Monkey & Time Machines

Yesterday, I accompanied Hanumanth to Decathlon to help him in buying couple of sportswear & a head band. It was incredibly satisfying picking those products from the isle. While we stood in a line for billing, an assistant came to us and said, sir, you can avoid the long queue if you have Decathlon App. This idea was sensible. We took assistants help and payed through App, it was quick & in no time we were out of the that place. Going little back, when we were waiting in a queue, it occurred to Hanumanth to make a call to Sukesh and ask him if he wants anything from Decathlon, since he is here. The call was received, and Sukesh enquired about skipping rope which counts skip automatically! We asked the assistant if we could get this, and he said, that kind of rope is not available.

This ' counting rope' got stuck with me. My immediate reaction when I heard that, was, "are we becoming monkeys again"? This true? such a thing is manufactured? Till then I didn't know that there is a counting rope for skipping! Now, the questions and enquiries aren't directed at sukesh's choice of purchase. It is his choice & choice that he makes will make sense to him. He will have whole lot of reasons to buy a product for the use, and above all, this choice gives him immense satisfaction. And that is all one need.

Now, my questions are directed against my own understanding of the world. For that matter, someone might tell me, that I'm lagging behind, that I haven't kept tab of products that are available in markets which simply are unbelievable.

And it is no strange that you didn't hear or see such a rope. I agree, and it makes sense totally. Meanwhile, a simple question to begin with: what is the use of so many machines( tech) around us?, However, this is a silly question, as many many would argue. Now, as silly as question sounds, the answer you hear is the silliest, that is, ' to make our life easy ' and immediately I jump to ask, how easy? There is tremendous amount of machinary that is involved in our daily life, whether one stops to think or otherwise, is of no consequence. Now, we set alarm to knock off sleep at particular time, instead we could train ourselves to such punctuality. Machines around us are incredible enablers, no doubt in it. But, someone might think that arguments I'm making are about good or bad machines, frankly it is not. 

My intentions here are to draw attention to what we practically live are becoming a substitute to machines works which rather should be other way around. Micro works such as alarm can become substitutes rather than a necessary interventions. Machines that tells heart rate, counts your steps, advices what to eat, when to sleep, reminds you of events, tells you what is too much and what is too little!! These aspects which are incredibly intricate to humans are beings handed over to machines to manage. There is watch on wrist to tell us time, and many million things, phone in pocket to peek into the world, shoe to assist in "comfort" walks,  glasses on eyes to keep us informed of everything and anything and what not? This is simply handing over part of cognitive skill to machine. The fact is, this very cognition has what separated us from animals. 

Let's not give in to machines, for they are learning and they are learning pretty fast. Let's not bring in a day where we have to fight for our space to live.

( Hanumanth, Sukesh & Me are childhood friends)