Information TO GO

Last night I read the prologue and first chapter of “World Wide Mind” by Michael Chorost. It really caught my attention as I was able to make many immediate connections with my own life. Mostly, I was struck by the prologue “A Dead BlackBerry”, pointing out not only the accessibility and portability of so much information that the BlackBerry gives us,  but also how much we rely on such devices on a daily basis. When I read “Personal Dynamic Media”, I immediately drew the parallel of the similar theme of portability that the Dynabook would give us.Kay/Goldberg could only guess what a portable device such as the Dynabook would give us, how it would affect us and how our society would benefit it. There was prediction of how helpful it would be, but while reading World Wide Mind I realized how big of an impact similar versions of today’s “Dynabook” really has on us. There is literally endless amounts of information we can carry around with us when we carry a device like a BlackBerry, Droid, or iPhone. I can’t even begin to count how many times a day I use my iPhone to look up the current weather outside, reread my emails so I know which room I’m meeting someone in, look up a lunch schedule, a due date, a word’s definition, a gym class time, a person’s name or birthday I forgot. The list is endless. We carry with us this resource whose value and capabilities of informing us are endless. If I forget my phone at home I literally feel lost and alone. I feel like I can’t do anything, like I am incapable. I act like my phone is my life line. I use my phone as my watch, my means of communication, my calculator. I use it to look people up, to contact teachers and friends. One point I found extremely interesting was that one day, maybe even in the near future, it will be considered rude to not google someone before meeting them. The thought of driving a far distance without a phone is terrifyng. What if I got lost and didn’t have my GPS? What if I ran out of gas in the middle of nowhere and couldn’t call someone to come get me? Carrying a smart phone gives you access to almost any information you would ever need. It is connecting us to the rest of the world where ever we may go. It’s a pretty amazing idea if you really think about it.