Jul 20, 2013
I am increasingly convinced that the defining experience of the 21st Century is getting steamrolled by blithe inculcations of "the future". We see them everywhere; in product announcements, at trade shows and conferences, and too often (sadly) in the edtech world as an excuse to purchase our favorite toy, to choose simple over powerful, and generally spend twice as much to get half as much.

I (somewhat) recently found myself drawn into this conversation through a post by Miguel Guhlin (who I greatly admire) entitled Only Human - #Ubermix = Yesterday's Solution? In it, Miguel suggests that it's too late for Linux (and laptops, really), extolls the virtues of the iPad, and suggests the overall inevitability of tablets ruling the world, based on well-reasoned observations and personal experience. To be fair, the post reflected something of a thought exercise on inertia overcoming right and exposed Miguel's own frustrations with the negative implications of our new, app-centric world. What it lacked, however, was broad reflection and a longer view of technology choices and their implications.

Miguel did me the great honor of posting my response as a guest post on his blog, but I also wanted to post it here (with slight edits and the addition of links), on the off chance that readers might not subscribe to his (which you really should).