was much more convenient.This shows that we have higher power in controlling the technology.Sometimes, technology makes our lives so comfortable that we are not ready to reject it from the society.Here, we have a choice -- to accept or reject. Technology can be avoided too.These choices are made us and technology doesn't force itself upon us.For example, the use of computers has caused eyestrain, back problems and many more things. We have a choice to reject them but we don't because they make our lives much more easier and less complicated. We chose to make our life convenient and the computers did not choose us. It is our choices that shape various technological forms.We control even the most powerful form of technology.The moment we say "NO", everything that has to end will end.At every instance, we have two options.One leads us to the right path and the other to the wrong one.It is upto us to make the right choice.The choice here is to choose the right kind of technology which proves it's usefulness not only in the beginning but also throughout generations together.This is being done by us every minute of the day -- making choices. This is how it is us who have control over the technology.Those who are under the belief that technology controls us are blinded by the fact that man is superior to technology as he is the reason it exists in this present world and that only he can tame it the way he wants to.