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Memories of the 28th Century

Connected to Time and Place

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A while ago I noticed something that is quite common, so common that it is not worthy of notice, inconsequential; to wit, someone going around listening to music through earplugs. I remember thinking that missing auditory input from one's surroundings might be dangerous. I don't recall learning of any problems from this custom, but I am sure there have been some, but not so many that it is viewed as a hazard. I know that I find auditory information useful when I am in public spaces, but the greatest would be crossing streets. I understand the relative pleasure of listening to music through earphones in public places; I am doing that at this very moment.

Then there's the matter of avoiding dealing with random people by incessantly playing games on a smart phone. I suppose that is safe, if one is not also wearing earplugs. I almost wish I were so rude that I might interview some people about that, but I prefer to leave people to their own worlds, and some would be perfectly furious if they were disturbed.

I called that avoidance, but it might be that some people find those games more interesting than the world at large. That would change the nature of the playing of them. And from some points of view those games may truly be more interesting than what is in the world at large, it’s a matter of point of view.

Yet another possibility is that appearing to play one of those games is a dodge. The people are really paying close attention to their surroundings but creating the false impressions that they are not. When I look at the world, I prefer to simply look around, but that lets others know that I am looking, and they may amend their behavior as a result. Keeping it secret may allow one to see things that one does not always see. I believe that is why women are so covert when it comes to looking at guys, so maybe I should follow suit.

On the other hand, it could be that the people who play those games, rather than interacting with the world really are that scared of the world. They don’t know to deal directly with the world, so they avoid it. That would be sad.

I wonder if people listen to music while they are hiking or otherwise interacting with a natural place. I do such things sometimes, but I have never looked for earbuds, because I assumed that no one would do that in a wildernessish place, but that assumption may be mistaken. There aren’t nearly as many birds as there used to be, so there isn’t as much to listen to, so I really have to watch people to find out.

There is another matter that I should consider: Perhaps I am so old-fashioned that I would think that it might be better to listen to one’s surroundings, instead of listening to music and playing some cell phone game. No one but a completely out-of-touch person would have such beliefs.

I suppose that I’ll have to disturb and ask one of those persons playing some game and listening to music. But this brings up the matter of how people feel toward their times and locations. I get the impression that many people could just as well live anywhere, while other people are rooted to a particular area. Up to a few hundred years ago most people never travelled even one hundred miles from where they were born. A fair percentage of the human population still lives where they were born, but a fair percentage travel widely; I don’t know which segment is larger or by how much. I wonder.
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