Around twelve thousand years ago, in what we now call the Middle East, people began to domesticate grain, a process that slowly spread around the world over the next six to seven thousand years. In 1984, 8 percent of U.S. households had a computer; by 2008, that number was estimated to be above 70 percent. How do these two things relate to social change?
A) Neither is an example of social change.
B) The change in computer ownership isn't social change, as the text defines it, because it's not consequential enough.
C) Both are examples of social change, occurring at different rates.
D) The change in agriculture was a social change, but not the change in computer ownership.
E) The change in computer ownership was a social change, but not the change in agriculture.

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

Both the domestication of grain and the widespread ownership of computers represent examples of social change. The change in agriculture occurred over several thousand years, while the change in computer ownership occurred much more rapidly, over only a few decades. Therefore, both are examples of social change occurring at different rates.

Around Twelve Thousand Years Ago, in What We Now Call