With the release of the iPad, it's becoming quite clear of the rationale behind technologically-focused companies. The iPad does not make life easier. It does, rather, make life and Apple a cohesive stew for you and I to consume. Take an iPhone away from an avid user, and you've created a problem. Without the iPhone, there's no problem to be had. I'm not denouncing Apple (frankly, I love my MacBook and the simplicity it offers in browsing the web, recording music and other features), or any other company focused on providing consumers with something they may want. I think innovation is the core of our world, and the wheel of progress. But what happens when we start to choose technological will over human will? Is it a reversal in the relation we currently have between humans and gadgets?
There's a deeper story here that I'm not consistently trying to figure, yet I do know that we're not meant to be gadgets in the end. Just watch Wall-E.
:)
ReplyDeleteThis made me smile! A lot!
Two main problems with the ipad: 1) it didn't showcase anything new (it's an overglorified iphone and frankly, I bought my first tablet PC laptop over 7 years ago and it currently has better specs than anything Apple has on the market) and 2) the name just...did they not get the opinion of any women or any men who know post-pubescent women?!?!
But beyond that, I agree with your central points. There's a very fine line between a tool and a crutch you become dependent upon. The mind is a muscle and your ingenuity can (and will) atrophy if you don't use it, instead depending on something else (be it mechanical, technological or the mind of another man) as a crutch to support a weakness that comes from not using the muscle.
I believe that for many people (anyone who can't "survive" when you remove their technology they can't create but have learned to live upon) what began as a testament to human ingenuity to make life easier becomes something else entirely. What ought to free them becomes the shackles to bind them.
You're right to be wary of that distinction between an aid and a crutch. Even if you haven't pondered it enough to put it into words.
(Bonus points to Brian!! Though Adam still keeps Best Salesman Award.)