Chapter 19 black box melancholy

Some people smashed a seemingly incomparably convenient and exquisite machine out of order, in helplessness and frustration. There was a man who was driving out on errands, and the car broke down halfway. He got out of the car for a long time, but the car didn’t move, maybe it was in the wilderness, and he was very anxious. Bian Sheng, grab a screwdriver and smash the car?The police report afterwards said: He killed it, it was a car murder. This is not a fable, but a true story that happened in the United States.For the helplessness, hesitation, frustration and anger of this American man in the face of machine failure, modern people should feel more or less sympathetic, and even express sympathy.Because we are surrounded by all kinds of exquisite machines that are convenient to use, but will make us helpless when they fail.

Dixon calls the modern man's wonderful state of mind in the face of sophisticated machines the melancholy of the black box.He said that thirty years ago, everyone could assemble a simple radio by themselves with a little money and some time. Because it was done by yourself, it could be repaired if it broke down.In this do-it-yourself process, not only can you enjoy yourself, but you can also understand the basic principles of radio reception.Nowadays, due to the development of microelectronics, radios are becoming more and more sophisticated, but most people can no longer assemble them by themselves. Although the basic principle of radio reception has not changed, it has become a matter for experts, and most people can only passively accept this black box.

The living environment of modern people is full of such black boxes: tape recorders, televisions, video recorders, computers, air conditioners, washing machines, telephones, cars, etc. We are in the black boxes, and we enjoy life more and more, but we don’t care about the things around us. The world of the black box is less and less understood, and as a result we become more and more passive and helpless. This is the depression of the black box. Some people say that the problems created by technology can only be solved by better technology, but this better technology hopes to be a simpler technology rather than a more complex technology. Simple is good, it is not only good for the society, but also good for the human mind.