I’m relatively comfortable with technology. I built an analog computer as a science project when I was twelve, and that was before most of the people reading this were even born.
During my time in the army (1962-1982) I participated in tests of a computer-based artillery fire control system, and as a diplomat from 1982 to 2012, I was often in the vanguard of introducing computers to the US Department of State’s diplomatic activities.
As a writer in the current world, I probably spend as much time on a computer, doing research and writing, as your teenager spends playing games, surfing the web, or chatting on social media.
So why, I ask you, do these hands-free, Bluetooth enabled phones that people use when walking down the sidewalk freak me out so much?
Bluetooth, a short-range wireless technology that enables devices to exchange data over short ranges, was invented in 1994. The first phones using this technology hit the streets in 2001, and I think I encountered my first one around that time.
In 2001, I was in Washington, DC, preparing to go to Cambodia to be the American ambassador. The process of getting Senate confirmation and getting all the required briefings necessitated a lot of pavement pounding in the DC area between Foggy Bottom (where the State Department is located), Capitol Hill (for congressional meetings and my confirmation hearings), and the central part of the District (where many of the government agencies I had to meet with are located). In order to put this, and subsequent encounters, into proper perspective I have to give the reader a little background information.
Despite having spent five decades traveling the world, I’m still essentially a country boy from rural East Texas. I say hello to strangers on the street, and return every nod, smile, or greeting I get. Many years in urban environments, though, have made me wary of certain people one encounters on the street, like the homeless beggars and panhandlers who make navigating some sidewalks a real trial. Ordinary looking people, though, don’t set off any warning bells.
So, you can imagine my reaction when walking from the State Department to the Foggy Bottom subway station one day, a young woman approaching me said ‘hello,’ and I reflexively responded. She looked right through me and walked right past me, leaving me wondering what had just happened. I saw the little thing in her ear, but thought it was a hearing aid – this was the first time I had ever seen what are called ear buds. I put it down to the fact that not all crazy people look crazy and went on my way.
When a similar incident happened a week later, this time a middle aged man in a business suit and carrying a briefcase, the detective in me sensed that there was something amiss. I do not believe in coincidences, and two ordinary looking people talking to themselves on the street was not normal.
I described the incidents to some colleagues in the State Department, and when they stopped laughing, they explained it to me.
I had on problems understanding the technology behind it. The use of ultra-high frequency radio waves in the 2.402 to 2.48 giga-herz band enabled a person’s phone to communicate with the earpiece without a physical connection. A contact microphone picked up the person’s voice, sometimes from vibrations in the cheek, enabling a hands free conversation.
My question, though: why in blue blazes would anyone want to walk down the street appearing to be talking to themselves? In the early days, it was a rare enough sight to freak me out every time. Eventually it became so common that I doubt most people even notice anymore.
Not me, though. You can take the boy out of the country, but you can’t take the country out of the boy. When I’m out walking now and I hear a voice say ‘hello,’ I have to remind myself to look carefully before answering to make sure I’m not intruding on someone’s phone conversation.
Now, I’m the one who probably looks like an escapee from a mental institution as I peer closely at people’s ears to see if they’re wearing ear buds before I say anything to them.
Sorry, fellow technophiles, but hands free phones still freak me out. – NWI
