The Dalai Lama, when asked what surprised him most about humanity, he said:

“Man.
Because he sacrifices his health in order to make money.
Then he sacrifices money to recuperate his health.
And then he is so anxious about the future that he does not enjoy the present;
the result being that he does not live in the present or the future;
he lives as if he is never going to die, and then dies having never really lived.”

I was reminded of the Dalai Lama’s quote when reading and annotating this passage.

How does time pass in this dimension? What dreams begin to prey on a four-dimensional mind? What. are the paradoxes and ironies of owning a four­dimensional body, with its marvellous new musculature?

Last week, my daughter, the pups and I took a road trip to visit my parents who live in Indian Land, SC (yes there actually is a town named that, smh). We drove halfway, spent the night in the Shenandoah Valley area and arrived at my parents the following day for a 48-hour visit. The trip was on a whim and in the car my daughter and I laughed about why we made this short long trip. My daughter made the comment that she has not seen her only living grandparents in a year and a half, but it didn’t seem that long because of Facetime. Her statement struck me as I thought of my childhood and how almost every weekend my family got in the car and drove from NJ to Long Island to visit my grandparents. Facetime did not exist, my 3 sisters and I had to fight over the yellow wall phone which was primarily used to make plans or gossip with friends. I wonder if we were transported back in time, would I be driving my 3 daughters, on a more regular basis, to stay connected with family and friends.

Below is my annotation to the passage:

The 3 questions that the author asks are worth reflecting on. Choose one question and share your response. I like to think about the paradoxes of technology. An example is how I use social media and technology to stay connected with friends and family. The convenience of technologies like Facetime and the ability to keep up with others online has left me feeling disconnected and not fully present in their lives because there is less frequent physical interaction.

The paradoxes of being a fourth dimensional human could fill this page. I hope reflecting on the authors questions brings awareness of our reality regarding technology to the readers. For further exploration on technology paradoxes, check out this blog:

A blog written by Stephen Petrina at UBC titled the 10 paradoxes of technology