I
want to start this thing out with a story about a mindless game.
I’m
guessing at this point we all have them, usually on our phones.
This one I had been playing was for a video game console. (If
it helps, it was one of those progress through different line
up the gems challenge games. I told you… mindless.)
Well,
turns out this one has a bit of a glitch. Hundreds of levels,
which is great. But on one particular level there is absolutely
no way to win. Well, there is, but it pretty much involves buying
resources. Impossible otherwise.
And
I’m fairly certain it is impossible, as I checked online, looked
at several responses to the situation, and each and every one
claimed one of two things: (1) Person never accomplished it but
theorized one way it could be done, or, (2) person explained buying
special items and then performing the exact play person one theorized.
Wanting
to advance but not feeling like paying for special items, I decided
I would erase the game and start all over again. This time I’d
just take the extra bonus stuff awarded and save them at all costs.
I liked the game. Would be good to step away from it for a bit,
clear the profile, and begin again in a week or two. Only that
proved tricky when it couldn’t be done. Turned out the gaming
profile locked in the person that had signed on to play and had
no option for erasing anything. Since it wouldn’t let you play
unless you logged in, there was no way around that without going
through other hoops.
I
walked away.
Many
months later, I flipped on the video game console. Thought about
playing the game again, and decided I might go back to the first
level and just play the game again trying to get maximum rewards
for all levels. You could advance by completing the task and earning
only one star. I decided to play each level until I earned three
stars. Figured it would be a bit of fun, bit of a challenge, and
perhaps I might even earn one or two of those special items by
the time I got back to the impossible level.
Around
that time the console started acting up. I ended up finally resetting
it. And wouldn’t you know it, the game erased the play to date
and cleared everything out. I was starting over. More or less
exactly what I wanted.
My
joy lasted about a week. I turned it on, logged in, and for whatever
reason found out the history had been restored and the game was
back with me stuck on level 255.
And
that, in a longwinded nutshell, is why I hate technology.
But
it really isn’t that I hate technology, or that I don’t completely
trust it. It’s more that we seem to have moved away from it making
sense.
Take
text messages as an example. Everyone raise your hands. Now, put
them down if autocorrect has ever changed words on you and you
didn’t notice. Anyone left? Ok, has anyone ever had voice text
kick in and you didn’t even know it was enabled so you sent some
strange audio text? Has anyone ever managed to get confused as
to whether or not they were sending, receiving or responding to
a group text? Hands go down… hands go down… and, let’s face it,
if we’re being honest everyone put their hands down on the autocorrect
one.
We
all understand the basics of what’s happening. Intuitive and comfortable
has long since disappeared in the rearview mirror. We sacrifice
privacy and dollars for better cameras, longer battery life and
weather alerts that forecast rain falling in our location in seven
minutes and twenty-three seconds.
Impressive
stuff. But every so often I don’t want to be plugged in. I don’t
want my video game console to know who I am, I just want to start
a new game. That seems reasonable to me. But then, I don’t remember
the last time any new piece of technology was described in the
marketing materials as reasonable.