Technology

As I use technology to transmit my reflections on my daily practice as a humanist, I realize it would be very easy for me to confuse the transmission with the reality of practice. One of my favorite sayings is, "Those who can't do teach." I have tried to avoid being a subject of that saying throughout my professional and private life. 

My broadband cable provider is sending a technician here this morning to attend to some glitches with my modem. This caused me to reflect on the complexity of the technology required for me to transmit rather simple ideas over an Internet which is open to millions across the planet. It inspires awe to think of the power of the messages of Gautama or Socrates, whose words still impact civilizations across the centuries. 

What would the state of communication of ideas be today if our technological infrastructure were to collapse? Would groups of serious communicators convene to compensate for the loss? Would tweeters become speakers? Could what is written at the keyboard withstand the immediate questioning of and discussion by interactive human beings? I ask myself these questions often as I write this blog.

For those who have done book tours or speaking junkets, the answer is probably "Yes". However for the thousands of us who are expressing our ideas from lives which are more removed from academia and professional publishing, technology provides an opportunity to think aloud and garner comments from those who hear our thoughts, as we live our every-day lives. This is a wonderful liberation of thought from established media, as long as the modem works.