Gregg Koskela writes in wonder while sitting near three college students and watching them "multi-task" with their laptops (multiple chats, email, and "work"), live conversation, and cel phones. I'm dubious about whether this is really multi-tasking (and so is one of Gregg's commenters) - I suspect it is really a matter of doing a number of things really badly, as anyone who has read a transcript of a chat or overheard a cel conversation can attest.
In a similar vein, an anthropologist in Japan is contending that the behavior of groups of teens in his country is analogous to that of chimps. In his study, Keitai wo Motta Saro (Monkeys with Mobile Phones), Nobuo Masataka says, according to this report, "...that young Japanese have lost the ability to discern between public and private space. He adds that they have formed what he calls the dearuki-zoku (out and about tribe)".
The report continues, "...the actions of the dearuki-zoku closely resemble behavior patterns in chimpanzees, which tend to travel in groups, walking around for a long time without going to any specific place, then eating and disposing of their wastes in the same place before bedding down on piles of grass whenever and wherever the inclination takes them." This requires no further comment.
Gregg concludes his post by saying, "...maybe I can't claim the title "techno geek" any more". Gregg, are you sure you want to?
1 comment:
Uber geek? Loser with no life? In love with technology but just not very groovy? Chimpanzee wannabee?
What am I SUPPOSED to aspire to, anyway? Man, you won't let me have Journey, won't let me have Star Trek, won't let me have techno-geek...all you do is take, take, take. I'm crushed, man. Give me SOMETHING, something to aspire to.
And if you say "soccer", I'm going to puke. :)
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