Is technology ever far away from us? No, not really. You see it everywhere. Even in rural areas… the form of technology may change but it is there for sure. And technology also tends to affect us all in one way or the other.

I remember that day when we were sitting in our study and watched some of the recent pictures I had clicked at the Samsung event called ‘Olympics Heroes’ where a part of the participating players were felicitated. No, this post isn’t about that event… we’ll talk about that in a later one. As we browsed the pictures and the videos shot, my wife said, ‘I do hope our players come home with a few Golds this time.’

‘They do have access to better infrastructure and other sporting facilities now,’ she continued after a pause.

‘Well, yes,’ I said, and then shutting off the computer monitor, I turned towards her and continued, ‘I am wondering if we can click a few pictures that tell us how technology has become a part of us.’

My wife smiled and said, ‘Sounds exciting!’

So we decided to click a few experimental pictures where my Samsung Tab and one of us were connected. As we were discussing, my nephew too joined us. He had probably completed his quota of studies for the day.

‘Join us,’ I said, ‘we’re trying to click pictures where technology and humans are shown together.’

‘And not the usual stuff where you show a person talking on his phone,’ added my wife.

I smiled and said, ‘Well, surely not the way a conventional techie would click a device and write a review or make one of those utterly boring unboxing videos!’

‘So why don’t we start with the captions?’

We were silent for a while and let this suggestion from my nephew sink in. I recovered first and said slowly, ‘Nice idea. We decide on the role or the way we want this Samsung Tab to interact with a human and then see how the idea can be clicked.’

Thus we got down to the task of creating a list of ways this human-technology connection could be explained. The final list that we created had these entries:

  1. Technology makes me a brighter person
  2. The way I look at technology is the way it stares back
  3. How real are we going to remain if technology moves any faster?
  4. Technology brings out the yet undiscovered within me
  5. What is virtual will remain so until you do something in real life
  6. What I see is also half of what I am shown

‘Let’s call this list our 6 laws of interaction with technology,’ said my nephew.

My wife laughed and replied, ‘Looks more like a tab, technology, and some truths.’

The photo-sessions took another couple of hours and just look at what we ended up with… giving you only the captions that we created along with the pictures. We leave the interpretations to you.

 

Technology makes me a brighter person

Technology makes me a brighter person

Technology makes me a brighter person

 

The way I look at technology is the way it stares back

The way I look at technology is the way it stares back

The way I look at technology is the way it stares back

 

How real are we going to remain if technology moves any faster?

How real are we going to remain if technology moves any faster?

How real are we going to remain if technology moves any faster?

 

Technology brings out the yet undiscovered within me

Technology brings out the yet undiscovered within me

Technology brings out the yet undiscovered within me

 

What is virtual will remain so until you do something in real life

What is virtual will remain so until you do something in real life

What is virtual will remain so until you do something in real life

 

What I see is also half of what I am shown

What I see is also half of what I am shown

What I see is also half of what I am shown

 

 

Arvind Passey
05 July 2012