Class Question Response #1

On a scale of 1 to 10 I believe I would have to honestly rate my technological existence at a 6. It took me a while to come up with this rating but it sort of hit me a few mornings ago. Now I’m about to get a bit long-winded about my morning routine so feel free to tune out if you like. Each morning I get up, walk to the kitchen, pour a glass of OJ, toast a piece of bread and then sit outside on my back porch for a while. Now a few days back I began to wonder if that was the most natural part of my day, i.e. the moment of my day during which I use the least amount of technology. So that fateful morning when the hamster started spinning the wheel I began to remember all of the other not so technological things I do. I jog, ride a bike, hike, read books outside, play with my kitten, all without any shred of technological help. Well, kind of. See, I was about to rate myself at a mighty 4 or 5 on the techno scale until that fateful morning. I began to realize that even during the most natural of circumstances technology still held a firm grasp over whether I could do them or not. The jogging, for instance, could not be accomplished without the shoe factory that spit out my extra comfy running shoes. Riding a bike would be pretty difficult without the bike which is in and of itself a technological entity. In order for me to hike, guess what...I either need my bike or car to get to the trail in reasonable time. Reading books outside seemed like the most natural to me but unless I’m able to get a hold of the handwritten manuscripts of the author then I need those amazing printing presses to spit me out a hard copy. Finally, I come to playing with my kitten. That’s about as natural as they come unless you throw in the toys.

So, as I bit into my piece of toast (toasted by a machine) and took a sip of my OJ (processed and packaged somewhere by a machine) I realized that the only thing natural about my day and that morning was the nature that surrounded me. Now, one may ask why 6? Why not 10 you techno junkie! Because I just cannot come to the terms that almost every aspect of my existence is in some way shaped by technology; however, regardless of how much my day is shaped by technology, my natural identity will always be just that, natural, and I believe that alone is reason enough for not being a 10.