What is my favorite gadget?
Actually, I’m not the biggest fan of gadgets or modern technology. I don’t even have an iPad or a smart phone. My telephone is only clever enough to make and receive calls. I’ll admit the internet does have many uses, and I use it frequently, but I do have some concerns.
I have the sneaking suspicion that human identity, the idea that defines each and every one of us, could be facing an unprecedented crisis. I sometimes wonder if we are sleepwalking towards a future in which neuro-chip technology blurs the line between living and non-living machines. It would be a world where such devices could enhance our muscle power and our senses beyond the norm, but could also be controlled by them.
Our brains are already under the influence of an ever- expanding world of technology: multichannel television, video games, MP3 players, the internet… the list goes on and on. This screen-based, two dimensional world that so many of us inhabit is producing changes in our behavior. Personal communication skills appear to wither and attention spans seem to be getting shorter. Hmm. Where was I? I seem to have lost my train of thought.
Oh yes, I’m supposed to be telling you about my favorite gadget. It’s my laptop, of course! I don’t know how I would survive without it.