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Ask Dr. Dopolis - (October 2, 2000)

Dr. Dopolis is our on-staff "Technology Psychotherapist." Dr. Dopolis helps heal the relationships between users and their technology. We consider him one of the top (not to mention the only) Technology-Psychotherapists in the world.

One reader writes . . .

Dear Dr. Dopolis,

I’m becoming more and more confused. I keep hearing about your "wireless" technology. I hear that I can hook up a piece of equipment to the back of my computer, and from that I can hear my MP3 files on my stereo without wires. Or I can hook up a camera, and without hooking up wires; watch the picture on my television. This doesn’t make sense to me. No wires? How is that possible? And what will I do with all those extra cables lying behind my stereo system?

Signed:

Wired for Sound.

Dear Wired for Sound.

I understand your dilemma, I really do. Change can be confusing, and that confusion can cause us to get frightened. That’s why I think that change bothers so many of us. We think we can understand something, we depend on it being a certain way, but then something else comes along and changes that, and we no longer have that understanding. Everything is new and we don’t know the landscape around us.

Let me try to explain it this way. Back when you were young, you learned how to talk. Then as you grew older, your parents sent you to school and suddenly you realized that there were right ways to talk, and there were wrong ways to talk. You discovered that there were "rules." Then you began to interact with others, and you realized that the "rules" you learned in school, didn’t apply to the real world. So you went from "thinking you knew something" to realizing that you didn’t understand at all, learning the rules, only to realize that the rules didn’t apply. How is this any help?

As we grow, we realize that the world around us is changing. As we learn about something, we realize that there’s more to learn. Do not allow yourself to become frustrated as you work through your relationship with your computer, but embrace its differences. Your computer is looking for better ways to communicate with you. You’re once again learning that the "rules" are changing. And I think you’ll find it much more convenient to get rid of all those wires than having them making such a mess behind the stereo. Go to your computer and tell it that you will embrace its wireless technology, and that you will take advantage of its generous offerings of technology, without wires.

Like any relationship, when you first meet, you take the time to get to know the person you’re with. The same should be true with your technology. Get to know it. Learn about it. Discover what it is, and what it wants to do for you. And be playful. Experiment. Learn the ways you can compliment and develop your relationships.

And Remember, technology is your friend.

Dr. Dopolis.

If you have a question for Dr. Dopolis, then send him an email at  xzone@x10.com