I have long felt that the western populations have tipped the balance between continuous consumption of non-essential media and entertainment, thus the reason the East is now rising to dominant power. This reliance on layers of abstraction have unknown consequences, especially for generalized intelligence and the concentration needed to really become an expert in a particular field. A wise school teacher once told me that “the height of maturity is to listen to the most boring individual whilst maintaining full attention and polite composure.” Somewhere in the recent past we have forgotten how to be curious, and the most important question of all, how can we do things differently and advance our society?
Within my living space of 720sq ft I can move from my microprocessor controlled LCD world to the precise artistic world of hammer and string, an elegant masterpiece developed in the 18th Century. This complex device known as the “Piano” allows one to blend a multitude of vibrations to form intoxicating harmonies, and is no more and no less impressive than the ability to communicate with a family member using video on a mobile device; it is simply a scientific reflection of the present day.
I think individuals would benefit from taking the time to explore the world around them and understand how we arrived at the place we are now. Simply treading daily water to prevent drowning in a sea of Matryoshka dolls cannot yield a fulfilling life. The world is a fascinating stimulating place full of perfectly tuned ‘systems’ that have much to teach our futile minds; we cannot forget to explore, scientific advancement for the common good of all humanity should be the ultimate goal.
For the long gone individual, i’m confident there is a “Zone Out” app for the iPad/iPhone, perfectly developed to stimulate ones creative juices, the self reflection of the glass screen perhaps adding to the experience – maybe one can even post it to facebook.
