Guggenheim Museum, Bilbao |
It is apparent that with the internet, we can perform and execute tasks electronically and access to information 24/7 thus it means that we can do things on our own timeline and wherever we are so long as there is network. We make virtual acquaintances and stay connected with friends and associates in cyberspace. Life is kept very busy by reason of technology and if we are not careful, technology will dictate our lives instead of us having a control over technology. Throughout our growing years, we are all programmed one way or other and as we become reliant on androids and computers, we think and function differently to keep up with technology and social media.
I read disparately and the internet offers infinite choices of subjects. There are articles ranging from the right way to chop an onion to the telling signs of Alzheimer and if you get stuck reading these symptoms, you spend another one hour fretting over every bit of absent mindedness you have exhibited in the past weeks. I feel that the reason we become forgetful is that we are trying to compartmentalize our minds and our time in order to fit in all the things we do in cyberspace and also in the physical world.
In her book 'Why Grow Up' , Susan Neiman writes that she spends hours most days in cyberspace and is grateful for many of its resources but she suggests that we limit our time ‘in cyberspace and experience action more palpable than making a cursor click’ .
In her book
In her book 'Why Grow Up' , Susan Neiman writes that she spends hours most days in cyberspace and is grateful for many of its resources but she suggests that we limit our time ‘in cyberspace and experience action more palpable than making a cursor click’ .
In her book
Neiman writes ,
‘Even a week off
the web can work wonders for your imagination, and your sense of being in the
world.’
Perhaps people
do not like to second guess things. They want to be spoon fed and told what to
do as it is easier that way. They like things straightforward. With the internet, we can easily google for information, instructions and directions without having to figure things out ourselves. Didn’t I read somewhere that humans only use a fraction of their mental power ?If we are freeing our mental space , for what
purpose are we freeing our mental
space ? Only in unplugging ourselves from time to time, we will leave our minds less
cluttered, our thoughts more focused.
To
rise again at a decent hour written by Joshua Ferris is a very hilarious story.
It is about Paul D’Rourke, a 36
year-old dentist who despite having a thriving dental practice does not seem to
fit into the modern age and a reluctant New Yorker, a curmudgeon, an atheist and a Red Sox fan. For someone
who has no facebook account, one day, Paul O’Rouke discovers that an ex patient
of his has impersonated him, created his profile and is tweeting in his name and write about religion and talk
about the Jews.The impersonator has also created an
email account in his name. He is told by a strange religious group that he
belongs to a growing sect and that he is an Ulm. The protagonist narrates, " No invention in the world, not the printing press or the telegraph, not the post office or the telephone, had done more to get people communicating than the Internet. But how did one person, the inaudible and insignificant single human voice, communicate with the Internet itself? To whom did it appeal an error? How did it seek redress? "
After reading Ferris’ third novel, I decided to read his second novel “ Unnamed” particularly after finding out that the protagonist is a successful lawyer who is on top of his game until he is hit by some mysterious illness. He walks aimlessly when the unknown illness hits him. A very depressing story that started off very promising but I ended up skimming through just to get to the end of the story. I remember having read the author’s first novel “ Then it came to an End” and had liked it . To rise again at a decent hour is quirky and its dark humour makes me want to catch a Woody Allen film.
Here is a snippet from the novel.
‘ I wanted nothing more than to say good morning first thing in the morning. Saying good morning was good for morale, converying to everyone in their turn, Isn’t it something? Here we are again, wits renewed , armpits refreshed, what exciting surprised does the day hold in store? But some mornings I couldn’t bring myself to do it . We were a cozy office of four; three good mornings, that’s all that was ever asked of me. And yet I ‘d withhold my good mornings. Ignoring the poignancy of everyone’s limited allotment of good mornings, I would not say good morning. Or I would in all innocence forget about our numbered opportunities to say good morning, that horrifying circumscription, and simply fail to say it. Or I would say good morning sparingly, begrudgingly, injudiciously, or tyrannically, I would say good morning to Abby and Betsy but not to Connie. Or to Betsy but not Abby or Connie. Or to Abby in front of Betsy , and to Betsy in front of Connie, but not to Connie. What was so good about it anyway, the too-often predictable, so- called new morning? It was usually precede by a long struggle for a short drowse that so many people call night. That was never sufficiently ceremonial to call for fresh greetings. So instead I’d say to them, “ Where’s the day’s schedule? “ If I said, “ Where’s the day’s schedule? “ I was saying that to Connie, who worked the desk.’
After reading Ferris’ third novel, I decided to read his second novel “ Unnamed” particularly after finding out that the protagonist is a successful lawyer who is on top of his game until he is hit by some mysterious illness. He walks aimlessly when the unknown illness hits him. A very depressing story that started off very promising but I ended up skimming through just to get to the end of the story. I remember having read the author’s first novel “ Then it came to an End” and had liked it . To rise again at a decent hour is quirky and its dark humour makes me want to catch a Woody Allen film.
Spot on!
ReplyDeleteThank you for reading. I guess like everything else, we have to take the good and the bad, it comes in a package:-)The internet phenomena is the integral part of the changing social landscape and evolution of the human world
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