I had the best blog that I had ever written ready to go on the 26th. It was insightful, funny, and was an absolute pleasure to read. It even had a snappy title. I neglected to save or post it, went to Disneyland for a week, and have completely forgotten the entire thing. Sorry.
At 31 it seems odd that I am already starting to look wistfully into the past. I feel like I am already turning into one of those old cliches. I caught myself not too long ago talking to my students about how it was in my day. I did not have internet at home when I was in high school. When we were writing a paper, it actually meant writing a paper. I never plagiarized because it was more work to go and find a decent piece of writing and copy it all out then to just sit and actually write my own work. (And I had to walk to school, in knee deep snow, 5 miles, uphill, both ways, in June). I talk about recent events like 9/11 and have to remind myself that most of my students were 5 when that happened. It has no meaning for them the way that it does for us. The breakneck speed with which technology is changing and growing is not a marvel for them like it is for most of us because they have known nothing else. Their formative years have been spent in this technological boom, so for them it is the norm. I am just a little outside of this experience as far as my age, so I find that I still get a little amazed when I pause and look at what has changed, and the speed with which it has changed.
Mike and Paul gave us a look back into the past. I had never used a slide rule before, but I did have a couple of math teachers that felt that the calculator should not be used in math class. And Mike's look back into the past just shows how much has recently.
With so much changing around us it seems odd that some things are not changing. Lewis Black, an American comedian did a show about a year ago. Known for his scathing rants, he got very serious for a second and started talking about the environment and how some people/scientists say that the problem is too big, that there is nothing that can be done, that it will take too long. He then pulled out his iPhone on stage, held it up and said "this is a computer, that I can use to call anyone in the world, surf the internet... all without wires, in my pocket. Don't (expletive) tell me that we can't do it, that we can't fix it. 10 years ago this was impossible." (paraphrased somewhat). This stuck with me because it does seem odd that with so much innovation in some areas, some other things really seem to be stuck. Environmental problems still abound, there are 3.5 billion people that do not have secure access to safe reliable drinking water, there is still war, political corruption, and Paris Hilton is still famous for some reason. These problems have been around for years. But we can now read the paper and books on an iPad (300,000 sold in the first weekend in the USA, $500 each). I suppose that I am just a little disappointed that despite how much has changed, so much has not. And it's the things that we have not changed that really matter. I guess there just isn't enough fun and money in solving the worlds problems.
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Was your lost post more cheerful? Really, this is a a great reflection, James. You raise some great points & interesting questions. I have thought about some of the same things. We can do so much, yet people starve, or ave to live in the street. Makes one think... gotta love Lewis Black!
ReplyDeleteNever heard Lewis Black. No context, just like kids today have no context for what we know. What he said though, makes great sense.
ReplyDeleteStaying with context, I was at the store over spring break and for the first time in ages, I picked up a comic book, Archie. I flipped through. There was talk in there about cell phones. I didn't read much more, but the experience told me that the old product has adjusted to the times. My dad has an old math text book that was actually my grandpa's. It has in it problems that talk about horses. Very different context, but context fitting to the times. The actual problem solving skills needed to do a horse problem, however, were the same as those needed to solve a cell-phone bill problem. Similarly, one still needs to be able to read to be entertained by Archie. What matters?
This I found interesting when I heard it. Almost 15 years ago, I met an agricultural economist who said that there is enough wealth in Canada for everyone to be a millionaire. Why, then, isn't everyone? Maybe for the same reason that about half the world's people have no clean drinking water.
Interesting comment by the comedian. Why is it that technological innovations have become increasingly over the top, yet we still can't find alternative solutions (that will work) to keep our planet healthy?
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