Deprevation Trough

Deprivation Trough

 

What happens when mother comes to the table with nothing on?

“Take A Picture.”   Said Grandmother.   “Facebook Action.”

Is the perfect lead-in to indicate my frustration when monster-like hands make dancing on a miniature keyboard, ( something called:  ‘Virtual Input Device.’) seem like a bad idea, now life-like and copied by the next generation at the age of 3.

 

Started out with the notion:  A Table with Nothing-on-It.

But in the hands of a novice on a smart-phone, small is the idea that he needs to go home and sit at his PC workstation with a standard-sized keyboard and write this essay/blog.

“We don’t do that anymore.”  But doesn’t elaborate. 

 Silence of the Lamb.

 

I am attempting to find the proper way of expression.  Was hoping to avoid using the smart-phone as a camera, showing an empty table to provide an understanding about such things as scarcity and deprivation, now in contrast with notions like  small and miniaturization.

“there is nothing on the table.”  Of course there is,  you just can’t see it.  Keyboard and screen is missing, or now so small that it is difficult to use when wearing gloves in minus 30 degree weather, exposed and determined to avoid frost-bite and the loss of limbs and fingers.  Difficult to see and use, when wearing tri-focal glasses.

Is a changing world and new ways of recognizing all of this is mandatory.  Discard words like Scarcity and Deprivation.  Toss them into the drink or as he suggested, into the deprivation trough.  Is not a term we use often in today’s environment.  Miniaturization  and small is good.  Can’t type because your hands and fingers are missing or just too large to make such functioning practical, choose option B and just speak and the phone will present a verbal command and type it for you.  Talk and Visualize the outcome.  Words appearing on a screen, without a need for typing.

 

And he says, “The typewriter is so obsolete.” And now keyboards are obsolete.   2017 and he just struggles with the idea.  ‘Mother at the table with nothing on.’  Is not something he can visualize.  But these things are automatic now.  He said it, because he was told this is the thing to do.  “Be modern.  Just say it.”  And before you know it, its posted on Face-Book, with Grandmother notifying the family.

Rapid change and it is imperative that we smarten up at the end of each day.

“Wow.”  He says.   “Look at this.”

And the family responds.  “This is embarrassing.  How did this happen.”

Later we get a proper response.  “We left grandmother alone with the smart-phone and she was talking, while the personal assistant was on and relaying the information and instructions to the micro-processor.”   End Result.  And empty table.  And mother’s picture on the internet in Face-Book, depicting a compromising situation.”

 

It is not clear if we are saying, “It is embarrassing to admit that there is nothing on the table and we are part of the working-poor?”  Or if this is about the picture Grandmother posted of her daughter, with nothing on.

 

For the most part this episode goes far to demonstrate the new visual landscape, and voice-based technology that is miniaturized to the degree that we take it for granted and act as if it isn’t there.  But of course now we know.  There are unintended consequences to the technology-driven environment and platforms, now being used, to display our everyday life.