Scholars who study the history of communications technologies or
media include historians of technology and of literacy,
sociologists, economists, political scientists, anthropologists
and technologists such as computer scientists. A central
controversy concerns how far technology does or does not
condition social change. Each commentator emphasizes different
factors in technological change. No neat explanation is adequate
and rigorous proof is difficult if not impossible. In this kind
of arena it is wise to beware of generalizing too widely. In
particular, it helps to be aware of the nature and pitfalls of a
very persuasive stance known as technological determinism (or
occasionally 'media determinism'). This is still the most
popular and influential theory of the relationship between
technology and society, but it has been increasingly subject to
critical review by scholars in recent times. Students need to be
aware that the term 'deterministic' tends to be a negative one
for many social scientists, and mode