This discovery of yours will create forgetfulness in the learners’ souls, because they will not use their memories; they will trust to the external written characters and not remember of themselves. The specific which you have discovered is an aid not to memory, but to reminiscence, and you give your disciples not truth, but only the semblance of truth; they will be hearers of many things and will have learned nothing; they will appear to be omniscient and will generally know nothing; they will be tiresome company, having the show of wisdom without the reality. – Plato, Phaedrus, 5th Century BC
Were you thinking computers and social media before you saw the date on that quotation? Some truths are timeless. The revolutionary discovery being discussed in this dialog between Socrates and Phaedrus is …wait for it…the alphabet. This is a made-up myth about the Egyptian god Theuth giving the gift of writing to King Thamus who responds that its effects are likely to be the opposite of that which was intended. This passage has often been cherry-picked and used out of context to argue against critics of new technology by showing that every new idea begins with prophesies of doom and gloom. This does not mean that such insight can simply be dismissed just because technology happens. In 2008 Nicholas Carr wrote an article in the Atlantic, Is Google Making Us Stupid? in which he lamented, “I’ve had an uncomfortable sense that someone, or something, has been tinkering with my brain, remapping the neural circuitry, reprogramming the memory.†This is probably taking things a little too far, but is food for thought.
Those of us who are totally immersed in technology can see the dangers of becoming too dependent on technology for our lives. Several years ago before I became smart enough to back-up everything I do on a computer, I lost it all. Two very important lessons were learned from experiencing a fried hard drive: Most of the stuff I had squirreled away was not worth saving in the first place and second and more importantly was that human memory is not as efficient as a computer in “remembering†things, but it can be done. My resume and my prize winning chili recipe took some noodling around to re-invent, but they came out looking respectable anyway. While not being stupid enough to suffer that loss twice, I still have to relearn portions of that lesson when I lose internet or connectivity to servers I depend on for data. Â
In my role as a recruiter I am probably way too dependent on technology for my livelihood. Also since I depend on a somewhat unreliable internet provider in Comcast I have learned that offline logs are just as important as the electronic versions. With apologies to trees, the paperless office is a myth. Essential tasks and contact lists must be within reach so that a temporary technical trauma doesn’t result in catastrophe. When the phone rings…assuming that my cable is actually working…my feeble gray matter needs to have some sort of external stimulus to know all of the details of any specific situation. It may be a remnant of the way I used to do things when it was the only way, but file folders in a stair-step wire frame on my desk hold most of my ready reference files. Clients and candidates are too important to be left to memory…mine or the computer’s.
As a job seeker advocate and counselor, I see people that are desperate for employment assuming that their technological tips, tricks and tactics will always be available to them. In spite of all the counsel not to depend on job boards to spray and pray their resumes, this is in fact the tactic that most will use as the cornerstone of their search. In this instance it is not simply a matter of backing up or documenting facts in the event that the internet fails, but more tragically losing touch with the basics of how to deal with real people. A tweet is not as effective as eyeball-to-eyeball contact and text messages will never replace a handshake. How far a job seeker will go depends on the methodology chosen and two legs will always go further that one butt. Sitting accomplishes nothing.
Getting back to basics and “old school†thinking is not just a science fiction scenario where in a post-nuclear holocaust world basic survival skills require innovation, observation and cooperation. Today is that day. Ignoring the root fundamental skills of doing work is shortsighted and unproductive. Without that foundation technological improvements are a house of cards that crumbles with the slightest tremor. Technology enhances resources more than it replaces them. Â
Image credit: 123 RF Stock Photo
Is it just me or being authentic online an oxymoron? If you’re real life persona doesn’t match your “authentic brand” then I’d day you’re a fraud.
Job search and recruiting are contact sports – eye contact and handshake contact sports – because ultimately people have to get together to make business work. Might as well do it from the start…
You are absolutely right, Steve. Anyone who can’t network “unplugged” is probably a phoney. It doesn’t matter if it is intentional or not, hiding behind a flatscreen is a form of camouflaging reality. Branding isn’t spackle…it is being real.
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