Leveling Up

Where are we going?

What is our process for getting there?

Are technological advancements having an adverse effect on a social level?

Is accessibility to all things via the Internet putting blinders on our ability to identify the glory that exists outside of our window?

I came upon a young man today in our office building. He was noticeably flustered. He asked where a certain office was located, I informed him and he accelerated in that direction. Minutes later he returned telling me that he was in the wrong building (as if he wanted an explanation from me for his confusion). When I asked where he was going he told me he was heading to a job interview. Not sure this young man was in the best frame of mind to be sitting in an interview.... today or any other day.

What are we going to reflect upon 50 years from now?

Will every child who grew up with a phone in their hand be deemed unfit to hire due to something they posted when they were 10 years old?

Will our children chase their parents and grandparent's digital trails to find political arguments or inappropriate pictures?

Surely, we cannot remove ourselves from active participation in humanity by assuming we are receiving the appropriate level of human compassion from a machine.

Common sense would dictate that the wave of social media as we know it will crash into sand on the beach.... and we'll get back to enjoying the sunset.

Mastery vs. Interpretation 
I know so many really smart people whose intelligence is an albatross. The intellectual would argue the aforementioned statement might be an indication of the lack of intelligence in our society. However, all the knowledge in the world is a deposit without return if you cannot articulate your purpose.

Subject Matter Experts exist in a rabbit hole know as intense knowledge from a functional standpoint accompanied by the baggage of existing experiences. Said experts pull back the curtain so far that they confuse people. Expelling the technical elements of application for the sake of how a solution solves a problem is far more important.

It's called common sense.... and we lose site of it when we replace our hearts and brains with batteries.

Hugging the Good Stuff
While we prioritize our point of view in the social space with people far from us we tend to neglect the fact that none of it matters.

No child ever gave a speech to their class about the bravado-laced stupidity of their Grand Mother's social perspective. I'd like to think the digital trail we leave for generations to come will be searched, correlated and shared to showcase the brilliance of how it used to be. God knows we have an ability to dress up the past.

More important than the disagreement you had with your uncle over gun control is the hug you give him when you see his undeniably wonderful stupid face.

You'll forget the team for which you cheered, the person for whom you voted, the proposed educational path to enlightenment or the standards by which people should manage their lives.

Insults are a transactional validation of  the stubborn nature of ego protection.

Forgiveness is a transformational act of progress.

In the end, we don't remember the insults. We are not robots. There are no analytics or statistics that measure one's ability to tire of their baggage and change.

Don't Forget to Remember,

Dave