what i scribbled on the back of a magazine on January 1st

Another year. Full of promises, hopes, fresh fears. Uncertainties that are stressful but usually worth it. Problems that seem never ending, but deep down I desire them. I just as any other intelligent animal enjoy solving problems. More than the cosy reality of a problem solved and done with, more than the relief, every problem efficiently solved gives us a sense of bright little achievement. We need these achievements to carry on with the business of living.

 

Technology is making the (user’s) brain more and more redundant with time. The accumulated stock of culture and customs tells us what to do, when how and where…..how to live life. How to think. Throughout human history we weren’t as better equipped for life as we are at this point. Not much thinking is needed to carry on the day to day life affairs. Not much original thinking is needed any more.

 

Oh yes, that is what makes problems so important.

 

They restore our faith in our rational human mental capacities, to salvage whatever pride we have left after being pampered as consumers and ignored as citizens, valued as human resource but disdained as original thinkers and creators, decision makers and rebels.

 

diet coke or diet pepsi? cricket or sprint? the silver iPod or the green? —-we are lulled into a false sense of comfort and a false feel of control. I don’t despise development. I don’t scorn technology. I love the good life. I am just worried. Whether or not technology too like a potent drug can be abused and be the cause of severe life-ending withdrawal syndromes.

 

It can. It can. It makes us too dependent.–too chained. It makes us expect the impossible of it and expect lesser and lesser of our own selves. It makes us believe that we must be wired, ‘on’ ‘hooked’ connected to each other via some electronic media and not directly. Our eyes resent paper and adapts to the blue glow of the computer. Our fingers prefer typing to writing. We begin to believe that writing a letter on handmade paper, putting it in an envelope, putting stamp on it and posting it amounts to regression. Keeping daily journals, scrapbooks and sketchpads is uncommon ….but blogging and photo-sharing is cool. That conversation on a park bench may or may not take place, but with IMing….why bother. I like to remain regressive.

 

I am glad I was born at a time when I could have a relatively technology-free childhood. Imagination did wonders for me. It still does. I am not yet thirty but suddenly so much in this world does not make sense anymore.

 

Of course trying to understand is another problem I will be glad to ’solve’. Adapting to it unquestioningly is NOT an option.

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~ by feistyfeline on January 14, 2007.