Proceed with Caution into High-Tech Land
Us nerds take technology for granted. We believe there is no debate about the benefits of advancing technologies. Everything new and amazing, that makes life less dull, more convenient, less tedious and more fun, must be good and therefore there is a moral imperative to possess that hi-tech object in order to immediately experience the benefits of a better, more productive, and happier life.
But sometimes us nerds stop for two seconds and think about this fast-paced, constantly changing world that we live in and wonder if everything is really so good. For instance, I was talking to one of my neighbors today, telling her that I was going to buy a new microwave oven for my newly married daughter and son-in-law. Although we both agreed that it is hard to imagine living today without a microwave, it is certainly possible to live without one, as the both of us have proved since we both grew up without one and have lived to tell the tale. Then my friend continued to bemoan at least two ways that microwaves may actually harm our lives rather than help.
For one thing, in the old days, if you wanted a baked potato for lunch, you would say to yourself, “In about one hour or so I want to eat lunch. Therefore I should put my potato in the oven NOW so it will be ready to be eaten in about 1 hour.” Then we can wash the potato, put it in the (conventional) oven, set a timer, and come back in one hour to eat. Then we were free to get back to whatever it was we had been doing before. Very little time was wasted. Today, since the potato takes about five minutes, we just hang around next to the microwave until the potato is ready. This waiting around wastes time.
The larger problem with the microwave is how it affects the family structure, and how families don’t spend their meals together. My friend said that without a microwave, the children were forced to come home for dinner when Father came home, and everyone ate their evening meal together. This was a time to share the events of the day, ideas, dreams and whatever else people in the same family want to talk about together. Now, because the microwave has made it so easy, family members eat separately when they get back from school, work, play, etc, and don’t really share the evening meal together. A great loss, both my neighbor and I believe.
Of course if the two younger brothers don’t have to eat together, perhaps there will be less fighting between them. That’s hard to know for sure. But what can be known is that technologies such as microwaves, which have had such a profound effect on our modern way of life, might not only improve the quality our lives, but if we are not careful, can perhaps harm it, too.