The universe of things we can do that were formerly just Jetson-esque dreams is constantly expanding. There are the big ticket items enabled by progress in every field: we can a send a helicopter to Mars, communicate from anywhere on the planet, and repair defects in our hearts and other vital organs. On a more personal level we can fall asleep on a plane in New York and wake up in Tokyo, carry telephones in our pockets, and navigate anywhere using satellites. Not only would your great great great grandparents have been amazed, but just as likely your own mom and dad are still trying to figure how it all works.
That's not to say that all progress is of the earth-shattering variety. While they may be based on underlying advances which are indeed amazing, the more pedestrian results are equally impressive. We can watch movies from the comfort of our own homes, freeze leftover spaghetti sauce so it can be used months later, and order lightbulbs tonight and have them delivered tomorrow. Even if those advances don't carry the same gravitas as discovering the origins of the universe, it's progress that's impressive none the less.
As part of this relentless march forward we've developed skills which would have completely baffled our forefathers and mothers. Whether it's using an escalator, driving a car or ordering takeout, they would have looked at many of the things we do effortlessly as if they were black magic. Just think about trying to explain a mouse to someone from the 1700's: "Well, yes, it's called a mouse, but it's not alive. You use it to move the cursor. A cursor? Well, it's the pointer that shows where you are on the screen. A screen? Well, it's a piece of glass that shows what the computer is doing. A computer?" You get the idea.
On top of those are the essential abilities we have all cultivated as necessary talents to live in the modern world. We can opine as experts on political and social policies of which we have only the barest real knowledge, mostly gleaned from headlines and Twitter postings. We can monitor and interact with 37 simultaneous chats, emails, Instagram postings and Twitter feeds, never letting any one get beyond a 4 minute non-engagement window. And we can drive at 70 miles an hour and check our email while keeping in our lane. Sometimes.
Then there's this last year. Say what you about the hardships it created, but it has forced us all to retrench. If not quite pioneer mode, we have learned to be a little more self sufficient in areas we formerly were not. You might have been able to do a little cooking in the past, with your usual MO being to order delivery or pick up food on the way home. But over the past 12 months you were forced to go into full blown chef mode, learning to cater for a picky crowd, juggling multiple dishes and substituting chicken for pork when supplies run thin. Likewise, with gyms off limits you've had to manage your own workout, whether than meant DIY dumbbells made of sand-filled milk jugs or endless walks around the block. And let's not even to begin to discuss tech support. Sixteen months ago if your computer didn't work you just shut it off and turned it back on, or waited until one of the kids came home. Now you can troubleshoot a Zoom call with the best of them.
That said, there are still lots of things that we can’t do, or more correctly, can do but haven’t yet needed to figure out. Likely there's not one among those of us reading this that can shoe a horse. Need to get from here to there? You certainly know how to use your GPS, but if I handed you a sextant and said you had to find your way by the stars you would likely just get lost. And it's unlikely you can pluck a chicken, darn your socks or tie a sheepshank knot to shorten a rope.
So to summarize: you can record a Tik Tok video, but not milk a cow. In today's world, that all makes sense. But if that cyber hurricane we keep hearing inklings about does indeed come to pass, relearning some sewing skills now might just come in handy.
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Marc Wollin of Bedford has learned how to make bread. His column appears regularly in The Record-Review, The Scarsdale Inquirer and online at http://www.glancingaskance.blogspot.com/, as well as via Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter.
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