Manic Monday | Guess or Google?

Recently, while attending a workshop in Vancouver, a spontaneous lunch conversation broke out around the eroding capacity for people to know how to "guess".  The discussion centred around why it should even matter, when just about anything you could ever want to know can be answered by Google, Wikipedia, and Alexa. These, and other, AI products are slowly replacing our need and desire to consider a question and try to determine the answer on our own.

On the surface, it seemed a rather innocuous subject, however, over the balance of that day, and those days that have followed, it is a question that has continued to haunt me. Just how much are we loosing as human beings when we allow the many technology-based sources around us replace our own ability to think. How much intelligence over centuries have we given up to modern devices and is there a resulting long-term and damaging effect? Consider the fact that we already may be less intelligent than those that have come before.  Our indigenous peoples listened and learned from the land, the seasons, the animals and nature; our own forefathers were able to use the stars for navigation and our grandparents could do math equations in their heads. Today, we would rather ask Siri what the weather is doing than to look outside and trust our own senses.

Perhaps it is time to stretch our minds and re-ignite the ideals of wonder, reflection, and contemplation. Before you head for your iPhone or allow those around you to do the same, take the time to think about the answer, to guess the answer, and to challenge others to try as well.  It is still true that while many answers can readily be sourced through our numerous devices there are questions large and small that even the most advanced machines can't answer.

Try a Guess before you Google........

Glenn Mandziuk, TOTA President & CEO