I wonder how they used to do it?
Rory C. Keel
I thought I would write a few observations. We are surrounded by such a diverse assortment of super technology. For example, we have smart phones that are so powerful they can interrupt a personal, face-to-face conversation with an individual, and allow us to talk, text and send pictures simultaneously around the globe to multiple unseen individuals.
Computers are now a way of life. They check our spelling and grammar and make learning the many beautiful loops of cursive penmanship once taught in schools obsolete. And what is a pen anyway?
We sit in dark rooms like hermits, wearing our pajamas, tangled hair and unshaven, and faces with no makeup, and with the push of a button circle the globe. We gather information on places we would love to go, and things we want to do–if we ever got dressed and left our home.
The sun is no longer needed to determine which direction is north, south, east or west. Grown men who stubbornly refuse to listen to their zealous wives give them directions will react, without hesitation, to the soft and sultry female voice of a GPS system, accepting every command without question.
With vehicles that can automatically parallel park, the useful skills needed in backing automobiles are forgotten, and the rearview mirror that automatically adjusts to the lighting, is relegated to review our hair, lipstick, or to check for pimples.
The aeronautics industry is also awe-inspiring. The kid down the block that used to chase the other children, dive-bombing them with his remote control airplane, is still in his backyard chasing the Taliban on the other side of the world with remote war drones.
Speed has not always been a friend to avionics. The world’s fastest commercial passenger jet, the Concord, is now retired. The expense of chasing itself around the world was too high. Crossing the International Date Line, it could arrive at its destination tomorrow, and come back yesterday.
The truly amazing thing about all the technology that we experience today is that it causes us to ask questions. But the most frequent question I hear today is not, “How will we do things in the future?” but, “I wonder how they used to do it?”
As an exercise, write about a few things in your past that have changed.
Wordsmith Six 