After today’s lecture from Dr. Wickman, I got thinking about
how traditions are often reasons why some people are not as willing to be as
explorative as others.
In chapter 69 on page 278, it describes what happens to the
whale after its carcass is let go in the ocean: "When the distance obscuring
the swarming fowls, never the less still shows the whit mass floating in the
sun, and the white spray heaving high against it; straightway the whale’s
unharming corpse, with trembling fingers is set down in the log—shoals, rocks,
and breakers hereabouts: beware! And for years afterwards, perhaps, ships shun
the place; leaping over it as silly sheep leap over a vacuum, because their
leader originally leaped there when a stick was held. There’s your law of
precedents; there’s your utility of traditions; there’s the story of your
obstinate survival of old beliefs never bottomed on the earth, and now not ever
hovering in the air! There’s orthodoxy."
As Dr. Wickman pointed out in class, this relates to
religion. But I would like to postulate that this idea of blind following that
is being suggested is not only pertinent to religion but to technology as well.
People don’t like there to be a lot of changes in their
lives. Throwing changes into a normal and structured life, at least for people
like me, can give a “you-threw-off-my-groove” kind of vibe, and it takes time
to accept the change. We are creatures of habit.
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| Courtesy of Mike Licht, NotionsCapital.com, flickr.com |
So how does that work when we have new technology coming at
us at incredible speeds? How are we supposed to keep up with all of that?
Unfortunately, I think a lot of new technology that has been recently released
has a bit of a taboo on it for a while. We read a bad review or hear from a
friend that is supposedly tech savvy that it’s kind of pointless. So, the
technology is dismissed for a little while until a few brave souls decide to
venture into the waters of this new technology for themselves, and they
discover that it is not as bad as they had originally though; in fact, it’s
better. Suddenly, this new technology starts catching on, and it becomes more
accepted as people decide to try it for themselves. There was really nothing to
fear after all.
I do think that as time goes on, we are more able to adapt
to these new technologies faster than ever before. It is now becoming part of
the tradition to accept these new ideas instead of shying away from them at
first.
You might consider looking at Alvin Toffler's Future Shock or Douglas Rushkoff's more recent Present Shock to follow up on these ideas.
ReplyDeleteI think this 'traditionalism' is something present even within the technological age. The most classic example is iPeople who only buy Apple products and seem to have to always have the newest versions. At the same time, we see a new breed of adaptability where people are becoming more and more comfortable with experimenting with new digital formats or products.
ReplyDeleteWhether addressing religion or technology or any other aspect of life, I think the important thing as always is to keep an open mind! I don't think we have to accept every new update or advance or thought, but it's important to be willing to take the time to consider whether or not this is something that will add to your life.
ReplyDeleteWhether addressing religion or technology or any other aspect of life, I think the important thing as always is to keep an open mind! I don't think we have to accept every new update or advance or thought, but it's important to be willing to take the time to consider whether or not this is something that will add to your life.
ReplyDelete