We may have two eyes, but we cannot focus on looking in different directions like nature's chameleon. We may have two hands, but there is only so much we can handle. Is it any wonder why procrastinate and masturbate go "hand-in-hand"? I think not. Seriously, I mean, why would you want to watch multiple TV channels at once? I do not know a single person who willingly does that. Marty McFly, Jr. did this but he is somewhere in a future that does not exist. A future that hopefully does not meet its fruition.
Unless you are training to be in the Couch Potato Olympics, there is no need. At that point, the myth of multitasking becomes more than transparent. The mind will turn to mashed potatoes soon enough and there will not be any kind of tasking to be had. How could I discount the around-the-clock power of the brain you ask? I have not and I will not but here is my point.
As humans who built these wonderful technologies that make our lives easier, there is one thing we do forget that Greek philosopher helped us remember. No great thing is created suddenly.
We had to build one part to go to the next part and thereafter to have ourselves a machine. That is why I do not believe in multitasking.
Sure, you can have a network and team of people working on a similar tasks that result in one goal, but that would mean that multitasking is only multiple tasks being completed within a frame of time, regardless of the number of people involved. This is not true multitasking.
The traditional meaning of multitasking is in reference to an individual performing more than one task, usually tasks that are unrelated and progressively more difficult to manage together, at the same time.
What I do believe in is the more tangible results of a step. One step at a time slows us down and it would not be a bad thing in this rapid, changing tech culture. It makes us accountable, more punctual and attentive for what we do, when we do it. I do not know about you, but Isaac Asimov's Laws of Robotics sounds threatening to our intuitions and practicalities.
Although I cannot deny if robots ever do become autonomous, we will have Will Smith on our side. At least for another sequel. In fact, we may see robots thinking their own thoughts, like the self-computation of a Turing Test. Others say there is potential to upload and download our conscience into a computer to keep our minds virtually and forever accessible. Next thing you know, the robots will start having babies.
All this research reminds me of why the Disney Channel Original Movie, "Smart House" was a mother. She was overbearing like a mother can be but didn't always know best because she was a machine. Does anyone remember the Backscratcher? A simple machine that required our input. How about the typewriter? Another machine in need of a human touch.
These are a couple of examples that highlight our intuitions, our practicalities.We built these machines, therefore autonomy is left to the imagination of the builder and user.
With autonomy, we run the risk of not only being connected, but disconnected from our anatomy.
We must not forget that we use machines, not the other way around.
Typing next to Sion Dana, the sculptor of Steampunk Curiosities. - Joseph Aubrey Wiggins
This Dorothy, a 1955 Smith-Corona Skyriter - Brent Mitchell Wiggins
Thank you for the typewriter, Sion! It works like a charm. - Virginia Silberstein
11 Things To Do On Those Easygoing Fall Weekends We All Love
Let's be real, sitting in your dorm room or going out and partying all the time gets pretty old.
When boredom hits, it hits hard. I know I'm not the only one who dreads just sitting in my dorm room with my friends, and sometimes we need a change of scenery from our usual hang-out spots. I compiled the perfect list of fall dates for you and your friends or significant others.
Go Apple or Pumpkin Picking
It's one of my favorite things to do. The experience of the crisp fall air and the beauty of the apple orchards or pumpkin patches is unlike any other.
Plus, you can usually do this for a relatively cheap price. Bonus points if you go to a local farm. Support your small businesses!
Have a Fall Photoshoot
Another one of my favorite things about fall is the fashion. I'm a sucker for sweaters, leggings and my favorite Doc Martens. Your iPhone works great, or a polaroid camera goes perfectly with the season!
Drive to your local pumpkin patch, farm or just walk around your area. There are so many cool places to take pictures.
Pumpkin Painting
This is a great solution if you live in a dorm or apartment building and don't want or can't have an actual rotting, live pumpkin out for the entire month of October. Jack-o-lanterns are fun, but you can always buy the Styrofoam ones from Michael's and paint them. Have a contest with your friends or turn on your favorite Halloween-themed movie and go nuts.
Scary Movie Drive-In
This can still work if you don't have a drive-in theater near you. I was lucky enough to grow up 30 minutes away from an actual drive-in, where I could go hang out with my friends. But there's nothing wrong with building a fort in your living room or just hanging out in bed under the covers. The important thing here is the scary movies.
Go Out for Brunch or Bagels
If "Sex and the City" has taught us anything, it's that you can never go wrong with brunch with your friends. Bypass the mimosas and go for apple cider. Or if you're over 21, drink as many mimosas as you please.
Either way, I know I love bacon, egg and cheese bagels. And I will never say no to lazy Sundays with bagels and my friends.
Bowling
I always forget how much fun this is until I'm invited to do it for a group-bonding activity. Cosmic bowling takes me back to my middle school days, but I still find singing to classics with my friends and laughing at my subpar bowling skills fun. Don't @ me.
Bake Halloween Cookies
My grandma makes those Pillsbury sugar cookies with the cartoons on them for every single season. As the years go by and they add more graphics, she still doesn't get tired of buying them and baking them for us and the kids she teaches at her Sunday school classes.
Do it for grandma. Bake the cookies.
Go Thrift Shopping
This can be as cheap or expensive as you want it to be. I have a fear of trying things on in thrift stores, but I love buying XXL shirts from the adult-men section and making them into crop tops — then washing them three times before I consider them wearable.
It's fashion. Or laziness. Either way, now I have an outfit to go pumpkin picking in or to wear at my fall photoshoot.
Paint and Sip
I, like many of my friends, am underage. My mom has gone to those wine-and-paint parties, and they look super fun. I'm deciding to take it up a notch and do a cider-and-paint party.
Most towns have these studios, or you can invite your friends over and throw one yourself. They're super fun, and you get art to take home afterward!
Go on a Coffee Tour
Or a hot chocolate tour. I'm a big coffeehouse person, and I'm always looking for an excuse to drink as much coffee as I can in a 24-hour period. It keeps you inside, and the aesthetic of coffee houses is very pleasing.
Decorate Your Dorm or Home
You don't have to spend money on this! You can draw some pumpkins on computer paper, cut them out and tape them up. Or you can be extra like my roommates, buy a light box and put "It's freakin bats… I love Halloween" on it. You can buy skeleton decorations for your TV. It's up to you.