Shifts seep into existence
E64: Technologies change society ... gradually + a gift of music
“Can we please have a paper map?” I asked.
“Umm, we have GPS and Google Maps … ?!” said my husband's raising a eyebrow and sharing a quizzical look with the guy behind the rental counter. “This is 2022, not 2008.” But we were driving into the Canadian Rockies for the first time. What if our phones died? Is the signal guaranteed? (Answer is not on the Icefields Parkway section).
I grew up using the ubiquitous A-Z to navigate London’s warren of streets. You mapped your way to where you were going, knew the compass direction and key landmarks before you stepped foot outside.
No longer. My kids get into the car and THEN plug in their destination. I just hope they don’t land in Lake Ontario as I almost did the one time I (blindly) trusted and followed the turn-by-turn instructions on a faulty nav system.
So, do you remember the last time you used a paper map to get where you needed to go?
What other technologies have supplanted the “way things were” in your life? Which has made your life easier? Here is your homework. Make a list of 3-10. As you do, pay attention: when did you realize that the new technology was now your main go-to? If you feel up to it, share it publically with Tribe Tilt where you see this post - Substack, LinkedIn, Twitter, or Instagram. DM/email it to me. Or just keep in your journal.
This is a thought byte. Part of a longer essay that I am writing on the Future of Work. Does it intrigue you? Did it spark a conversation in your mind?
We humans like to make things easier. As a result, we have created immensely useful tools and technologies. The plough. The pacifier. Robots, AI, cars, the smartphone … Some solve a specific problem.
But there are some technologies that go beyond. They change the world. Gradually. They start a ripple effect that changes the way that society is organized and behaves in response to that technology. It isn’t an immediate switch, a binary on/off.
Instead, the technology launches shifts that gradually … almost imperceptively … seep into existence.
The essays in this series: E64: Seep into Existence, E65: History Smooshes Stuff, E66: Becoming, E78: Mind the Gap (essay), E123: A Changing World Order
How do you launch your Celebration season at the end of the year?
When I worked in Manhattan, I would find my way to watch the tree lighting at Rockerfeller Center to signal the start of the Holiday season.
Since 2005, I have ushered in the Festive season with our Tempus Christmas Holiday Concert. Yesterday I got the rare treat of sitting in the audience and enjoying the full blended-voice choir experience. (My Covid-recovery prevented me from attending enough November rehearsals to be on stage.) Some pieces - like the Ukrainian Folk Song inspired “Sleigh Bells” - require a quick pace and lots of air! The sound was terrific and a great way to welcome in this joyous season.
We are a 100-person community choir aged from 14-80+. And we sing a cross-section of music at our concerts, which really gives our brains, vocal cords, and lungs a good workout. You could find yourself singing a Swahili carol, a jazz+skat medley, and a sacred piece in Latin in the same set. Our spring concerts have music for all ages from Broadway and Jazz to Disney, One Republic, Fun., Enya, and Queen. Our standards are Gordon Lightfoot’s Canadian Railroad Trilogy, Leonard Cohen’s Hallelujah, and the absolutely celestial Ave Maria by Caccini.
I offer you and your family one of my favourites - an arrangement of Little Drummer Boy and Peace on Earth arr. Jay Althouse - along with a wish for a joy-filled, peaceful Holiday celebration:
Tribe Tilt - a warm welcome to our many new members. You are joining a group that believes we can make a difference to the people and places that are precious to us. The primary topics we discuss here are the long view on the Future of Work, Raising Future Ready Leaders, and Climate. We enjoy a healthy and respectful debate, so feel free to share your thoughts.
Stay healthy. From there all else becomes possible. See you next week.
Karena
Was this edition shared with you? We would love to have you join Tribe Tilt if these topics interest you:
Podcasts are the big one for me. Outside of a few sporting events and cartoons with my daughter, I watch no TV. Podcasts are my entertainment medium. Which, now that I think about it, is probably similar to the way people used the radio before TV existed. So, in a way, maybe it's come full circle?
I nominate Zoom, which for me turned my preconceptions of how we might form connections, build relationships etc on its head. It’s been a terrific adjunct to IRL meet-ups and will continue to be important to me.
Thanks for the prompt questions Karena and for that marvellous choral singing.