Tools

When I got a car with a rear view camera I was determined to stick to using my mirrors as a primary tool when backing into parking spaces. The logic was something about not giving up my own abilities and relying only on technology. I’m a technologist, sure, but I’m also aware of that adopting new technologies can lead to unintended outcomes.

Example 1. There was a time when people made all their own clothes and the result was clothes all being tailored to each person. Look at old pictures before mass production of clothing. Bespoke. Everything bespoke.

Example 2. Remember when there was a limit to how much tv and media one could consume? First, there was a time limit because tv would literally end programming around midnight and play the national anthem over a waving flag until programming resumed the next morning. Second, thee were only three channels. So everyone watched the same things. Now we have nearly unlimited inputs of quantity and variety. There is not often something called “appointment television” because if you miss the original broadcast you can stream it again later. The result? Diverging inputs yield diverging outputs. People can create echo chambers and completely block out opinions they don’t like. There is unprecedented consumption of tv. “Screen time” is a thing now and has to be managed and monitored to avoid abuse.

So when I put my car in reverse and the camera showed what was behind me I fully recognized that it wasn’t necessary. I had been driving for almost 20 years without it. I can parallel park and I back into and out of spaces with aplomb and panache. I drive well!

But here’s the thing… I also think well and I could not get past the idea that maybe there was a reason that having a backup camera made sense. After a while I concluded that it is just a tool. Like a rake or shovel. Or mass produced clothing (people buy their time back by not making clothes). Or tv (the Civil Rights Movement brought the plight of Black Americans to the world’s living rooms). And back up cameras help increase precision. And make it possible to back up to within an inch of a parking space without doing the tiny bump-and-rock that is amusing but unnecessary.