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[at-l] Re: Perception - Cell Phones.



At 01:23 PM 1/17/2005 -0500, Steve Adams wrote:
>Jim,
>
>Reference your post, dated 1-14-05, where you ask, "Did hikers become more 
>foolhardy as a result of the invention of the signal mirror or the whistle?
>What about the flare gun?  Do owners of cars with On-Star drive more 
>recklessly because they know that when they crash On-Star will call an 
>ambulance?  Did sailors first set out across the sea because the compass 
>had been invented?"
>
>Your question implicitly asks,  "Did ALL hikers become more foolhardy as a 
>result of the invention of the signal mirror or the whistle?"
>
>This is not what I said.  I hold that SOME hikers rely upon a cell phone 
>and, as a consequence, foolishly accept too great a risk.
>
>To make your point, you need to assert the following propositions:  No 
>hiker ever became more foolhardy, relying on a signal mirror, a whistle, 
>or a flare gun, and; no driver of a car with On-Star ever drove more 
>recklessly, knowing if they crash On-Star will call an ambulance.
>
>If it became popular to flash the sun's reflection into people's eyes with 
>signal mirrors, blow whistles in their ears, and shoot off flares 
>throughout the day and night for non-emergency reasons, I would probably 
>object to these practices along the Appalachian Trail.
>
>"On-Star" is marketed as a way to reduce our risk.  Much of the 
>justification for carrying cell phones is to reduce our risk.
>
>You advise, "Humans have always taken risks."  ...  And "... if life isn't 
>an adventure it is just existence ..."
>
>If you want more than mere existence and to preserve a sense of 
>adventurousness, leave your cell phone home.
>
>Steve

My point was simply that it a tool, nothing more. Anyone who takes a 
foolish risk *because* they are carrying a cell phone would probably be 
inclined to do so anyway. Anything can be abused but the phone is not the 
problem.

FWIW I regularly leave the cell phone home because I forget to take it with 
me. It just isn't part of my consciousness. We have it (and I try to 
remember to take it when I travel) because it makes my wife feel better. 
The phone is even in her name, not mine. Were it not for her I wouldn't bother.