Is technology really helping people?

In "Automation Makes Ys Dumb", Nicholas Carr argues that automation is de-skilling people rather than strengthen people's skills and creativity. "But our growing reliance on computer automation may be exacting a high price. Worrisome evidence suggests that our own intelligence is withering as we become more dependent on the artificial variety. Rather than lifting us up, smart software seems to be dumbing us down." I totally agree with Carr's point. In such a technology age, technology is taking away people's skills potentially but substantially.

Let's talk about some really simple technological product--calculators. Calculators are so common in Universities that nearly every college student has one in hand. We use calculators to do all the mathematical calculations in class even in exams. Suddenly I found myself even rely on calculators to do very simple math for me. And I become gradually not good at doing all the sums in my head anymore. However, when I was in my country, China for school, I was required to do most of the calculations in my mind or on paper for homework and exams. This is a universal requirement for Chinese student. Only comes to Calculas problems would teachers allow us to use calculators for counting. So at that time, I was able to do all the simple math for most of my purchases. But now, when I'm ready to pay for my stuffs on the counter, I always wait till the cashier counts the total amount on his/her POS machine. In restaurants, I always use my smartphone app to count the tips for waiters/waitresses. Apparently, I become lazier and dumber compared to "me" in the past.

Smart technology definitely brings people much convenience but it also takes away our inner enthusiasm and learning initiative. People today are way over dependent on smart technology because we've tasted the sweetness of automation. However, the goal of automation is originally to boost the work efficiency of work like the boring and assembly work on production line. But nowadays, as Carr said, "The goal of modern software, by contrast, is to ease our way through challenges" that usually can up-skill us. Therefore, I think sometimes we should leave the pleasure of convenience behind, and go for the challenges. I believe the sense of accomplishment by overcoming challenges will taster much better!

A childhood experience

In speak of a scared and traumatized childhood experience, the first thing came to my mind would be the Detective Conan. Detective Conan is a Japanese detective manga series written and illustrated by Gosho Aoyama. It's a series of manga that opens to readers of all ages while there are so many murder scenes and murderous techniques clearly described in each episode. Those explicit murder scenes are the most direct and scariest elements that make Detective Conan the scar of my childhood.

Until today, I still remember the episode called Mountain Villa Bandaged Man Murder Case. As the title speaks itself, it's a tragic murder case happened in a mountain villa where a group of people stayed for vacation. Dead bodies and chopped heads wrapped with bandage are all depicted explicitly. From then, this episode has always been my scar. I would never watch it again though I am a grown-up now. My parents did nothing at that time since they felt that if the manga has already been approved to publish by relevant regulation department, it should be ok for children to read. However, I don't think that was a right way to handle the case. No matter it's a horror manga or a thriller movie, as long as it has inappropriate violent factors like dead bodies, it should be banned from children. And my parents should have taken actions like taking away those comic books, comforting me and explaining to me that those criminal scenes weren't true so that they wouldn't become my childhood scars. Also, I feel like there should be a rating system that is similar to the film rating system for these publications like comics and novels. By doing this, children would have a more healthy and parents would know more about how to protect their children from reading inappropriate content.