I’m reading a book about a woman who gets transported 200 years in the past. She’s a nurse from the 1940’s who has spent several years tending to war victims. Truthfully, I have issues with this book—on sooooo many levels. However, for its genre, it is well written… I guess. Okay, I’ll admit, it’s a romance novel. I picked it up because it had to do with time travel and had several good reviews. (NOT because of the romance.) But I’m not here to talk about the book. It just made me think…that’s all.
What if I got transported 200 years in the past?
The heroine of the novel does quite well in the 1700’s. Not only her nursing skills, but also her knowledge of home remedies and herbs come in handy. Let’s face it; medicine in the 1940’s was less complicated than it is today.
The point is this girl had skills! What skills do I have? If someone in the 1940’s needed to learn about herbs, they’d read a book or talk to an expert and learn about herbs. Then they’d retain the knowledge because, let’s face it, the book’s not going to be there every time they need to know about herbs. On the other hand, if I need to know about herbs, I google it.
That’s the point. Sure I retain some knowledge, but it’s not the same. Why? Because I know I can easily google the information again. 21st century humans have gotten used to carrying around little external hard drives (aka, Smart Phones) which provide easy access to most of the information we could ever possibly need.
Need a recipe?
Google it.
What’s that flower?
Google it.
What was the name of that guy in that movie?
Google the cast list.
How do you boil water?
GOOGLE IT!
I don’t even need to know directions anymore. I go where my GPS tells me. If I ever get lost in the woods, as long as I have a signal, I’ll probably Google how to make campfire.
Given that, I can only imagine how totally useless I’d be 200 years in the past. And whether you agree with this or not, the one thing I’m actually good at, writing, I couldn’t do. Why? Handwriting totally frustrates me. I’m one of those writers whose thoughts flow faster through her keyboard.
So please God, don’t ever let me fall through one of those time vortexes, tunnels or black holes—unless there’s a signal on the side.
I know what you mean! I used to be able to remember dozens of phone numbers; now I’m lucky to remember my own. I just don’t have to know them anymore because I don’t need them to dial anyone. I even have our favorite pizza shop in my phone!
Same here 🙂