More Tech Than the Enterprise . . .

Last updated on: September 27, 2018 at 11:52 am by John Mark N. Reynolds

More Tech Than the Enterprise . . . 2018-09-27T11:52:41-04:00 John Mark N. Reynolds

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

The truth endures, the technology is wonderful.

Captain Kirk could go to planets, I envy that, but the computing power in my house equals that found on Enterprise.

Spock could say he knew all there was to know about computers when faced with a conundrum about the Enptrise machines. I do not know much, but I have a better computer than Spock had on the bridge:

My watch takes calls, my phone shows movies, and the machine on which I am typing this weighs less than my junior high textbooks. We can ask for data, turn on our lights, and change the temperature all by voice.

My brother and I longed for computers, any computers, throughout the 1970’s. Eventually Dad and Mom got us a Vic-20 computer and our dreams were closer, even William Shatner endorsed the machine. We could program, play games, and do some “word processing” . . . we could see the future. No computer has ever been as excellent and we built into the heart of our Barterran spaceship The Gala.

Now I have such tech easily. . . And the result is glorious.

I get it. Too much screen time is bad. Social media is not for children and there is much fakery on Facebook. I get bogged down on Twitter and I am not proud of everything I have tweeted.

Yet . . . Hope and I get to watch movies that were unavailable to us when we were married: all the Jimmy Stewart there is, was, or ever will be. We can research topics that were once obscure. One book I wanted to buy in graduate school took me years to find. I can get an e-copy for nothing and order another hard copy (for very much more than nothing!) in seconds. Here at 30,000 feet, Hope and I can tell our adult children where we left the keys to our mailbox. Social media has connected me to people who have taught me new things, corrected errors I believed, and become friends. Phillip Johnson of UC Berkeley reached out to me by electronic mail and my life was changed. There would be no Torrey Honors Institute at Biola University if there was no e-mail. Classical education produced by “modern” technology.

This is fantastic.

It is just as good as I imagined technology would be when I watched Spock, Kirk, and McCoy. Adventures, moving to California was one, are made possible through techonology. You can misuse it or only look at this glorious world through a screen, but Star Trek taught me that this is bad. People, not machines, boldly go.

We use the machines to get there.

So the next time you read an article bemoaning technology, stop. Think about it. Don’t just embrace it. Reject the the uses of tech that are bad, but be glad we can broaden the writing that can be read, the information that can be accessed, and the friendships that can be made.

If this is indeed, the worst of times, it is also the best of times.

Culture

Pop Culture

Previous Post

September 25, 2018

In-N-Out Comes to Houston: Should I be Happy?

Next Post

September 27, 2018 Mom’s Wisdom

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Apologetics Art Culture Education On Books On Education Philosophy Politics Pop Culture Spiritual Reflections Uncategorized

Select a Month October 2026 September 2026 August 2026 July 2026 July 2025 June 2025 September 2024 July 2024 June 2024 December 2023 June 2023 September 2022 May 2022 April 2022 March 2022 February 2022 July 2021 June 2021 May 2021 April 2021 March 2021 February 2021 January 2021 December 2020 November 2020 October 2020 September 2020 August 2020 July 2020 June 2020 May 2020 April 2020 March 2020 February 2020 January 2020 December 2019 November 2019 October 2019 September 2019 August 2019 July 2019 June 2019 May 2019 April 2019 March 2019 February 2019 January 2019 December 2018 November 2018 October 2018 September 2018 August 2018 July 2018 June 2018 May 2018 April 2018 March 2018 February 2018 January 2018 December 2017 November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012 October 2012 September 2012 August 2012 July 2012 June 2012 May 2012

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

Which Christian group is known for speaking in tongues?

Select your answer to see how you score.

Baptist Methodist Catholic Pentecostal

Books by This Author John Mark Reynolds

See All Titles »