In this day and age, everyone has multiple personas. I don't just mean online personas (though they are part of this), but rather, life personas.
Here's what I mean. When I go to work I am "Professional Graham." At home I am "Family Graham." On the trail I am "Mountain Bike Graham." On the blog, I am "Go Clipless Graham." And, in the bedroom I am...well, some things have to be kept secret, don't they? (I crack myself up!)
Slowly, I have been trying to converge all of the Graham's into one uber-persona. We'll call it G-man. G-man most closely resembles "Go Clipless Graham," although is slightly less polished (if you can believe that). Go Clipless Graham has been working to infiltrate the world's of the other Graham's to include bikes whenever possible. For example, I've been trying to get the family to go on biking adventures, and have shaken up my co-workers with my bike commuting and lunch-time antics.
But that's me in one persona pushing the others to get on board. That's why when it happens the other way around it is especially fun and surprising. That is, when I am in one persona - say Professional Graham - and someone else introduces something bike related. I guess it's why I started this cycling in the mainstream category.
Ok...what a long diatribe to get to what I thought was going to be a relatively short post.
Professional Graham makes lots of presentations. Therefore, I read a blog called Presentation Zen,
which if you don't read, and you make presentations, than you are insane - enough said. Well, today PZ has a post titled "Is a computer like a bicycle for the mind?" I won't go into detail summarizing the article (you can read it for yourself), but essentially it is about how a computer can be an enabler of laziness. A single speed rider might make the same argument about a geared bike (more about this in one of my next posts).
Anyway, I love the analogies that are used, as illustrated by these slides I have borrowed from PZ. They have helped me crystalize the thoughts I have had while I have not had a car these last 10 months. It's made me think about the use of equipment (say a car, or a computer) as an enabler and not simply as a tool to supplant that which you might otherwise have to think or work to do. It's why I get annoyed when my wife drives the kids to the pool that is three blocks away, instead of walking or riding their bikes. Or, when we drive them to the school bus stop just one block away when it is raining instead of throwing on some raincoats or grabbing an umbrella.
I'm not against these machines - in fact, quite the opposite - but, I am against the laziness and apathy they can breed, when conscious thought is lost by the user.
Ok...now I've lost track of which Graham I was, while writing this. Did this make a shred of sense?
