Welcome, Guest.
Please login or register.
Technology Makes Culture Feel Retarded
Forum Login
Login Name: Create a new account
Password:     Forgot password

Darkshade Forum    Blogs    Hawkeye's View  ›  Technology Makes Culture Feel Retarded Moderators: Bloggers
Users Browsing Forum
No Members and 1 Guests

Technology Makes Culture Feel Retarded  This thread currently has 1 views. Print Print Thread
1 Pages 1 Recommend Thread
Hawkeye
January 5, 2012, 7:57pm Report to Moderator Report to Moderator

Noble
Posts: 1,055
I just finished reading Dan Brown’s ‘The Lost Symbol.’  It is a typical Brownian read.  By that I mean it’s not complex, structurally speaking, and that I could, if I wanted, immerse my head in the toilet, constantly flush it, continue to read it and not miss anything. (Now, I know the oft quoted phrase of “Easy reading is damned hard writing”, but think of a sweater I once gave to a friend... “See private Drink.” “See private Drive.” “See private Die.” “Don’t Be A private!” that is easy reading, and frankly damned easy writing.  Back to Dan Brown’s novels; I concede, wholeheartedly, that he researches the heck out of his novels, but reading the book can be done without having to think about what Mr. Brown writes.  You. Get. It.  The characters aren’t really deep, the plot is simple to grasp.  It’s almost the literary equivalent to watching reality tv, it’s interesting, but you forget it after you’ve turned off the show.

The book did get me thinking, about technology in general and the exponential increase in technological advances the last decade has seen.  The pace of change since 1900 has been substantial as well.  We’ve gone from horses to cars and planes and spacecraft.  In the last 10 years we’ve gone from bulky cell phones and fat laptops to ipod shuffles and phones you can easily hide in your orifices.  There’s seemingly no end in sight.  There’s the internet and the sudden and total devaluation of porn.  (Talk about a bubble bursting).  There’s online banking and selling your own home and writing your own will and etc...

So what?  That’s progress.  Is it?  In a previous post I spoke of participant rewards, where you get a gold star for showing up, and I think this is connected to technology’s number one reward to us people; Instant Gratification.  

What does any advance in technology allow us to do?  In a nutshell technology advancement allows us to do things faster and easier.  Online banking allows us to pay our bills easier.  Smartphones allow us to connect to each other instantly.  F35 jetfighters, engines sold separately, will ultimately allow us to kill faster and easier.

All this quick and easy has clouded our vision.  Our understanding of complex concepts is diminished when everything is handed to us on a silicon platter.  Master Sushi chefs complain when chef wannabes complete sushi training in 8 months, where before it took 5 years before a newbie could even touch rice.  That is extreme, but it is telling.  The newbie who went through the 5 years training appreciates his art all the more.  Every nuance of sushi preparation is steeped in tradition and the chef revels in it.  I imagine he would also revel in tormenting the living mess out of the newbie training under him, but that’s a side benefit.

I see this issue with my daughters, my eldest especially (hating difficult stuff, not tormenting sushi-chefs-in-training).  She’s learning the piano and suddenly gets very frustrated, to the point of tears, when she learns a new tune.  It’s hard she says and doesn’t want to do it.  Same with reading.  If a book is too difficult she just wants to give up.  

If technology makes everything easier then why would anyone want to do anything hard (apart from the desperate porno stars)?  The younger generations instantly expect the high paying jobs or think they know all they need to know to do their job.  They are high on the meth of theory, and can’t see the practical side of things.  If something doesn’t come to them instantly they’re bored.  And will complain about it.  Technology is the death of work ethic.  Remember knowing the value of a dollar?  Perhaps we should be saying, know the value of your energy.


Logged Offline
E-mail E-mail Private Message Private message
1 Pages 1 Recommend Thread
Print Print Thread

Darkshade Forum    Blogs    Hawkeye's View  ›  Technology Makes Culture Feel Retarded