Thursday, December 25, 2008

Diff

Here's the difference.

In one fifteen second interval, I saw my fifteen year old niece stop stirring something, whip out a bright pink phone, glance at it, key furiously, slam it shut, jam it back into her pocket, and go back to stirring. It was effortless, inconsequential. I would bet she didn't even have to form the thought to do it. A direct neural connection might have been faster.

I can't even contemplate how long it would have taken me to do the same thing. Decrepit, in comparison? I feel like I might as well stand in a corner and just have the curator dust me. Maybe crank the wall phone, every so often, give Mabel a call, over to the fire hall.

But I tell you, it gives me a sudden insight into kids and phones and communication. Not a deep insight, but one I didn't have before. We think about using technology like pocket phones; they don't. It just is. Think you're au courant because you write a blog and use Twitter? Ha. Not even close. These humans are working on the concept of a real-time hive mind, right under our noses.

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