An issue has been increasingly bothering me, so I finally decided to put pen to paper (so to speak). I have frequently seen - as I am sure that most people have seen - smart phones, text talk or other manifestations of "progress" in common usage. There is a saying, "Marbeh nechasim, marbeh da'agos", which means, the more possessions, the more worries. Do not mistake me for a Luddite - I am not. I am, however, a proponent of using one's mind. There is a movie out that apparently deals with the idea of the whole world losing its electricity. Is that really such a bad thing? Did Edison really do us such a favor? Let's think about this further.
Families who homeschool are trying to avoid the plethora of distractions that are present in "normal" schools. We are attempting to give our children a more familiar setting, in the hope that they will excel. We want to slow things down, take it piece by piece, not rapidly force-feed information to a group of people of differing abilities and understanding.
Unfortunately, this is not our societal approach. I will not ignore what good has come, but I cannot overlook the "side effects" of our silicon and information age. We are moving faster and faster, but at what cost? Animals live their lives on constant alert, always looking around for the next threat, always moving, never settled. They have no span of attention because of their need for survival. With the rapidity of our current pace, we are emulating their lives. We are always looking around, never settled, always looking for the next new thing or new information. It is affecting our ability to think, to focus, to see what is around us and how to correctly react to stimuli. To me, the smart phone is the quintessential symbol of instant accessibility and our desire for comfort.
Do you know what the opposite of pain is? It is not pleasure. It is, in fact, comfort. If one is straits monetarily and is living hand-to-mouth or in danger of lacking anything necessary, that person will focus their energies upon resolving the situation, and being able to have what they need. They learn to appreciate everything and waste nothing. My husband's uncle said that the best praying he ever did was in a foxhole. When we are focused on our survival and are afraid for our lives, we deal with many discomforts that would otherwise be considered unacceptable. Once a person has established themselves financially and has more than what they need, they tend to change the definition of 'need' versus 'want'. Food that is expensive may be in reach and other comfort items are now de rigueur.
How did people live without dishwashers and washing machines/dryers? How did they live without indoor plumbing? How about televisions? How about telephones? I would humbly say that the only item that I would be loathe to give up would be my pressurised water supply - but that was around BEFORE electricity. Why were most of the mind-boggling inventions before the advent of electricity? Why is there an alert out to try to encourage children to take up science and math?
We are, sadly, encouraging a generation of adults and children to become less than they can, to perform below their potential. Can computers (and, yes, I am typing on one) help people in their pursuits? Yes. But they also encourage a tremendous amount of mental laziness that is anathema to our true progress as humans. Human beings are supposed to self-transcendent - we are capable of doing better than we even think we can. We should be able to stop and think and contemplate the world. Therein lies our growth and our progress. There are many inspiring, beautiful, wonderful experiences out there and they are not found on anyone's computer screen.
Families who homeschool are trying to avoid the plethora of distractions that are present in "normal" schools. We are attempting to give our children a more familiar setting, in the hope that they will excel. We want to slow things down, take it piece by piece, not rapidly force-feed information to a group of people of differing abilities and understanding.
Unfortunately, this is not our societal approach. I will not ignore what good has come, but I cannot overlook the "side effects" of our silicon and information age. We are moving faster and faster, but at what cost? Animals live their lives on constant alert, always looking around for the next threat, always moving, never settled. They have no span of attention because of their need for survival. With the rapidity of our current pace, we are emulating their lives. We are always looking around, never settled, always looking for the next new thing or new information. It is affecting our ability to think, to focus, to see what is around us and how to correctly react to stimuli. To me, the smart phone is the quintessential symbol of instant accessibility and our desire for comfort.
Do you know what the opposite of pain is? It is not pleasure. It is, in fact, comfort. If one is straits monetarily and is living hand-to-mouth or in danger of lacking anything necessary, that person will focus their energies upon resolving the situation, and being able to have what they need. They learn to appreciate everything and waste nothing. My husband's uncle said that the best praying he ever did was in a foxhole. When we are focused on our survival and are afraid for our lives, we deal with many discomforts that would otherwise be considered unacceptable. Once a person has established themselves financially and has more than what they need, they tend to change the definition of 'need' versus 'want'. Food that is expensive may be in reach and other comfort items are now de rigueur.
How did people live without dishwashers and washing machines/dryers? How did they live without indoor plumbing? How about televisions? How about telephones? I would humbly say that the only item that I would be loathe to give up would be my pressurised water supply - but that was around BEFORE electricity. Why were most of the mind-boggling inventions before the advent of electricity? Why is there an alert out to try to encourage children to take up science and math?
We are, sadly, encouraging a generation of adults and children to become less than they can, to perform below their potential. Can computers (and, yes, I am typing on one) help people in their pursuits? Yes. But they also encourage a tremendous amount of mental laziness that is anathema to our true progress as humans. Human beings are supposed to self-transcendent - we are capable of doing better than we even think we can. We should be able to stop and think and contemplate the world. Therein lies our growth and our progress. There are many inspiring, beautiful, wonderful experiences out there and they are not found on anyone's computer screen.
