Parents now have more ways than ever to keep their kids distracted, entertained, and otherwise occupied, in other words, out of their hair. Parental expediency has truly reached new heights thanks to the iPhone and its army of clever app developers. Expediency is one of the most dangerous words in parenting. It means doing what [...]
Having established in a previous post that what most people call multitasking is not the most productive and efficient way to work, the next question I want to address is how to effectively engage in single tasking. The answer is definitely not rocket science; it simply requires prioritizing, delegation, focus, and most importantly, commitment and [...]
One of America's most cherished rights is citizens' right to privacy, as former Supreme Court Justice Harry Blackmun noted, "the right to be let alone." Passions are stirred by debates about the right to privacy and it has become a political hot potato in recent years due in part to the domestic wiretapping controversy, identity [...]
Doesn't anyone else see what is so obvious to me? Or has Steve Jobs's diabolical plan for global domination already reached a point that humans don't even see what is happening to them? The whole iPhone (and iPod and iPad) thing is starting to sound like a 1950's science fiction movie. If you've ever watched [...]
We all know the power of the Internet for good. It offers a wealth of information, connects people who are miles and cultures apart, and allows news to be disseminated instantly. But I recently learned of a young man whose reputation, and perhaps his life, has been devastated because of information, later proved to be [...]
We have just concluded what was one of the most tumultuous and divisive decades in our nation's history. I've been thinking about what made this period so difficult. Unexpected and, in some cases, uncontrollable events certainly played a role. The 2000 Presidential election, the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, [...]
A few months ago, I wrote a post titled The Blogosphere Jungle in which I described the truly uncivil nature of the blogosphere in which respect for opposing views and dispassionate discourse were out and ad hominem attacks and demonization were in. Yet, as I have followed and responded to many comments to my own [...]
In his insightful 2008 article in the Atlantic, Nicolas Carr asks, "Is Google Making Us Stupid?" He goes on to explore how new technology has altered our reading habits and, more unsettlingly, how we process information and think. It is a cerebral piece that meets the high intellectual standards we expect of that august magazine. [...]
I've been called a skeptic, an alarmist, and a doomsayer because the focus of most of my technology blogging is on the risks of and what's wrong with technology. I realize that I may sound like a Luddite despite the fact that I'm actually an early adapter and readily admit that I couldn't function in [...]
I've been reviewing my technology-related blog posts of late and I've noticed a particular trend that I find troubling: I seem to be a technology doomsayer. The overriding theme I've identified in my own writing about technology is one of skepticism and caution. My posts tend to focus on the problems that technology creates, not [...]