By Jim Selman | Bio
Jerry Mander is a kind of technology prophet.
As an ex-advertising guru he ‘got religion’ and in 1977 began to herald
the dangers of technology in Four
Arguments for the Elimination of Television. In his 1992 book, In
the Absence of the Sacred, he shows how the introduction of
technology takes on a life of its own and leads to untended
consequences—from potential environmental disasters and economic
upheaval to unlawful and inhumane control and manipulation of others. He
also asserts that, while new technologies can be extremely positive, at
least initially they almost always have a strong negative impact as
well. Mander’s prognosis is gloomy—with consequences ranging from
environmental degradation (such as climate change and catastrophic oil
spills), quality of life issues (such as permanent gridlock in traffic
and increased pressure to respond faster), the assault of media overload
on our consciousness, the growing threat of ‘super bugs’ on our health,
or long-term threats to civilization from uncontained nuclear waste or
some as yet unnamed cyber virus. He says, "Technological evolution is
leading to something new: a worldwide, interlocked, monolithic,
technical-political web of unprecedented negative proportions."[ Read More]
Written by eldering at Wisdom in Action
Tagged with:
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jerry_mander
technology
 By Jim Selman | Bio
Being alive at any time is preferable
to the alternative. However, as the years go by, I am increasingly
appreciative of the extraordinary time in which we are living. I don’t
mean this as some sort of a “Pollyanna” platitude, but as a serious
reflection on our world and who we are becoming at this particular time
in human history. I believe that what is happening today is analogous to
what people who were conscious and aware of what was happening
experienced in the Renaissance. This is not a commentary on the wonders
of technology—although they are amazing. Nor is this an optimistic
prediction and inventory of the serious environmental and social
problems we are facing—although they too are unprecedented. No, I think
what is extraordinary is what is happening to us as human beings. [ Read More]
Written by eldering at The Great Turning
Tagged with:
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Many of us--the vast majority of Boomers in fact--deal with the trials
and tribulations of vision loss. Corrective lenses address some issues,
but not all. Reading glasses can help focus on things within 12 to 18
inches. Progressive lenses allow for relatively natural vision for
anything that is close, far or in between. And HD lenses, offering the
latest in technological improvements, provide maximum clarity at all
distances, reduce distortion and increase your field of vision (as
compared to progressives). However, for those with low vision, color
blindness or blindness, even these are insufficient when it comes to
computers.[ Read More]
Written by eldering at Health
Tagged with:
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technology
vision_loss
 By Sharon Knoll | Bio
Cooking with my daughter, Krista, is bliss. We were making Crabby Crabcakes, an incredible recipe from Mark Bittman at the NY Times.
They were 99% crab with a little bit of stuff we purchased at the Queen
Anne Farmers Market to hold them together: brand new potatoes baked
with olive oil and rosemary, and sautéed summer squash and caramelized
onions with herbs. (Can you stand it? Are you ready to rush out and
cook and enjoy the wonderful tastes of fresh grown great food?) Our cooking together is like a dance—an intensive information and learning exchange.[ Read More]
Written by eldering at Wisdom in Action
Tagged with:
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technology
 By Jim Selman | Bio
Do you remember when networks of computers first arrived on the scene?
Moving information onto the new technological platform decentralized
and dispersed information and knowledge, a move that resulted in a
significant communications revolution that still has repercussions
today. Giving people the ability to access and share what had
previously existed only on paper or in the minds of certain individuals
not only sped up the rate of transactions, but also freed individuals
from a certain amount of manipulation. Some resisted the move to computers, feeling threatened[ Read More]
Written by eldering at Fearless Aging
Tagged with:
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 By Jim Selman | Bio
I came across an extraordinary six-minute YouTube video called ‘ The Shift’—a
presentation that blows one’s mind with factoids about the rate of
change in the world. The Shift they are talking about is a ‘paradigm
shift’, meaning our entire worldview, indeed our whole reality, is
being turned upside down and inside out by virtue of technology,
population and the exponentially accelerating rate of change. Whether
we like it or not, our ‘new reality’ challenges our commonsense and
conventional wisdom with ideas like “Knowledge is becoming obsolete
before you learn it”.[ Read More]
Written by eldering at Wisdom in Action
Tagged with:
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eldering
relationship
technology
wisdom
 By Shae Hadden | Bio
Usually we think of the inevitable convergence of technologies as
being beneficial for the majority of people using them. Take the
introduction of video to the internet, or the internet to the cell
phone, for example. As soon as we discover something that works that
people want, then the advertisers and marketers are on the bandwagon,
looking for opportunities to sell within the new medium. What has me
shaking my head today is the obvious marketing spin on ‘virtual gifts’,
iconic symbols of items one might give to someone in appreciation or
sympathy. [ Read More]
Written by eldering at Personal Empowerment
Tagged with:
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technology
 By Jim Selman | Bio
My daughter wrote a blog yesterday ( A World of Performance)
about how technology can move us further and further away from
human-to-human connections. I thought “Wow, I would never have thought
about that at her age”. Her reflections about what is happening to us
as human beings were insightful, but also very useful to me. I have
been promoting use of technology to connect people and never imagined
that it could also divide us. Now I can be more rigorous and prudent in
balancing the risks and rewards.[ Read More]
Written by eldering at Learning
Tagged with:
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generation
listening
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technology
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