What TASSIMO Taught Me

The big gift I got for Christmas was a TASSIMO.  For those who are unfamiliar, TASSIMO is an automatic coffee brewer built for the 21st century.  All you have to do is fill it with water, place the mug underneath the spout, and unlatch the lid to put in a T-Disc, which contains the actual coffee.  Set the lid down, press the button, and presto, you've got your morning Joe.  No need for filters, kettles, and grounds.

TASSIMO is a telling sign of where we are headed this century.  Because of machines like TASSIMO, we have fewer excuses for our arms.  The machine does it all for us.

Our long-passed ancestors would be amazed.  In a time where electric grinders were absent, they had to grind coffee beans into grounds by hand.  In the 1890s, it probably took around half an hour to make a proper cup of coffee.  

It's not just TASSIMO that is doing the work for our arms.  Touchscreen technology is rendering the keyboard irrelevant.  Fingers, too, do not have to move up and down as fast.

I always wonder if all these technological advances will lead to technological downfall.  I say this because all mechanized products are really just extensions of retired technologies.  The automobile is an extension of the wagon, and Wi-Fi is an extension of the ham radio.  If we're doing fewer things with our arms, fingers, and feet, how claim safety in our adherence to all machinery? After all, machines have their limitations.  They can misinterpret what we say (just ask Siri).  Their perfections are awesome, but their dangers are egregious.  If the Internet were to crash, much of society would collapse, and it would be far harder to pick up the pieces.  

It really is just common sense.  If your computer overheats, it will catch fire and suddenly become a danger to your life.  The old-fashioned typewriter could not do that.  And if you can compare the number of chuckwagon accidents to the number of car accidents, it would be like comparing a flea to an ostrich.  The lesser technology ultimately wins out even if it less convenient.  The only exception to this rule I can think of is the candle.

The things that advance our lives have ironically made us more vulnerable.  It really makes you think of  bigger concepts.  An example is life expectancy.  Our life expectancy is increasing, but there is more toxicity to the air.  More nitrogens and carcinogens.  As humans, we are probably the most vulnerable species because we rely so much on technology, and without it, we'd be dead in days.  We cannot simply grow fur and hibernate.  Evolution is also our devolution.  To survive is to acknowledge that very contradiction.

It's amazing what you can think of when you look at a TASSIMO.