The closest city to where I live is Bundaberg. However my post code is Rainbow Beach. The television coverage I receive is relayed via satellite from Alice Springs. I do my shopping at Gympie however I live on an Island and work for a company in Hervey Bay.
I am currently talking to one son in the Pilbara region of Western Australia simultaneously with another son in the Gobi desert of Mongolia. At the same time I am watching my little Grand-daughter take her first steps in Brisbane.
Think about this and it all seems quite bazaar especially to a person of my age, yet I am no different from any other 21st century person who finds these globalisation logistics the norm.
Have you ever wondered why everyone you meet seems to be an authority on everything? Obviously you will answer “why, our ease of access to numerous search engines of course”.
Even hitherto complete dunces can now answer important questions like ‘how to peel a prickly pear fruit, or, why does the same side of the moon always face us?’. In a previous life, or so it seems, we as mere mortals had to ask some otherwise extremely well read academic to find such answers, or more likely retrieve a weighty encyclopaedia and spend half the day obtaining the information.
Sometimes superfluous information is gained for doubtful benefit. For instance I was somewhat bemused when talking the other day to a friend quite au fait with the mechanics of a latest European sports car quoting various beneficial points of interest, obviously stored in her memory for future use even though she is pushing 65 and a confirmed non-driver. Then there is my dear non-culinary husband who for some unknown reason is an authority lately on the benefits of Kaffir lime leaves and Harrisa paste when quite frankly I would have thought that he would not even have known such ingredients existed. How he has evolved from a meat and three veg man to a connoisseur is all due no doubt to a lisping ‘friend’ from England!
We are all thirsty for information and at every opportunity seem to delight in finding answers and communicating to our ‘friends’ on otherwise trivial matters. Would those ’friends’ be real friends in our pre info-crammed life?
Is our new found wealth of knowledge dangerous? Are we better, more rounded tolerant people for having a head full of knowledge or do we just like airing that information to impress others or procure acquaintances?
One would think that with such knowledge available for us to absorb, our world should therefore be a better place, with answers to every international problem on tap. Why then is there hunger, war, unimaginable poverty, gender inequality, disease, religious persecution and numerous other global issues. Why can’t we just ‘Google’ the world’s problems then solve them right away.
After all, with a little more Googling in the near future a solution will arise that will enable us to stare at the other side of the moon and when that day comes all the world’s problems will definitely be solved!
Jen