[ExI] The Pace of Technology Adoption is Speeding Up

[Anders Sandberg]

On 2013-12-02 11:14, BillK wrote:
> I would add in a utility function for the value of your own time. I 
> find even the old land-line phones irritating, because the ring says 
> 'Stop doing whatever it is you're working on and talk to me - My call 
> is more important!'.

Sure. You have to choose your technology and not let it choose you. This 
is why many doctors still use pagers, and why I have decided against 
most social media. Email is great for me because it is asynchronous, 
semi-permanent, "cold" in McLuhan's terminology and allows you to 
formulate thoughts in a structured manner.

A surprising number of people just use whatever tech everybody else is 
using without checking whether it actually fits their lifestyle and 
cognitive style.

The real challenge is of course when you need to collaborate with 
somebody else with a different style. This is where it pays off actually 
understanding what works and doesn't work for you, and being able to 
explain it.

-- 
Dr Anders Sandberg
Future of Humanity Institute
Oxford Martin School
Oxford University