The Death of Distance
iPhones and Pontius Pilate
Phones collapse distance bringing all things, persons, and information immediately to hand. Phones come and distance dies. Distance dies and so do social norms.
Norms die
- Can I be on the phone at dinner? Lunch? Coffee?
- What do we talk about around the water cooler?
- What’s the “news of the day”? Where’s Walter Cronkite when you need him?
- How do I keep explicit content from my kids? Where did all the brown paper bags over Playboy, et. al. go? (Hint: They disappeared along with distance)
- Who’s my tribe?
- How do I “get promoted” in my tribe? (Hint: Be Generous)
When norms die, how do I find Truth in the Noise?
How do I filter everything coming at me?
Who is important to me?
Everyone is just one SMS, Snap, iMessage, FaceTime call away. Who do you care about most?
- Family?
- Parents?
- High school Friends?
- First-Job Friends?
- Room mates from 10 or 15 years ago?
- New people?
Who’s important to me again?
News comes at us in a flood of undifferentiated data on Facebook, SMS, Email, etc
- Baby pictures from a friend
- Road closure next week changing my commute
- An ISIS/ISL bombings on the other side of the world
- Cuddly Cats
- Populist Nationalists success at the polls- Brexit, Grexit?, Italy-exit?
- Political instability in my country
- Political changes in my town
What’s important to me again?
What’s is True-Truth?
What’s the true-truth? What is at the heart of all the news flying around me?
Not Truthiness.
No.
True-Truth.
True-Truth. That’s what I need.
“What is Truth?” — Pontius Pilate, Governor of Judaea AD 25–36.
How does the death of distance show up in your life? Respond and let me know!
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