We Have Become the Tool of Our Tools. – Henry David Thoreau

Thoreau said this back in the 1800’s!

Technology is a double-edged sword, bringing amazing opportunities and frightening hazards. Finding the right balance is key. For that, we need to look inward. Focusing on the fundamentals not just the momentary fun of bright shiny objects.

If we let them, and we usually do, shiny bright objects will distract us from focusing on the core issues that Humankind has struggled with since our ???????minds first realized the potential and pitfalls of our existence.

?We’ve come to think that we can overcome our humanity with nothing more than technology. We all have a smartphone yet few of us are particularly smart about philosophy or ethics, relying more and more on tech. As Architect Frank Lloyd Wright said, If it keeps up, man will atrophy all his limbs but the push-button finger. Makes you wonder if the singularity is right around the corner.

Inner Space is the Real Frontier. - Gloria Steinem

We seem to always be looking outwards. Looking for answers beyond ourselves.

Searching for answers outside ourselves. Whether that be new lands or technology.

Even our so-called self-help books seem shallow. Perhaps we suffer from

Eisoptrophobia: The fear of seeing oneself in a mirror.

Before you can get comfortable in your own skin, you’ll have to get over the initial discomfort of seeing with new eyes. You’ll have to be honest with yourself, willing to explore uncertain territories- within you and beyond you. Sometimes, you’re going to feel anxious and lost, until you get things sorted out. Truth is, it’s a process that you will face over and over again. But each time you’ll be a bit better at it. A bit wiser. A bit stronger. Still, day in, day out, you’ve got to check yourself. Because sometimes we lie to ourselves without even knowing it.

Deep change, real change means committing to self-reflection. That doesn’t mean spending all your time in your mind, it means being honest with yourself. And that may just mean asking friends for their honest opinion of you. Not to be hurtful but to be helpful. It’s like a personal intervention called before you come anywhere close to hitting rock bottom. Or see a therapist not because you’re overwhelmed but because you want to better understand your journey and those in it.

?All this is just the beginning of the next phase of your most interesting adventure- you.

Asimov’s 3 Rules of Robots

AI has us all talking- and concerned- again, about machines and technology.

It’s a conversation that has been long-running. One prominent voice in the discussion arose in the 1960’s, science fiction writer, Isaac Asimov who introduced his 3 Rules of Robotics:

?1)??? A robot may not injure a human being or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm.

2)??? A robot must obey orders given it by human beings except where such orders would conflict with the First Law.

3)??? A robot must protect its own existence as long as such protection does not conflict with the First or Second Law.

We’re Drowning in Information, While Starving for Wisdom.???????? ??????????? ????????????????? - E.O. Wilson

Too much of a good thing. That’s what today’s abundance of data has become. Too much. In fact, the more we come to know, it seems the less we actually do know. It’s like a book full of random words that fails to tell a story. Then again, it may also be your opportunity:

The world henceforth will be run by synthesizers, people able to put together the right information at the right time, think critically about it, and make important choices wisely.? -- E.O. Wilson.

Bottomline: data without analysis and insights is both nice and worthless.Too much of a good thing. That’s what today’s abundance of data has become. Too much. In fact, the more we come to know, it seems the less we actually do know. It’s like a book full of random words that fails to tell a story. Then again, it may also be your opportunity:

The world henceforth will be run by synthesizers, people able to put together the right information at the right time, think critically about it, and make important choices wisely.? -- E.O. Wilson.

Bottomline: data without analysis and insights is both nice and worthless.

Today's Thought: Technology and data are undoubtedly double-edged swords, make sure you're sharpening the right edge.

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