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Greg MacCollum's avatar

The end of your missive reminded me of something I learned a while ago: ‘If it was invented before you were born it’s a tool, if it was invented after, it’s technology.’ I think of that all the time as I watch my students with their phones (all of whom are now essentially born after the introduction of the iPhone), while I still struggle in some aspects with it. I’m also reminded that at one time a pencil was considered new fangled technology and the slate was the standard classroom tool. From someplace southeast of Edmonton, where I’ve enjoyed reading your writing for decades. Cheers.

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Richard Gimblett's avatar

Hey Dan,

This is a great miscellania that gripped me on several fronts. As a young naval officer Morse Code was one of our basic courses, and it remains essential for communicating by Aldis Lamp (flashing light) for visual comms in radio silence -- I don’t see it going the way of the Dodo bird for that alone. And I rationalized raising our now-30-something daughters on The Simpsons by turning each episode into a “teaching moment” on the cultural references -- they mostly would roll their eyes but it seems to have worked out..... Indeed one of them now lives in England and is setting to write her citizenship test, so I’ve sent the email version of this post to her to consider whether “Rule Nostalgia” might be useful (with a warning “more likely not” -- they have a set version to learn in the approved book).

Anyways, to end, sign me up as interested in one of your freebies -- I’ve loved reading you since your Ottawa Citizen days in the ‘90s, in the meanwhile made a bit of a living as a past-present-futurist myself, and I’ve reached that happy stage in life where I can give something back by paying to keep a stock of fine writing. If I’m one of the annointed ones, an autograph please (it’s also the way I am) but no need for any other cutesy words.

I’ll stay subscribed in any event. ;-))

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