Dan Brown got me thinkin'

Over the past few weeks, I've been reading Angels & Demons by Mr. Dan Brown.  You may remember Mr. Brown for his book on some code.  There was a movie made a few years back.  Made a lot of noise in the Church.  While I can't say that I agreed with the book, it was certainly entertaining.  And that's what made me pick up the afore-mentioned prequel.

 

I'm about 80% of the way through the book and I have just recently read a speech that the chamberlain character makes to the world.  His comments are directed to an organization known as the "Illuminati," an organization that puts science before faith.  Anywho, this character made an impassioned speech about all the good that science has brought the world.  And the evils that rode in the coattails of the good.

 

And that got me to thinkin' about the way we communicate and how communication has progressed over the years (stop me if I've discussed this before).  Adam and Eve spoke to each other and to God face-to-face.  This method worked pretty well for a long period of time.  And then we started to communicate with letters.  And then the telegraph.  Then the phone.  Then email.  Then text messaging.  And with the growth of these new technologies, I think our communication has suffered more and more.

 

I'll be the first to admit that I like email. It's biggest benefit is that it is convenient. But it's also the easy way out.  For those of us who are non-confrontational, it's a lot easier to express our feelings via email then it is by voice.   And I'm one of those non-confronters.  Email's safe.  I don't have to worry about my voice shaking or awkward pauses or mis-spoken words.  But I think it allows me to create a "virtual me."  The me that is smooth and polished.  The me that is not really me.  And while I've excelled in written communications, I believe that my verbal skills have regressed.

 

So what am I going to do about it?  Well, email is still helpful for people who live a great distance away or for people who I don't have phone numbers for.  So I'm not dropping email all together.  But I'm going to start calling local people more often and emailing them less.  I'm having dinner with some friends tomorrow.  Instead of emailing them to confirm, I'm going to call them.  It's going to be rough.  I know that.  There will be the "I can't believe I just said that" moments and the pauses, complete with "ummm's" and "huh's."  But that's who I am.  And I'm prepared to deal with that.

 

Question to ponder:  How has technology affected you for the worse?  Or has it?