How much happier would you be
if fewer people knew your cell phone number?

I sent an email to a colleague on January 9th, saying, “A Blackberry is the evil, mechanical fruit of a technology out of control.”

But my friend Richard Exley says it more elegantly:

“As you probably know the Amish believe in living a simple life – no electricity, no telephones, no motorized vehicles. Yet in many of their communities there is a pay phone. When asked about this apparent discrepancy one elder explained. 'If the telephone were in our home it would control us. As long as it is out here we control it.' He went on to say, 'Most people drop everything they are doing the instant the telephone rings and run to answer it. In their lives the telephone takes precedent over everything. (Of course cell phones have only made this addiction far worse.) The pay telephone, on the other hand, is our servant. It is there if we need it but we do not allow it to intrude into our lives.'”

To what degree is your attention controlled by an electronic device?
(I don’t ask this question to make you feel guilty. I’m just tapping you on the shoulder to get your attention so I can point out the electronic monster sneaking up behind you. He'll put a bag over your head and suffocate you in an airless void of empty news if you're not careful.)

Roy H. Williams

“Tell me what you pay attention to and I will tell you who you are.” – Jose Ortega y Gasset