“We are surrounded by the Technium; a global, massively interconnected system of technology vibrating around us. The Technium extends beyond shiny hardware to include culture, art, social institutions and intellectual creations of all types”
Kevin Kelly
What Technology Wants | Kevin Kelly
Kevin Kelly, the former editor of Wired magazine and self confessed ‘Gadget’ addict, makes commentary on the increasing amounts of technology in our lives and how it shapes and influences our behaviour, emotions and even spending habits.
Kelly compares colonial American households, which often had less than 100 items within them, to modern households such as his own which he reasons has more than 10,000 items! Rather than side with the Amish as technophobes, Kelly explains this technology is beneficial – but only if we view it in the way the Amish view their tools. Technology should be viewed as a tool to improve your life, and should not control your life.
Kelly explains how modern technology has allowed us to create a world of wonderful abundance and provides us with potential for self-realisation and careers that lets us follow our passions (since you are no longer searching for food or toiling in the fields). He also explains that it provides some unique psychological challenges, such as the paradox of choice (whereby too many choices lead to unhappiness).
Check it out on Amazon here, listen to it through Audible or buy it from Australia’s local bookstore Booktopia
Captain FI is a Retired Pilot who lives in Adelaide, South Australia. He is passionate about Financial Independence and writes about Personal Finance and his journey to reach FI at 29, allowing him to retire at 30.
