Are the new
‘must have’ techno inventions of today really necessary or are we just being
manipulated into believing that we need all this?
I remember
the uproar when the old vinyl disc was replaced by the compact disc, and the
perturbed few who realized that they could never ‘not be at home’, any more
with the introduction of the mobile phone. But what seems to have followed is a
conveyor belt of new inventions, which I doubt the necessity of. Added to the
blackberry, iPod, Mp3 player and iPhone there is also an intelligent fridge!
Well I
suppose it could well be true. This mammoth fridge, not only keeps your food
cool, makes ice cubes, is self-cleaning, and due to a cunning little strip
underneath each product knows how much milk is left. It then tells you when to
buy a new pack. Pretty handy, one may never have to write another shopping list
again. It also has a built-in screen for TV and Internet—Hooray! I may never
have to leave my kitchen again.
Don’t worry
about not having ever to think again, this will be compensated for by the fact
that one regularly trains ones brain with the brain trainer programmes offered
by a Nintendo DS Lite.
For those of you as cynical as me there’s a super short story called ‘The
Machine Stops’ by E. M. Forster, which shows what could happen
to the human race if we continue along this tack. But having said that, in a
couple of years I will probably be the proud owner of one, once I’ve bought a
bigger house of course.
View all issues of Connections HERE (editor, designer, illustrator: 2006-2013)
