"When technologically illiterate types speak about computers, tablets, and smartphones, the results can be hilarious. Definite articles are interspersed liberally (The Google, The Facebook, etc.), virtual realities are given locative characteristics ('The files are inside the computer.'), and jokes fall flat (Note: Memes are not universally appreciated). With the candid admission that I can probably be grouped among such a caricatured class of old souls, here are some thoughts on why computers may be unintelligible.
"Most artifacts come with a stated aim. A house key is a clear example. The key is made for a single task: It opens your front door. Now it may happen that other uses arise accidentally (opening boxes, scratching lottery tickets [today will be the day . . . ], or defacing public property), but the tool itself is manufactured and purchased to open your front door, and we evaluate it based on how expediently it achieves that goal.
"Now, in the case of a computer, tablet, or smartphone, there are a potentially infinite number of tasks you can perform, touching on practically every aspect of life: work, leisure, finances, friendship, networking, etc. With such a vast array of possible uses, the prospect of implementing and upgrading can be overwhelming for an older generation. These devices stand no more readily disposed to one task than to another. To use words which Aristotle applied to the mind, they are potentially all things. But, unlike our minds, which have a set goal (the contemplation of truth) inscribed in their nature, computers, tablets, and smartphones do not have a set goal. . . ."
In a recent commentary, Brother Gregory Maria Pine, O.P., reflected on the challenges of computers to those who are accustomed to the use of other tool.
To access Br. Gregory's complete post, please visit:
Dominicana: The Trial of Tools (3 SEP 14)
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