Let's embrace change but keep our language clean too
There have been a couple of letters in the Star recently concerned about the dangers of technology overwhelming the human ability to actually do something for ourselves in the future.
Now new technology is quite overpowering as my experience with online banking has proved, I never knew I had such a full and comprehensive mastery of British and Italian swear words.
But fear not I got there in the end with the help of a young gentleman on the phone, who saw, along with myself, the funny side of old git facing up to new technology. He even had the good grace to laugh when I said, “This little keyboard you’ve sent me is only fit for a young Olympic athlete on illegal drugs!” Give a young child an electronic gadget and they will get on well with it.
But give a young child a tin and a wooden spoon and they get creative, have much more fun and soon will start to emulate Keith Moon of The Who.
Even electronic gadgets cannot repress the human spirit.
Since the dawn of time, when men were men and women were (please complete ....................... Aunt Dolly has just filled in “Doing all the work”) humans have hated change.
When fire was discovered the manufacturers of woolly underwear went around putting the fires out.
The introduction of the wheel made people wonder if anyone would now have time to talk to each other. The invention of clocks introduced the phrase, “You’re late!”
Before clocks no one knew how late you were, as all you had to say was, “I’m off down the pub, I’ll be back before the candle’s burnt half way through.”
So I don’t love new technology, but when it works it can be an assistance without diminishing the human spirit.
So now I must take these near unreadable scribblings, made with quill, ink and parchment and approach that keyboard unfit for fat fingers and type away and forward the email via the technology high road.
Peter Steggles, Longnor
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