I was surfing the 'net the other day when I found myself overwhelmed by sheer multitude of interesting/practical websites out there! I just can't keep up...
Once more I was reminded of the concept of the "technological singularity" (see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Technological_singularity for a summary).
We Americans seem to be consumed by the idea that if we can have it, we should have it. We have access to the latest gadgets, fashions, fads, etc., and they are all very tempting, but I would suggest a more constructive paradigm: we could ask ourselves, "What would a new thing (computer, car, pair of shoes, relationship) in my life say about who I really am?" Are we to be defined more by what we have or by who we are?
Let's really bring this home: have you ever looked at the obituary page in your newspaper? The descriptions of the recently deceased are all about who the person was, how generous they were, the organizations they belonged to, and who their surviving family members are. Obituaries never mention how many cars they had, how much money they left to their heirs, or how fashionable they were.
And the reason for this is very simple. People will remember who you were a lot longer than they will remember what you had.
We can never keep up with the latest technology (or fashions or other material goods) anyway so why waste the time trying? The answer to the issue of the Singularity is "Why is it so important to keep up?" We don't have to, we don't really need to, and we should be focusing more on who we really are and less on what we have.
That is where our true significance as human beings really lies.
Once more I was reminded of the concept of the "technological singularity" (see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Technological_singularity for a summary).
We Americans seem to be consumed by the idea that if we can have it, we should have it. We have access to the latest gadgets, fashions, fads, etc., and they are all very tempting, but I would suggest a more constructive paradigm: we could ask ourselves, "What would a new thing (computer, car, pair of shoes, relationship) in my life say about who I really am?" Are we to be defined more by what we have or by who we are?
Let's really bring this home: have you ever looked at the obituary page in your newspaper? The descriptions of the recently deceased are all about who the person was, how generous they were, the organizations they belonged to, and who their surviving family members are. Obituaries never mention how many cars they had, how much money they left to their heirs, or how fashionable they were.
And the reason for this is very simple. People will remember who you were a lot longer than they will remember what you had.
We can never keep up with the latest technology (or fashions or other material goods) anyway so why waste the time trying? The answer to the issue of the Singularity is "Why is it so important to keep up?" We don't have to, we don't really need to, and we should be focusing more on who we really are and less on what we have.
That is where our true significance as human beings really lies.
