Wednesday, May 2, 2012

The Future is Now

If suffering brought wisdom, the dentist’s office would be full of luminous ideas.
Mason Cooley, American professor of English and aphorist (1927-2002)

Lately I have visited a few dental offices, sitting in their uncomfortable chairs lined up around the waiting room walls, and reading their out-dated magazines. Just your normal, boring trip to the doctor's or dentist's office. Imagine my surprise walking into the office of a 3-D dental imaging firm, with everything a vision of white and chrome, and finding very few chairs and not one magazine. Instead, I found two computers. I was at a loss. What am I supposed to do? Should I read the news? Find interesting blogs? Watch You-Tube movies?

Reading a magazine in the traditional dentist's office is a private act. That privacy is lost with a desk-top computer and the Internet. Doing any of the above acts in a public area filled me with some unease so I decided just to sit and look out the window. Meanwhile, the preteen boy sitting beside me stared intently at the computer screen and clicked and typed away -- doing I'm not sure what but obviously entertaining himself. He didn't have the same sense of boundaries that kept me looking out the window. Today's visit gave me a glimpse into the future and it was exciting; but I also felt like I was on the outside looking in.

1 comment:

  1. The boy is probably reviewing the terms of personal damages claim which will be filed in the event of his being caused undue pain and discomfort during the upcoming dental procedure...

    :0)

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