It's Just too Much Effort

by Heather Long | More from this Blogger

22 Apr 2006 07:14 AM

The story of I, Robot by Isaac Asimov, later adapted for a movie starring Will Smith a couple of years ago demonstrates a society's dependence on robots. Robots were created to facilitate mankind, to help them by taking over menial tasks and allowing man to grow beyond himself. In this imagined era, everyone can afford at least one robot and the 3 laws govern them.

While I am not going to get into a debate or really delve much further into the 3 laws of the robots, I am going to tell you why you should just say no to robots. Over the last few years, we've been inundated with technological advances like Roomba -- the vacuum cleaner that vacuums your house all by itself. While the robot vacuum cleaner is hardly the first menial task reducer - we have dishwashers, washing machines, dryers, vacuum cleaners (remember, before that it was a broom or beating out a rug!) and much, much more.

The problem with all these devices is that they work by reducing the amount of effort we have to exert. Is it any wonder that we're getting fatter? While we may do as much as our parents and our grandparents did if not more 50 years ago, we do it in ways that require less physical effort.

If we keep reducing our physical effort, we will not only expand our waistlines but also shrink our functionality. For example, our reliance on equipment can be profound. A friend of mine went through a week where their dishwasher didn't work. They were buying paper plates and paper cups while they waited for a repairman.

I asked, why didn't you just wash the dishes by hand? They replied that it just seemed like too much effort.

TOO MUCH EFFORT?

My brain screamed at the thought. I wash dishes by hand almost as often as I use the dishwasher.

My daughter commented recently she wanted one of those little mini motorized cars. I asked her why. She said so we could go all over and she wouldn't have to walk anymore.

PFFFT.

Let me guess - walking is too much effort.

When you reduce the quantity of effort in a society, you reduce the quality of it as well. The idea that someone would rather by paper plates and paper cups than do dishes is not only startling - it's downright frightening.

Today is Earth Day. Today is a day for us to celebrate our planet. Celebrate it by putting a little effort back into it. Tend a garden. Wash your dishes. Go for a walk. Plant a tree. But whatever you do - make an effort - it may be the best effort you'll ever make.

Learn more about Heather Long

Heather Long is 35 years old and currently lives in Wylie, Texas. She has been a freelance writer for six years. Her husband and she met while working together at America Online over ten years ago.

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