Chapter six is probably the most thought-provoking chapter of this book so far, however; I did love the reference to Ayn Rand’s “The Fountainhead” in chapter five.
Kolko asks, “Can you make it through one day—still completing your major goals for the day—without utilizing digital technology?” My answer would be not if it involves a work day. My job is 100% based on digital technology. I have been sent home because of power outages that made me unable to do my work. I might be able to wake up using an old alarm clock that runs on batteries, I would be able to get my morning caffeine without power and digital tech, but I wouldn’t be able to make it to work because my car uses digital tech. My day without tech would have to be on the weekend. I could go on a campout…
In response to Kolko’s exercise on comparing upbringing: I was born in the mid-seventies, so I do remember growing up without most of the digital tech that I use now. The biggest complaint that I can remember my mom having with me as a child was that I was inept at reading an analog clock. I grew up with digital readouts. Today, I have two kids, born in the early 2000s, that have been “connected” since birth. My biggest gripe with them is that they don’t use the dictionary. My son asked me tonight how to spell a word, and I told him to sound it out or look it up in the dictionary. He immediately grabbed his tablet and Googled it.
As far as the education levels mentioned in this chapter, I can proudly say that both of my children (for now) are at least three years ahead of their grade-level for reading and both are advanced in math. This may be because I highly encourage reading and learning. I have been an avid reader since I was a child, an activity my mother greatly encouraged. I have passed this love of reading on to my kids by reading to them from the moment they were born and encouraging them to read whatever interests them. My daughter will read just about anything with fantasy, and my son loves historical stuff.