Technology: It's natural to do so

 

 

If you selected any of the multitudes of math problems in the Geometry textbook and typed it in the Google entry box online, you could instantly receive the answer to the problem.  Although you may appear intelligent as you present the answer to the challenging problem in class, you know that your own mind did not figure it out. It only makes it harder in the long run. However, you are so concerned with the present and all the things you have to finish that the “long run” is not considered.

I believe that Americans in particular are always rushing. Take New York City for example. It’s dubbed the “city that never sleeps.” Or how about the strip mall after strip mall that lines the streets of Albuquerque, providing Americans the easy access to fast food of which they gobble down, putting an end to the family dinners and slower eating habits. And what about the colleges, especially the Ivy Leagues, which make it clear  to all of the aspiring young students hoping for an acceptance letter that they have no chance of getting in unless they play an instrument, run a club, save lives, and excel in sports while maintain a high G.P.A. We are taught early on to do as much as possible, often more than we are capable. And so when it comes time to sit down and focus on math problems, we are unable to do so. We can’t focus, we don’t have time, and a pink calculator or a buzzing phone sits right in front of us, calling our names. With growing technology, access to the already solved math problems as well as calculators are fantastic ways to complete homework as quickly as possible.  And as these programs become a part of our daily lives, I find myself typing in 10² + 13 onto the calculator because it’s natural to do so.

The society we live in is dependent on technology so we believe that it is fine to have something else do it for us. We are obsessed with the newest technology that when we see an easier way to finish and move on, we do so. Why waste your time trying to solve the problem when you can type it in and have an app tell you how much money you should tip the waitress? It’s disturbing when you stop to think about how much less we use our brains. Then again, we don’t have much space left in our schedules to think. And whatever happened to the “times table” dinner placemat or the non-digital clock? We can’t even seem to tell time anymore.