Category: Miscellany

These days, I’ve been wondering about my living in the two centuries (OMG, do I sound like a centenarian? LOL). Would it have been the same for those living in the 19th and 20th centuries? I bet it would have been nothing like my generation – the Lost Generation- the children of the 1970s Children – because we have witnessed the birth of the Internet and learned to use and enjoyed the privilege of incredible modern technology.

The offspring of the Internet comes in the form of Kindle, Music, and movie streaming, not to mention AI Personal Assistant Alexa. Kindle is impressive, although many people grimace about it as if it were beneath traditional books and thus unfit for their intelligent taste. Like YouTube, it has popularized the use and habit of reading everywhere, even in darkness. It will die out without batteries, but with it, knowledge and wisdom from time immemorial till today is stored. It is a compact Library of Barbel in my palm, even in my tiny apartment.

The Internet, however, is not a 21st prerogative because it has already existed in the military world. It was used in military defense for a long time till it became the convenience of civilization. I believe many other technological wonders have been unknown to the public. Who knows, there will be cars that do not require a Driver’s License because they will be auto-piloted. And what about changing faces like the one in the Mission Impossible series? What was once thought of as sorceries are the manifestations of science? Alexa is a ghost in the machine or the spirit of the AI. Maybe.