This part of the lecture, which explains the importance of the telegraph in society during its prime stages, is something that I feel like it truly significant to recognize as a progressor in an environment. When we mention the invention and use of the telegraph in today's world when discussing the past, the true role it played for the different branches of society is always overlooked as it was an element in which many depended on due to its transmission speed. Before this discussion, I looked at the telegraph as a simple device of skinny wires that communicates information from one end to another, mainly helping news reporters. However, as the lecture mentions, the telegraph was more than this, it was heavily depended on in crucial areas of society such as the military, the economy, and the railroad, aspects that are all signs of progression towards a better life. If the telegraph ever ran into any mechanical problems, the flow of life would be heavily disturbed due to its importance, as "trains would stop running, businesses with branch offices couldn't function, news papers couldn't cover events far away..." (Networking Nature Lecture). Personally, I think it is interesting, and also important to note, that the telegraph is not only just an aspect meant for communicating information across the world, but also a necessity to continue improving the economy and keeping the public informed and motivated. Even if people know the importance of it, they ignore the fact how if one piece of society stops working, being the telegraph, many other parts of society "come to a halt" as well and not just one minimal aspect, something truly interesting. While it may not be considered an important item by some, it seems as if the telegraph is one of the first major inventions that heavily impacted the change and improvement of society along with the railroad, as it was often used by many, those being reporters and businessmen, and any issues would stop progression and hurt those who depend on its functions.

Based on Rising Wolf's and Louis Warren's description of the Ghost Dance, I do not particularly agree with Solnit's description of the Ghost Dance as a technology. Solnit's description of technology is unique and looked at from a different perspective in today's world, as her book claims how technology is a "a practice, a technique, or a device for altering the world or the experience of the world" (p. 114). Based on her description, it would make sense that she sees the Ghost Dance as technology because it is a spiritual practice and technique utilized to overcome problems experienced by a group, ultimately changing their view on the world and who is taking over (the whites). However, when looking at Rising Wolf's excerpt, the dance is described as a method of communicating with those above and our own faith, mentioning how "All night we prayed and danced. We prayed in our songs" (p. 299). Based on our current understanding of technology, it does not seem to play any role during the Ghost Dance as it was more of a practice of living spiritually and with a sense of optimism rather than making life easier and allowing efficiency (how we look at technology today). Louis also expands on this understanding by presenting how during the Ghost Dance, people say "they had visited heaven, that they had visited God". This claim further supports why the Ghost Dance should not directly relate to technology as it is described as a movement to make peace with those "ruining" the indigenous people's lifestyle and also getting aid from those above, differing from having a physical object of mechanisms that we would expect today. Overall, while Solnit's description of the Ghost Dance as a technology is a viable option if considering her understanding of technology in the past based on the conditions, there is still a difference between technology and cultural practices when changing the perspective of the world.

This part of the lecture is something that I was truly surprised by, especially because of the drastic change in numbers of miles of tracks in the late 19th century. The significance of trade and transportation was eventually noticed late, which is why railroad construction started to become more popular. As many people know this, it is crazy to see the extreme shift in track construction when comparing the 1870's to the 1900's, an increase of almost 150,000 miles more throughout the land. However, like the lecture mentions, it also comes to show the importance of the government's willingness to transfer public lands to others, as the construction of these tracks taking up a great amount of area is not possible without their flexibility. It is interesting to me that such an important piece of society, which is trains and railroads, are basically dependent on the decisions of the government which determines the ultimate progress of society (important decisions when transferring and granting land ownership).