Technology Got Me Down
As a technophobe I suffer from all of the insecurities and indignities of anyone ignorant of modern technology. In a reversal of the ancient rituals of respecting the elderly and indeed of seeking out the wisdom of the elderly I have to turn to my young daughter to operate my computer, to decipher software, and to even make me aware of what is now possible. It is enough that the modern age forces me to have 3 attorneys each of whom specialize in separate areas of law; I now have my computer consultant, my computer savvy daughter, and my computer using staff to advise and direct me. Then I have my web-advisor, my SEO specialist, and my web designer and web master. In fact they keep me in touch with the cyber world in which I participate. So you will excuse some of my skepticism as I ponder what are the advantages and disadvantages of this technologic wizardry.
While fascinated by the computer and the web and grateful for the power it gives to the individual versus the organization, has the mechanism advanced so far beyond the message that we risk losing an even greater proportion of our children to ignorance and zombie-like behavior. Web3.0 technology, my daughter tells me, is about to become available for the household. This technology is now being used on CNBC to bring data into a 3-dimensional cube with the wave of a show host’s finger. We saw this same technology on election eve when the vote tallies were being evaluated by states and regions and ethnic affiliations. Yet did the message change? At the end of the day, no matter how fascinating the presentation, Barak Obama still had the majority vote and the majority of the Electoral College. The message would have been the same whether an analyst had written it on a ledger sheet as Tim Russert did in the Nixon election, or whether Tom Brokaw used the dazzling impression of three dimensional technology on television.
The United States stands apart as the most advanced and wealthy country in the industrialized world. Yet our children test last in aptitude and achievement scores of the 7 largest industrialized countries of the world. Our gifted students rank last among these countries in terms of aptitude and achievement. Where will imagination come from if every child walks around robot-like, transfixed to the music transmitted to his ears through his iPod. Can anyone drive an automobile without talking on his cell phone? Can anyone date without on-line dating (I couldn’t)? Does everyone need reality TV because they don’t have a life?! Is it not apparent that our children read poorly, write poorly, and speak poorly? And I am communicating with some of our brightest students on the north shore of Chicago.
The greatest social advances, medical advances, philosophic advances are meaningless out of context and if not applied to appropriate situations. Why is technology different?
By the way my computer crashed this weekend and I had trouble with the firewall on another computer. I need to call Pete to get this fixed right away!
While fascinated by the computer and the web and grateful for the power it gives to the individual versus the organization, has the mechanism advanced so far beyond the message that we risk losing an even greater proportion of our children to ignorance and zombie-like behavior. Web3.0 technology, my daughter tells me, is about to become available for the household. This technology is now being used on CNBC to bring data into a 3-dimensional cube with the wave of a show host’s finger. We saw this same technology on election eve when the vote tallies were being evaluated by states and regions and ethnic affiliations. Yet did the message change? At the end of the day, no matter how fascinating the presentation, Barak Obama still had the majority vote and the majority of the Electoral College. The message would have been the same whether an analyst had written it on a ledger sheet as Tim Russert did in the Nixon election, or whether Tom Brokaw used the dazzling impression of three dimensional technology on television.
The United States stands apart as the most advanced and wealthy country in the industrialized world. Yet our children test last in aptitude and achievement scores of the 7 largest industrialized countries of the world. Our gifted students rank last among these countries in terms of aptitude and achievement. Where will imagination come from if every child walks around robot-like, transfixed to the music transmitted to his ears through his iPod. Can anyone drive an automobile without talking on his cell phone? Can anyone date without on-line dating (I couldn’t)? Does everyone need reality TV because they don’t have a life?! Is it not apparent that our children read poorly, write poorly, and speak poorly? And I am communicating with some of our brightest students on the north shore of Chicago.
The greatest social advances, medical advances, philosophic advances are meaningless out of context and if not applied to appropriate situations. Why is technology different?
By the way my computer crashed this weekend and I had trouble with the firewall on another computer. I need to call Pete to get this fixed right away!
posted by Edward Lack MD at 8:18 AM
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