NOT LONG AGO SLOW WORK AND THINKING WERE GOOD FOR US
Thursday, Feb. 6, 2020
Not long ago, we got to try things to figure them out.
Or look them up in an encyclopedia, or in the stacks in a library – the answers were somewhere.
Or we could ask someone older, wiser, and more experienced.
Not long ago.
Big complicated things made sense – solutions shouldn’t be easy and aren’t likely found lying around, aren’t likely to be easy to find.
Not long ago, we wondered, “Hasn’t someone had this problem before?” and the answer was, “Yes, many times,” but we had to stumble around figuring it out for ourselves. This makes sense if a toddler is learning to stand, or a student is learning a math or science concept …
Today, we can ask or type our question – devices and software deliver us immediate answers. Most of them are the right answers. Some of them are complete answers which come with an explanation, come with background and understanding of where the solution came from, how it was discovered, and why it works.
Not long ago.
We are in a new world of information, which is daunting for many of us, and we are naively expecting constant change when we are on the precipice of radical change.
Any moment now.
Every answer will appear at the moment we wonder aloud about anything – the answers will be full, complete, tried, and tested; fact-checking software will screen out the imperfect solutions.
We won’t stumble; we won’t wonder about anything – we won’t think our way through problems because we know, unless we are quantum physicists or molecular biologists, the question we have, our curiosity and our problem have been successfully solved many times before.
We’ll instantly have virtual-reality experiences of anything that has ever been thought of, of every place ever seen, and every permutation on every problem ever encountered – all at 5G speed. And yes, fast and ubiquitous as it will be, 6G will be faster …
How will we ever learn slow, plodding, deliberate, and complicated?
Someone used to think. Had to think. That was always an essential ingredient in humanity – to think, to question, to problem-solve.
We used to, not long ago …
Reader feedback:
J Emojis are weird, stupid, fun. This one is intended to convey that some days, like today, Musings was exceptionally good. It may have been the power of your prose, or the penetrating truth of your insights into the human condition, or perhaps I was particularly receptive to the message this morning. More likely it was all three things working in concert. Anyway, thumbs up. And leap away, RH, Calgary, AB from Bradenton, FL
Let’s get that lunch scheduled Mark. This is one of your best columns. Let’s talk about it. I’m in my office today and will give you a couple of dates, GB, Calgary, AB
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