Luddites in the midst
What price progress. Charles Eames said who would have known we’d miss the sound of crystal clinking when plastic glasses came on the scene. What about lying in my bed on Mason Street with a sliver of the San Francisco bay out my window listening to the foghorns – which were replaced by digital beeps no one but the ships themselves could hear. Velcro instead of laces (how do kids learn to tie a bow?). Email instead of letter – oh to feel paper and see someone’s personal handwriting. Books on a PDA?
What is gain for one is loss for another. I remember Terry Gross talking about visiting a bed and breakfast and asking the innkeeper where the television was – the woman said, “We don’t have televisions here, why don’t you try conversation?”