Our discussion about Jefferson and Hamilton and their differing viewpoints made me think more about the concept of displacement of time and space. I have found that a fascinating theme throughout the whole semester, and one that I’ll continue to think about. Jefferson felt our young country should be moving in space so we won’t stay still in time, while Hamilton felt the opposite – that we should move through time and stay in the same space. This got me to thinking about how people move about – or don’t move about – these days. We have so much more ability to move through space now, with fast trains, airplanes, even planned space travel for civilians, which is pretty exciting. But it can still be rather unnerving to be sitting at home in the morning and then having dinner somewhere in Europe that evening. While plane travel has opened up the treasures of the world to people who can afford the travel, there seems to be a growing dichotomy in our lives. On the one hand, we can freely and easily travel the world, but on the other hand, our time in front of the computer is also growing. For many people, cell phones and laptops pull them away so much on travel that they might as well be at home. As Carr described in The Shallows, we are becoming more and more attached to doing everything online. Carr believes our brains are being rewired and as a result, our attention spans are suffering. Professor O’Malley has said many times that “all roads lead back to the screen” (or words to that effect), and this certainly rings true. From a personal perspective, I do almost all of my shopping online now, as well as bills and banking. Is this a good thing or not? I love the convenience, but sometimes I miss the old familiar pleasure of physically moving through malls and stores. Unfortunately, staying at home wins out most of the time, partly because of the horrendous traffic in this area, and partly because of the crowds of people. I’m a pretty introverted person – I love having a social life, but I curate it carefully. Otherwise I become a nervous wreck. But it seems as though people in general, not just introverts like me, are trying to make the most of conveniences online to avoid having to physically deal with matters externally. As we communicate more and more through emails, text messages, and tweets, are we losing our ability to deal well with people over the phone or in person? Over time, these skills will become rusty. I used to be upset over how the English language is being affected – spelling and grammar are rapidly falling by the wayside in favor of abbreviations and emoji’s. But I also realize (having taken linguistics classes) that we have a living language that does not stop for the grammar books. In a way it’s fascinating to see how language changes over time, especially as a result of technology. I can’t help wondering what the language and the world will look like in a hundred years – what will our attention span be like? How will we be interacting with people, and what kind of language will most people use? It is sad in some ways to see what we are losing because of all of the technology that provides so much convenience, but also deprives us of many experiences out in the world. But I try to enjoy technology and hang on to some of the old ways as well. I believe finding a balance is important for having a fulfilling life.