Do inventions shape history, or does history shape inventions?

Scholars disagree. Technological determinism is the approach that identifies technology as the central causal element in social change. Its opposite, the social construction of technology, argues that technology does not determine human action; rather, human action shapes technology.

The determinist side has big names. Thorstein Veblen portrayed technology as a powerful, autonomous force capable of shaping societal norms and structures. Some read Karl Marx as a determinist for the line "The Handmill gives you society with the feudal lord: the steam-mill, society with the industrial capitalist", though others argue Marx was not one. In 1922 William Fielding Ogburn proposed that society must adjust to the consequences of major inventions, but often does so only after a period of cultural lag. Marshall McLuhan's "the medium is the message" is among the best examples in media theory.

The other side points to the bicycle. Bijker and Pinch show that the air tire meant a more convenient mode of transportation to some people, but technical nuisances, traction problems and ugly aesthetics to others. One problem was how a woman could ride in a skirt while adhering to standards of decency, and "Anti-cyclists" lobbied for banning the machine. Pinch and Bijker argue that technological determinism is a myth that results when one looks backwards and believes that the path taken to the present was the only possible path.

Even the same machine can change its meaning. In the 1890s automobiles were seen as the green alternative to horse-powered vehicles, and by the 1960s new social groups had introduced interpretations about their environmental effects, eliciting the opposite conclusion.