Left in the Dust

In this morning’s Hartford Courant, Robert Thorson (professor of geology at the University of Connecticut’s College of Liberal Arts and Sciences) wrote about the old technology he grew up with, and still uses, and today’s technology that does the same thing only differently and faster.

He wrote about using an “old fashioned” transit to map a given parcel of land as opposed to his son, and his son’s generation, who can do the same thing with their wristwatch. Pretty amazing.

He acknowledged the precision of the wristwatch GPS along side his transit. He also acknowledges that today’s generation would probably never use his generation’s tools.

But what he said toward the end of his column really resonated with me, and I quote: “That’s when I learned I had become, at age 60, old. The spark struck me that my students would probably never use the tool I showed them. Rather, they saw it as an out-of-date curiosity akin to a vintage record player. Conversely, it struck me that I had no desire to use the new-fangled watch like my son’s. …We live in different worlds now. And I’m okay with that.”

At age 75 I find myself looking at today’s computer software capability, iphones and tablets with a sense of awe. My cell phone makes calls and takes calls. That’s it. Nothing else because that’s the way I want it. Since I am no longer in the desktop publishing business, I don’t need fancy software. And I’m okay with that.

Tablets, however, are another matter. I am sorely tempted! It sure would be nice to have a Nook or Kindle or iPad at my elbow as I read the newspaper or watch TV so I could search for additional information about “whatever.” One thing I will always be is “curious.” And it would be nice if I could satisfy that curiosity right then and there…not wait until I can get to my computer (by then I’d have forgotten what I was curious about ☺). And, just think, the instant I think of something I want to impart to family or friends…the ability to immediately send an email.

I don’t think I would be interested in reading a book or magazine on a tablet. I want to hold that book. I want to feel the paper between my fingers as I turn the pages. I want to put it in a bookcase, to be referenced at a later date if necessary.

Yes, I’m sorely tempted. Most electronic technology has passed me by…and I’m okay with that. But, damn, I sure would love to have one of those tablets! ☺