What Makes Things Tick

Last night, I finished an interesting book. Well, it didn‘t sound that interesting at all, to be honest, when @hansdorsch mentioned it three weeks ago on Twitter. But as I still had to try the Kindle app on my iPhone back then, I decided to give both of them, the book as well as the app a try.

Program Or Be Programmed by Douglas Rushkoff isn‘t all about computer programming, at least not in the literal sense. As its title already suggests, it is more about the choices we made since we started using computers, especially but not necessarily networked ones, and the consequences our behaviours related to those modern media bring on to our life these days.

No one would have expected that I would agree with all of the ideas an thesises Mr Rushkoff postulates throughout of his book. But he makes some good and valid points that made me think and kept me awake quite some time. It wasn‘t exactly like looking into a mirror while reading the lines, but I realized that there really is a growing lack of interest in how things work and why they work the way they do. Furthermore, people jumping to conclusions without even starting to reflect about what they are doing has become so popular that it really scares me.

We are living in a world of tools and support. Because there is always someone who can help us we take their help for granted. And while we find ways to use the advanced tools of the world we are living in, we have so little interest in what makes them tick and what the consequences of using them are. On top of that, while taking so many things and people for granted, and somehow ignoring the changes of the ways we interact with the world around us, we fail to see the impact our lack of understanding really has on us ourselves and the world around us.

I consider myself lucky that I grew up during the decades where many of the foundations of our modern, interconnected world were layed. Seriously, I am grateful that I was raised with a good amount of curiosity and support of my interests, especially those in electronics and computers. And while I think that it is great that everyone focuses on different part of our lives and the world that surrounds us, I sense that it is quite special to have more than just an idea of what helps us to connect these days - and how it works.

On the other hand, I can understand why people prefer their tools to just work. Who needs to know how exactly this hammer and these nails where made when all you want to do is hang up some pictures on the wall. (Wow. There is something like a good way to hold the hammer handle and the nail that would make work easier and reduce the risk of injuring yourself? Weird!) Who needs to know how a cars are built, how the engine, the streering and the brakes work, as long as they do. (Crazy. It isn‘t enough to put petrol in the car‘s tank? And why would you call a car a weapon? This driving license isn‘t a license to kill, is it?)

No, seriously, we simply cannot know how everything that surrounds us and every tool we use works. And that is just fine. But someone should. And it better be someone you can trust. Lies and wrong answers can cause a lot of serious trouble. In the end, you want to solve a problem when you ask for support. You don‘t want to create another problem instantly, do you? - That is why everone is good at something. Yes, I really do believe that. In a way.

What really irritates me is when someone claims to be interested in something, wants to learn about something, but then shows no interest at all when it comes to what really makes the things tick, what goes beyond the very basics of the group of themes. It really irritates me when people are content with easy and short answers when they say that want more than just scratch the surface of a matter. And I am really worried when this someone is an apprentice or a student.

I have been in charge of training apprentices two times so far. (Insert famous Yoda quote here.) One of the reasons I really enjoyed it every time is that I like to share my humble knowledge and experience as well as the challenges that arise from the interaction with young and curious people. Sadly many young people have lost their curiosity already, and the ability to be avid for something is an abortive one. The good thing here is that many doesn‘t mean all.

Nina was the first apprentice. This young woman was quite clever and she was never shy to ask questions. She loved to learn more and she didn‘t like short answers. When it came to walking that extra mile, she was up for it. It didn‘t take her long to work independently along with my colleagues and me, and soon she became a reliable member of or team. Her interest in the matter grew far beyond the official training schedule and it was a challenge as well as a pleasure to teach her. By the end of her training period she was more than qualified to do her job and even more important: she was eager to learn even more, she wanted to know how those things she was asked to work with and take care of worked and learn about the bigger picture.

Philipp was the second apprentice. He was quite clever too, but unlike Nina he was easily satisfied with facile and general answers, by just making things work somehow. As soon as it took him a second or a third go to solve a problem or to find an answer, he tended to give up and blame someone or something for the missing progress. While Nina was aware of the fact the she knew little but wanted to change that, Philipp thought he already knew more than enough and that it would be sufficient to pass the exams. He did pass them and he knew how to use the tools at work. Everything else? Just exhausting or boring.

I have the feeling that many, too many people are like Philipp: they just decide to stop and not make that one step ahead that could open a new world to them. They think they know the world that surrounds them well enough, they are simply not interested in anything more than this. They prefer being told what they have to do, they prefer to have decisions made for them by others, they prefer consuming what they are served. Create stuff and share it with others? Why? What for? Isn‘t there someone (more) qualified to do it on my behalf?

Program or be programmed. Create or consume. Use your brain or just do what you are told. Blue pill or red pill. The decisions are up to each and every one of us. I, for one, prefer to learn about what makes things tick, what things mean and what they will or may lead us to.

How about you?