Today, we went to the Montreal Botanical Garden. This is the most spectacular garden I've seen since the Butchart in Victoria. It was enhanced by a once a year exhibition that we got to see. This is all about pictures.
Here they are: https://picasaweb.google.com/jalyss1/2011MontrealBotanicalGarden?authkey=Gv1sRgCLCtoYnN8qK-UA#
Wednesday, September 7, 2011
Sunday, September 4, 2011
Technology and Us
I was going to write about the Lancaster County Fair today, but this morning while doing my tedious and boring morning stretching, I heard a program on public radio which really piqued my interest. It was an interview with a MIT professor, Sherry Turkle, who has been studying technology and us. That's a simplification, as her studies are so all over the place that it's hard to pick and choose what I want to talk about - here in the technology I use to interface with all of you. What I want to talk about is her idea of how our constant 'plugged in' lifestyles are changing our social interactions. Duh. That would be my normal reaction because that would be stating the obvious. Her more important questions concern how technology is helping and hindering the value of personal solitude and reflection and personal interaction, as well as our difficulties in evaluating our interface with technology and why THAT'S important.
A central idea of Professor Turkle is that our social interactions are 'out of whack' because of technology, and she has discovered that people sense this, but aren't sure why. She suggests the reason is we have devalued the idea of aloneness, solitude, self-reflection and communicating important thoughts and feelings. Constant connection on a superficial level robs us of the more important social interactions. Then, she introduces the idea of setting personal boundaries concerning how, when, and why we use social technology.
I can now just hear all my anti-technology friends saying, yes, yes, we've been telling you technology is EVIL and wrong! My answer is no, you're missing her point, and I haven't explained it well enough. She is not anti-technology, but instead is suggesting that overindulgence in using social technology is distorting basic relationships. Here's what I think:
First, my use of social technology is an attempt to maintain relationships with my friends. When I started writing this blog, one of the main motivations was to keep communicating with my friends, so that I didn't wind up with a bunch of people who I only interacted with through the once a year Christmas card. What I've discovered is that many people who read this blog don't see my communication with them as a dialogue or even a correspondence that needs response. I have a lot of passive readers who enjoy peeping into my doings, but don't feel compelled to offer anything in return. Would you ignore a telephone call, a knock at the door? By contrast, if we constantly respond electronically (blogs, facebook, email, texts, twitter), at what point are we overwhelmed? Just look at that list for starters. I know people who are constantly doing SOMETHING electronically. And, yes, it IS isolating to be so completely electronically engaged which seems counterintuitive because we ARE interacting with other people when we blog, email, facebook, twit, text.
There's one of my points. How much right to I have to intrude? How obligated are you to respond? Is email correspondence? Does it always have to be answered? What about texts, twitters, blogs? Are you already drawing personal boundaries concerning technology either passively or actively? Do you have multiple email accounts as a way to segregate and compartmentalize your technology? Do you view your emails as all equally important, or do you have a criteria for the 'delete' button. Do you reflexively text as if you've been hit by one of those little rubber hammers the doctor uses to check you reflexes? Part of the problem in drawing technology boundaries (how much is too much) is that our work is now so intertwined in our use of technology and this has encouraged the blurring and knee jeek reaction to social technology. Another problem with drawing boundaries is that technology is so convenient. As the professor points out, we are still coming to terms with defining this tool, and our evolution is still in the infant stage.
I've been knashing my teeth and been constantly frustrated up here in yonderville because I'm not as 'connected' as I want to be. By that I mean I can't access information that makes it easier to live in a physical place I'm not completely familiar with. I LIKE looking up telephone numbers, locations, choices, maps, directions and answers to questions that pop up while navigating life. That's usually not possible up here. I feel like I'm living in a throw-back situation, and it's not OK. Yes, that's how I feel: It's not OK. The telephone book is not good enough anymore for the way I live my life. I don't feel that the informational use of technology is intrusive. It's just the opposite. On the informational level, technology does allow me to reach people on a quick and appropriate level that's convenient for both the seeker and the recipient. (I don't have to hear your voice to get the address of your restaurant or how to get there.)
What's important is learning how to separate the informational use of technology from the social use of technology. Those uses are totally different animals. When the Facebook inventor makes the statement "privacy is no longer a social norm", no one blinks an eye. There's my point: Where does personal privacy start? Notice, I used the word PERSONAL - meaning, what is socially shared using technology, what isn't shared, and what shouldn't be shared. My use of social technology tends to reflect my personality - which is wide open (big surprise to everyone, right?). There's very little I won't share about what I'm thinking and who I am. I'm comfortable with that level of intimacy, but I recognize that many people aren't. When my close friends don't respond to me electronically on a personal level, I feel a great deal of frustration and of being abandoned since I can't be up close and personal any other way right now. On the other hand, sometimes it's difficult to be personally involved electronically because of the 'big brother is watching' issue.
The 'big brother factor' notwithstanding, I've chosen to be personally open electronically as my way of trying to combat what I think is the true about social technology: It's mind numbingly superficial and personally unfulfilling. (I'm eating a pizza right now, driving to work, playing Farmville, etc., etc., etc. - go back and read your old Facebook pages or texts if you don't believe me.) There's almost no conversation about anything important or meaningful. We delude ourselves that we are interacting when in actuality we are just projecting our loneliness without reflection or point. I have ONE friend who contributes thought provoking ideas and personal challenges via Facebook. I hunger for her entries because they always make me THINK about something important. If you aren't SOMETIMES telling me something meaningful on your Facebook page, then I'm not just bored with your entries, but I'm sad and annoyed by your inability or unwillingness to share WHO YOU ARE. If you are unwilling or unable to share something important, then ask yourself why are you making these meaningless entries? What's the point? Those are the types of questions that we need to start asking and answering about ourselves and our use of social technology.
The same with email: Everyone knows that I don't 'forward' third party emails, but I always answer personal emails. I find people are way too eager to forward someone else's opinion rather than take the time to tell me their own about a subject they must care about since they insist on sharing someone else's views. I know what my political views are, and I'll be happy to share them with anyone - personally. The same goes for inspirational emails. What inspires me is personal interaction. I would rather have your words to me than some stranger's words. I would prefer something awkwardly said that was directly from you rather than dressed up by a stranger. These are ways I set personal boundaries on my social technology.
I guess I'm saying that while I do use this blog as a travel log, or for humorous observations, I also force myself to use it as a platform to make my friends think occasionally, as well as share what's personally important to me. Here's the final point: If you haven't taken the time to evaluate what meaning social technology has in your life, it's time to start. If you're not sharing something important using social technology at least some of the time, then what's the point? I'm looking forward to your answers, but I'm also not holding my breath.
A central idea of Professor Turkle is that our social interactions are 'out of whack' because of technology, and she has discovered that people sense this, but aren't sure why. She suggests the reason is we have devalued the idea of aloneness, solitude, self-reflection and communicating important thoughts and feelings. Constant connection on a superficial level robs us of the more important social interactions. Then, she introduces the idea of setting personal boundaries concerning how, when, and why we use social technology.
I can now just hear all my anti-technology friends saying, yes, yes, we've been telling you technology is EVIL and wrong! My answer is no, you're missing her point, and I haven't explained it well enough. She is not anti-technology, but instead is suggesting that overindulgence in using social technology is distorting basic relationships. Here's what I think:
First, my use of social technology is an attempt to maintain relationships with my friends. When I started writing this blog, one of the main motivations was to keep communicating with my friends, so that I didn't wind up with a bunch of people who I only interacted with through the once a year Christmas card. What I've discovered is that many people who read this blog don't see my communication with them as a dialogue or even a correspondence that needs response. I have a lot of passive readers who enjoy peeping into my doings, but don't feel compelled to offer anything in return. Would you ignore a telephone call, a knock at the door? By contrast, if we constantly respond electronically (blogs, facebook, email, texts, twitter), at what point are we overwhelmed? Just look at that list for starters. I know people who are constantly doing SOMETHING electronically. And, yes, it IS isolating to be so completely electronically engaged which seems counterintuitive because we ARE interacting with other people when we blog, email, facebook, twit, text.
There's one of my points. How much right to I have to intrude? How obligated are you to respond? Is email correspondence? Does it always have to be answered? What about texts, twitters, blogs? Are you already drawing personal boundaries concerning technology either passively or actively? Do you have multiple email accounts as a way to segregate and compartmentalize your technology? Do you view your emails as all equally important, or do you have a criteria for the 'delete' button. Do you reflexively text as if you've been hit by one of those little rubber hammers the doctor uses to check you reflexes? Part of the problem in drawing technology boundaries (how much is too much) is that our work is now so intertwined in our use of technology and this has encouraged the blurring and knee jeek reaction to social technology. Another problem with drawing boundaries is that technology is so convenient. As the professor points out, we are still coming to terms with defining this tool, and our evolution is still in the infant stage.
I've been knashing my teeth and been constantly frustrated up here in yonderville because I'm not as 'connected' as I want to be. By that I mean I can't access information that makes it easier to live in a physical place I'm not completely familiar with. I LIKE looking up telephone numbers, locations, choices, maps, directions and answers to questions that pop up while navigating life. That's usually not possible up here. I feel like I'm living in a throw-back situation, and it's not OK. Yes, that's how I feel: It's not OK. The telephone book is not good enough anymore for the way I live my life. I don't feel that the informational use of technology is intrusive. It's just the opposite. On the informational level, technology does allow me to reach people on a quick and appropriate level that's convenient for both the seeker and the recipient. (I don't have to hear your voice to get the address of your restaurant or how to get there.)
What's important is learning how to separate the informational use of technology from the social use of technology. Those uses are totally different animals. When the Facebook inventor makes the statement "privacy is no longer a social norm", no one blinks an eye. There's my point: Where does personal privacy start? Notice, I used the word PERSONAL - meaning, what is socially shared using technology, what isn't shared, and what shouldn't be shared. My use of social technology tends to reflect my personality - which is wide open (big surprise to everyone, right?). There's very little I won't share about what I'm thinking and who I am. I'm comfortable with that level of intimacy, but I recognize that many people aren't. When my close friends don't respond to me electronically on a personal level, I feel a great deal of frustration and of being abandoned since I can't be up close and personal any other way right now. On the other hand, sometimes it's difficult to be personally involved electronically because of the 'big brother is watching' issue.
The 'big brother factor' notwithstanding, I've chosen to be personally open electronically as my way of trying to combat what I think is the true about social technology: It's mind numbingly superficial and personally unfulfilling. (I'm eating a pizza right now, driving to work, playing Farmville, etc., etc., etc. - go back and read your old Facebook pages or texts if you don't believe me.) There's almost no conversation about anything important or meaningful. We delude ourselves that we are interacting when in actuality we are just projecting our loneliness without reflection or point. I have ONE friend who contributes thought provoking ideas and personal challenges via Facebook. I hunger for her entries because they always make me THINK about something important. If you aren't SOMETIMES telling me something meaningful on your Facebook page, then I'm not just bored with your entries, but I'm sad and annoyed by your inability or unwillingness to share WHO YOU ARE. If you are unwilling or unable to share something important, then ask yourself why are you making these meaningless entries? What's the point? Those are the types of questions that we need to start asking and answering about ourselves and our use of social technology.
The same with email: Everyone knows that I don't 'forward' third party emails, but I always answer personal emails. I find people are way too eager to forward someone else's opinion rather than take the time to tell me their own about a subject they must care about since they insist on sharing someone else's views. I know what my political views are, and I'll be happy to share them with anyone - personally. The same goes for inspirational emails. What inspires me is personal interaction. I would rather have your words to me than some stranger's words. I would prefer something awkwardly said that was directly from you rather than dressed up by a stranger. These are ways I set personal boundaries on my social technology.
I guess I'm saying that while I do use this blog as a travel log, or for humorous observations, I also force myself to use it as a platform to make my friends think occasionally, as well as share what's personally important to me. Here's the final point: If you haven't taken the time to evaluate what meaning social technology has in your life, it's time to start. If you're not sharing something important using social technology at least some of the time, then what's the point? I'm looking forward to your answers, but I'm also not holding my breath.
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