Technology

"One Thanksgiving, I was asked a question by my grandfather, who always seems to have some deep moral hidden in his questions. He asked if I even knew what technology was in a world that itself is a technology. Usually when asked these types of questions, I think about them for a while and then forget them. For some reason this question, however, is different. I am constantly reminded of it because, I suppose, everything around me is technology. I have contemplated this question for more than a year now and so far, here is the best answer I have come up with.
Every day something new is invented to make life easier. What I find strange, though, is that as the world becomes easier to live in, it seems to need more. People find solutions for problems that barely exist.
Do I really need that MP3 player when I can just burn a CD? Or do I even need that CD burner when I can go out and buy the CD? Or do I really need that CD when I can read a book instead? This progression could go on forever. For every invention, a new and better one will follow.
The more I look at the world and technology, the more I think about myself. Without even realizing it, my life has been affected by technology and its never-ending advances. While I have spent days writing endless emails and watching DVDs, I never stopped to think about the technology behind these devices.
I worry that I do not understand the genius behind technology. I have turned on lamps countless times without really appreciating Thomas Edison’s invention. Talking on the telephone, I forget to thank Alexander Graham Bell for his miracle of communication.
Even after thinking and writing about technology, I still do not think I have fully answered the question my grandfather asked me. I believe the answer is no – I do not really know what technology is, because everything around me is technology. I suppose technology is anything from the invention of a fishhook to the ability to clone sheep. Technology is inevitable.
Through necessity we invent, and through invention we need more. This never-ending circle of technology has brought the world this far."

By Barbara C., San Antonio, TX - www.teenink

tombar e arrefecer

"-Porque escolheste esta vida?
Agora a pergunta era tão clara que eu não achei uma sombra para me esconder. De outras vezes, outra gente me perguntara o mesmo. E nunca soube responder. Falavam-me de fora, de outro mundo, com uma linguagem diferente. E assim, as nossas ideias jogavam à cabra-cega. Eu próprio, quando queria entender-me, espreitando-me donde me não suspeitasse, não tinha razões talhadas à medida do meu sonho. Os princípios do senso, da justiça, talvez tivessem envelhecido e não pudessem acompanhar o meu anseio. Só metido dentro de mim eu me compreendo todo e sem razões. Hei-de um dia tombar e arrefecer. Talvez então seja possível a outros ler em rigor o que se imobilizou da minha agitação. Até lá, é difícil. Qualquer coisa me está sempre forçando os limites, mesmo da regra que julgo dar-me. (…)
Tenho pés para andar e olhos para ver. Posso sentar-me ou posso fechar os olhos e dizer que não há sol nem estradas. Mas eu sei que há estradas e sol e que os olhos vêem e os pés andam. Por mais que eu queira, quando sei por dentro que uma coisa está certa, eu tenho de saber que está certa. E ainda que os outros saibam que está errada, isso não me ajuda."

Ferreira, Vergílio; “Adeus” em Contos; 10.ª edição; Bertrand Editora; Chiado; 2003