The Particular To The Universal
“At the risk of sounding like a Luddite, new technology that increases ease and reduces effort will always take some of the joy and pleasure out of doing the thing yourself. “
What a thought-provoking statement from an Epicurious review of the All Clad Prep and Cook machine.
I was introduced to this kitchen wizard in a cooking catalogue that usually goes right to recycling but for some reason, today, I took a look. The Prep and Cook caught my eye and the glowing descriptors and stunning price piqued my curiosity. You can Google this for yourself, but the short story is it makes most of your kitchen obsolete; ergo, at $1,000, it’s a bargain.
In the particular, lives the universal, so substitute whatever ‘latest and greatest’ device, gizmo, and gadget you’ve been considering. Alexa or Siri? Drivers’ blind side assist? Wifi enabled herb Aerogarden?
While I’m overtly under-enthused by the preceding list, I confess to owning a Roomba vacuum cleaner, which could quite easily join that list. And I love Roomba to the point of personification. I don’t mind ceding most vacuuming joy and pleasure to her. But I didn’t put my old push vac out to pasture. So Roomba means one more thing to buy, house and maintain. And all of the other particulars do too. It’s not likely that you’ll let your fingers wither at the hand of your personal, voice-activated assistant. Your eyes, neck and brain won’t atrophy because of drivers’ assist. And no one who really wants to grow fresh herbs will be satisfied with a digital tabletop garden guided by a smartphone. You’ll still punch the buttons, turn your head to look, and keep the backyard dirt.
Some new inventions are game changers. But many devices that purport to “reinvent, take you to the next level, save time, amaze, outperform, set the standard…” should be contemplated with a grain of salt and a dram of reality. They are solutions in search of problems.
Often the new self- proclaimed standard bearer is just another ship on an already crowded sea. If your old device is defunct, it’s easier to be amazed by the new technology. If you love being an early adopter, that too is reflected in your threshold for amazement. And if you’re a Luddite, or more charitably, someone who enjoys and finds pleasure doing things the way you are currently doing them, watch out. Amazement might be not in how wonderful the new purchase is, but in how gullible you were to fall for the hype.
For the record, weighing pros and cons, Epircurious’s verdict was thumbs down. Prep and Cook stole the joy and pleasure that fed these cooks. It’s like paying someone or something to have your fun- a seriously bad value.