Thursday, July 13, 2006 |
09:58 - We are Hugh
http://mfdh.blogspot.com/2006/07/ninternet-pas.html
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Via BrianD, here's the estimable Cheeseburger Brown:
"Who's that guy who was in that movie, you know, with the fireball -- with that girl?" asks someone.
Everyone turns confidently to their machines and then, a moment later, swears. Our favourite repositories of off-site cinema knowledge are not accessible.
Later on a producer asks: "How much would a new two hundred gig FireWire drive cost?"
And the multimedia guy is forced to offer a surprised and morose reply: "I...don't know."
We feel like Superman bitch-slapped by Kryptonite. None of our magical Cyber Age powers are working. We can't know the weather report or see through traffic cameras; we cannot settle arguments; we can't buy anything or even compare prices for future purchasing; we cannot retrieve client files uploaded to our off-site FTP server; we cannot drill down through trivia or follow trails of curiosity; we can't read the news or steal photographs, download television programming or albums of pop music; we can't videoconference with our babies or wives; we can't browse stock art or commercial music libraries or step through on-line tutorials; we can't ogle the Page Three girls from Britain.
I'm going to be away from home for the coming week, but I'm borrowing a friend's laptop so I don't have to be without Google Earth.
So I can certainly sympathize. Every time we have a power outage, or even just the cable internet goes down, I go through this same mental process. What to do? I know! I'll work on the code on my serv—nnnno. Okay: I know! I'll catch up on my e-mail—nnnnno. Okay: I know! I'll relive my Alaska trip through photos and satellite maps.... dang!
I like to think this all means we have that much more awareness of far-flung items of interest than we did in the olden days; when we pass the time seeking out our own forms of entertainment and diversion from all over the globe, rather than being tied down by what happens to have arrived in the physical mailbox or sits on our dusty shelves, surely it's a win for the self-determination of individual lives everywhere and the freedom to mold one's mind in ways independent of one's immediate surroundings. But of course it's not without its technical limitations, and the sugar crash is all the bigger the more we depend on it.
Be sure to read the comments: "Thanks to the wonder of instant access to data, I've had the privilege of discovering, forgetting, rediscovering, and reforgetting more information than my ancestors were ever exposed to. Why remember it when you can just look it up again?"
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