IEEE Technology and Society Magazine - December 2015 - 104

Last Word
Christine Perakslis

Digitus Secundus:
The Swipe
s 2015 marked the
70th anniversary of
the liberation of the
Holocaust concentration camps, I downloaded an audio recording of one
of my heroes. Corrie Ten Boom was
sent to Ravensbruck for hiding Jews
during the Nazi occupation of the
Netherlands. She suffered deprivation of food, water, verbal expression,
and sleep. She was stripped of the
inviolable rights of human dignity.
Midway through Corrie's talk, I
caught sight of my index finger swiping my device. I switched from her
talk to one of my 1000+ songs.
Stark realities became apparent.
Due to the intensity of Corrie's suffering, I reflexively opted to escape
into cheerful dance beats. I fled

A

Digital Object Identifier 10.1109/MTS.2015.2494403
Date of publication: 17 December 2015

104

from Corrie's option-less prison cell
to my world of luxurious and abundant options. With a mere swipe, I
abandoned a cognitive path. Did I
perceive forfeiture of valuable lessons? Did I contemplate the longterm effects of exercising options?
In our society, if we don't like
something, we often mute, forward,
or press stop. We can tune out the
world with 3.5-mm technology tucked
snugly in our ears. We can instantly
and effortlessly escape, avoid, or substitute what makes us vulnerable,
uncomfortable, or bored. When a student in my class publicly voices a
struggle, other students so often pull
out their phones. Yet, the unpleasant can teach us marvelous lessons.
What seems insignificant, uninteresting, or irrelevant today often proves
to be valuable later.
Most concur; Moore's Law is no
longer mere prognostication. Tech-

IEEE Technology and Society Magazine

nology delivers ever-expanding
options. Perhaps an Impact Evaluation is essential: What are the
intended and unintended effects on
society if we do not learn to exercise
options more assiduously?
After I resumed Corrie's talk,
the lessons proved priceless. Corrie
described supernatural peace and
magnificent purpose birthed amid
the horrors of Ravensbruck. She
increased her capacity for patience,
endurance, determination, flexibility, unshakeable peace, and love.
In our society, we value removing
even the slightest of discomforts;
technology is often the means. Yet,
if hardship can be a pathway to
peace, we would do well to responsibly exercise the options afforded
us through technology. With vigilance, we may well avoid relinquishing long-term rewards.

∕

december 2015



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