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Each of these aspects has influenced the others,
though it is unlikely we will evolve pointed fin-
gers to better press on smart phone screens, as
our tech and cultural changes are coming far
(While Trying Really Hard) faster than our human bodies can adapt.
We often get the latest tech gadgets to fill a
need, enhance our lives, save time or money or
By Greg Skalka, President, Under the Comput- simply keep up with others. Anything new is usu-
er Hood User Group ally different from what we are used to, requiring
February 2018 issue, Drive Light some learning and adaptation. Even when we
think we have mastered our technology, we can
www.uchug.org
find that success is fleeting. More and more de-
president (at) uchug.org vices are programmable and are frequently con-
You may be able to succeed in some things nected to the Internet - often the device you
without really trying but dealing with technology have today behaves differently after tomorrow’s
is not typically one of them. While our modern updates. Setting up your devices can be chal-
lives are awash in new tech, we must often lenging, and when things don’t work, or stop
struggle to cope with it. New innovations bring working, where do you go for help?
the potential for much good for our world and As an engineer, I should have a front-row seat
our individual lives, but they can also have un- on the technology express we are all riding on.
anticipated negative consequences for our I’ve been educated in engineering principles and
planet, our society and ourselves. On a per- work daily to advance the capabilities of the
sonal level, our everyday interactions with equipment and networks our phones and com-
technology can help us get ahead, save us puters use to communicate. Most of the time my
time, connect us, isolate us, cost us resources work is rather unglamorous: creating spread-
and drive us crazy, often all at the same time. sheets, writing reports, probing uncooperative
New technology usually means change, and hardware. While I am closer than most to the
how we deal with the changes will determine origins of our new tech, I too am often confound-
our success. ed by devices that don’t work as promised, dis-
Technology is simply putting science to practi- mayed when they fail and feel apprehension
cal use to solve our problems. We have been over where all these things are taking us as a
using technology since the dawn of human- society.
kind. Stone tools and fire-starting methods are I’ve often been successful in solving my own
just early forms of technology. We as a species problems with new devices and software, as well
have evolved, along with our society and our as maintaining and repairing my stuff. A lot of
technology, each evolving at different rates. people look to me for help with their tech prob-
Our tech has changed, from hand axes to loco- lems, and I am depended on to be the family IT
motives to smart phones, while our social sys- (information technology) person, as well as ap-
tem has gone from tribes to countries to a pliance repairman, auto mechanic, handyman,
global community. We have physically plumber, electrician, gardener and tech installer.
changed as well, with less physical effort re- With all these responsibilities, it is rare that I
quired in our daily lives, more leisure time and don’t have a long list of household problems to
a greater abundance of food resulting in a ris- solve. Successful resolutions usually require re-
ing obesity problem in the developed world.
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