Life Sucker

While reading Vernor Vinge's Rainbows end, I can't help but share Robert Gu's perspective on technology. During our class discussion we read Robert's thoughts about Juan's presentation to the class: "It was impressive as any advertising video that Robert had seen in the twentieth century. At the same time it was essentially incoherent, a garbage dump of special effects. So much technology, so little talent."


When I came home from serving a mission for my church mission (The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints), technology was evil to me. I had this viewpoint that if I even touched an iPhone or got on Facebook, for any other reason than keeping in touch with friends, I was a sinning. Technology was of the Devil. It repulsed me. All of my siblings were showing me their cool gadgets and were constantly receiving and sending text messages. Something almost died inside of me when my mother pulled our her itouch and showed me how she could read books without the actual book. It was a punch in the face! (For those less familiar with LDS missions, we are essentially cut off from most of the world and from technology in the sense of texts, social networks, and gaming.)


All the technology was so foreign and new to me that I wasn't sure what to do with it all, and so all I wanted to do was run from it. I was determined to never get on Facebook or fall into the technology trap. However, here I am having a blog. I get on Facebook frequently (too frequently). I send text messages and receive them gladly. The more I became familiar with technology it was no longer this foreign thing but a friend. A friend that I am beginning to rely on. I need the internet, just as I need my phone (or at least I think I need these things).


So like Robert I feel that something is being lost in all the impressive displays of technology. Where is the talent? The art? But slowly as I am acquainted with these things I am beginning to see the advantages, the art, the talent. I know nothing about making my blog site aesthetically pleasing but I am learning. Robert may not appreciate or like the society that he is living in but slowly he will become acclimated, we all do. The only way to not adjust is by separating yourself completely from society; that is hard to do. There are things that are lost with the advancement of technology, as well as things that are gained.