Personal Narrative- Fear of Technology
My grandmum spoke for us all that Christmas when she opened her gift from my aunt and uncle. She only half-unwrapped the box before launching it at my father across the room, crabbing “Now what in the hell am I supposed to do with THIS?” She proceeded to sulk, the way only my eighty-year-old gram can, arms crossed, lips pursed, but laughing the whole time despite herself.
My aunt and uncle had done the extreme disservice of buying my gram an answering machine. Yes, the woman who once told my sister that she never leaves my sister messages because “they never give you enough time before that little beep” was now the proud owner of one of those “damn things.”
Gram is the head of my family of almost-technophobes—by the “almost” I mean that we’re not so much afraid of the changes new technology brings, but we’re often afraid of changing our technologies. Perhaps it’s procrastination or stubbornness or raw fear, but there’s a reason we only just now got rid of our microwave, which made its first spectacular appearance in our lives in 1991.
I remember the day my mother, finger wagging, told us of the dangers of opening the door while the microwave was still running. Her point was not that it would be harmful to us, but rather that it would hurt the microwave, as though after being opened mid-cook, it would simply lose the will to go on. “I’m sorry,” it would say, “but why bother cooking anything for you people anymore? I mean, it’s not even cooking that you do with me, I just reheat the creations of other appliances— you’ve failed to use the ‘Quick and E-Z’ cookbook to simplify your lives and make hearty meals in a jiffy. You only use me to heat water for your kids’ hot chocolate, and...
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... to take over the TV such that we would only able to tune in Emeril and Martha Stewart, to the poor answering machine, who would tell callers that if they wanted to talk to the family, they’d have to clear it with the microwave first.
That’s not entirely different from what my own current answering machine does anyway. While my grandma has learned to adjust to hers, I’m still not entirely sold on mine. The answering machine in my apartment has a woman’s voice, soft but computery, the kind of voice one could imagine HAL’s wife would’ve had. It tells me very politely that “there are no new messages . . . Jill.” I imagine it will soon begin to dispense advice on my social life, explaining that I am a young, vibrant woman who should have messages. I imagine it will tell me to start by doing something to my hair, telling me it never really like my curling iron anyway.
The present is continually spurred by rapidly advancing technology. More specifically, it is due to the collective desire and pursuit of humanity to access gadgetry and everyday utilities with as minimal effort as possible. In "In A Battle Of Wits With The Kitchen Appliances, I'm Toast" by humor columnist Dave Barry, he presents his take on the prospect of interconnected and extraordinarily smart home appliances through deliberation coupled with humor.
Gift-giving nowadays is no longer an act of kindness, but rather a political measure, taken to ensure one’s status with one’s acquaintances. While the general feeling of "goodwill towards men" still pervades the season, albeit filtered through television and municipal decorating projects, there is a great tension that precedes the actual Christmas holiday itself. I remember Christmases of my youth as enjoyable times, to be sure, but also as times when it was best to stay clear of my mother, who was inevitably in
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During the Holocaust there were different types of concentration camps where innocent Jews went to suffer and die. There were death camps, huge prisons and killing centers. During the Holocaust, the most famous concentration camp was located at Auschwitz. Systemic gassing of Jews began at Auschwitz in March of 1942. (2) It is unimaginable to the human mind that these death camps existed. Not only did they exist and operate like well-oiled machines, the amount of concentration camps is mind numbing which shows the determination of Germany’s destruction of Jews. The variety of camps which included: labor, death, cold experiments, and work related, to name a few, totaled 10,005. “There were 52 main concentration camps, which had a total of 1,202 satellite camps. Auschwitz, by itself, with its 50 satellite camps, had 7,000 guards among...
Soon after Germany separated from Austria in March 1938, the Nazi soldiers arrested and imprisoned Jews in concentration camps all over Germany. Only eight months after annexation, the violent anti-jew Kristallnacht , also known as Night of the Broken Glass, pogroms took place. The Nazi soldiers arrested masses of male adult Jews and held them captive in camps for short periods of time. A death camp is a concentration camp designed with the intention of mass murder, using strategies such as gas chambers. Six death concentration camps exis...
Writing and Reading Across the Curriculum. Tenth edition. Edited by Laurence Behrens and Leonard J. Rosen. New York: Longman Publishers, pp. 371-377, 2008.
Invasive species do not only affect other species in their ecosystem, but also cost the United States more than one hundred and twenty million dollars each year in damages (“Cost” par. 2). Invasive species come in all different forms, and all have a negative impact on the environment. These species can come into a new area without being detected at first, but as time goes on their effects can soon be seen. Efforts are being made to prevent these invasive species from destroying fish population and habitat, but in order to be successful they need to be done on a much larger scale. In order to protect Wisconsin's waters, which are already infected with many invasive species that cause great damage to our bodies of water, more actions need to be taken. It is vital to remove all invasive species from Wisconsin’s waters because it will improve fish habitat, native fish population, and water quality.
With the modern age’s influx of new forms of communication, the skill of writing has taken a back seat for most people in their daily lives as brevity has become of greater importance. The more you can say in fewer – and often shorter – words, the better. While this is acceptable for those who have already developed the necessary motor and mental skills required to write well, it is increasingly worrisome for children who have not yet mastered these abilities, and could potentially set them back for most of their lives. Creative and persuasive writing is incredibly important and should be stressed in education to avoid future academic difficulty and promote a stronger intellectual generation.
Since the invention of the cell phone by Marty Cooper in 1973 (Trowbridge), we have benefited from not being tethered to a landline. I have enjoyed the luxury a cell phone 's mobility provides. Getting an important a phone call from anywhere without being tied to one place can be extremely useful. I have had many phone calls about an emergency business need that I might have resulted in a deal gone bad if I missed the call while away from the office or home landline. Conversely,
The NASA Space Program should not be cut. However, there are those who don’t share the same viewpoint, or see the same value in NASA, as experts do. They believe that giving money to NASA is a waste. That the money would be better spent on keeping us safe, and fixing the deficit. This essay is going to bring to light why the NASA budget, instead of being cut, should be increased.
ringing. Women search through their purses; men reach for their pockets to see if it is their cell phone that is ringing. The year is 2002, and it appears that almost everyone has a cellular telephone. Many believe that in today's society it is a necessity to own one and would be difficult to go a day without one. Are they really necessary? People survived just fine without them before their invention. It really was not until about 15 years ago that they really started appearing and the last five that it seemed as if every Tom, Dick, and Harry owned one. What has caused their sudden boom? Are people becoming too reliant upon them? Is there health risks involved when people send such powerful signals directly toward their heads?
In these commentaries, Schwarcz also answers questions that people and the media have and offer advice to people. For example, a listener asked “How long one should allow microwaved food to stand after cooking to ‘allow the microwaves to escape?” He responded by describing how the food on the inside is cooked through the heat transfer from the exterior, which allows the food to finish cooking. Additionally, it is essential to leave the food to stand for a few minutes. However, this does not allow the microwaves heat to leave, but for the interior to finish cooking as well as the exterior. If you don’t leave the food to settle there for a few minutes than it will leave the cooking process incomplete.
Technology can be regarded as a phenomenon with vast uncertainties. Technological change is rapid and we are struggling to keep up to date with the latest advances, while learning new ones and trying to prepare for the next changes proposed for the future. In order to do so, however, we need to be clear about what we mean, and what we consider to be a technology and evaluate some of the assumptions of our understanding of our technologically advanced society.
I think it was at its peak from about the age of twelve to roughly
Truthfully, the list of benefits to having a telephone is infinite. I can quickly and easily call my parents in Folsom, my sister in Virginia, and my brother in Utah in just a few moments. I can leave a message on their voicemail, if they are not available, and wait for them to call me back. I do not have to get out a piece of paper and a pen, take the time to sit down and write a letter, spend money for a stamp and an envelope, drive to the post office to mail the letter, wait a few days for the letter to be delivered, and then wait a few days to receive a response. Additionally, if I am feeling extremely lazy or pressed for time, I can make it even easier to make contact by sending a group (to all of them at the same time) ...