Short & Sweet (Sometimes Sour) Noticing Essays: Oh No! It’s the End of #%!
We’ve followed Margery Leveen Sher’s blog posts almost since she started her “The Did Ya Notice? Project” and published her book, The Noticer’s Guide for Living and Laughing (available on Amazon). And she certainly has made us notice and think about almost everything far more. And in reading all, we share many of the same sentiments including our mixed feelings about technology: We gotta have many of the latest tech toys to do our work and stay in touch but we hate how tethered we often feel to being so in touch.
So we certainly found ourselves shaking our heads in agreement when she posted her latest riff on how pervasive technology has become. And with kudos and thanks to Margery, we’re sharing it with you dear readers. Let us know your reaction, please.
Margery’s Post
“Last night I realized the most horrific…or is it the most terrific?....effect of technology. I had a small dinner party and the discussion was varied but always passionate. Guest A said, ‘It is an outrage that xxx said yyy to zzz.’ Guest B began to rebut while Guest C began to defend. But Guest D interrupted all to lift up their head and shout, ‘Just a minute! I have googled what happened and here are the facts!’
OMG. This happens all the time now. No sooner does someone say something than someone else’s thumbs are going full speed ahead to discover and announce ‘the facts.’
It is the end of poetic license. It is the end of stretching the truth to make a point. It is the end of speaking whatever pops into one’s head.
It is the end of bullsh#t!
Oh no! How can we converse in civilized society without hyperbole, without metaphor, without a slight coloring of the facts for emphasis?
The ubiquitous phone with the ubiquitous internet equal ‘Just the facts, Ma’am. Just the facts.’
As a story-teller (which is a euphemism, I admit), I proclaim a 30-day mourning period for the end of BS! And I don’t think I will ever find closure. BTW, you know of course what Socrates said? ‘The only true wisdom is in knowing how to BS.’
Oh jeez….Are you going to google that now?”
And we’d like to add a solution that we’ve advocated before: Why not require all guests—friends and family both—to put their cells and other devices in a bowl in the entryway when they’re invited to dinner and claim them only on their way out. And when you dine together in a restaurant require everyone to keep them off the table and out of their laps. Better yet, leave them home.
©2016 Margery Leveen Sher
The Noticer’s Guide to Living and Laughing…..Change Your Life Without Changing Your Routine is now available on Amazon, Nook, and iTunes. Read the reviews and purchase here.http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00OZTM73U