This comes a bit as a response to an earlier question of “Can you be a functioning member of society without a selfone?” Err.. cellphone. Because, the tools you use to interact with the world around you shape the way you understand the world.

I know three New Yorks– one by bike, one by public transportation, one by walking. Each one has different landmarks, different areas of interest, each one is a totally different city.

Likewise, every different medium you use to draw (or create anything) shapes your art differently. Charcoal has a grittiness and a texture that photoshop does not. Drawing by hand is a very physical and one-directional experience in time, as opposed to digital drawing where it is much more cerebral and focused on moving back and forth through the process.

Augemented reality is threatening to once again change the way we understand the world around us– everything from a GPS that has replaced navigational skills, to wifi that allows us to know anything about anything, any time, any where. A phone is one way of interacting with an extended community without having to be in thier presence. A smartphone goes further, and lets you be connected to the larger network of collected information. Even a washing machine can change the way we interact with a world, because it frees up a huge chunk of time for women (see Hans Rosling: http://www.brainpickings.org/index.php/2011/03/23/hans-rosling-washing-machine/)

So heres the question: what other tools are in your life that change the way you live? How would your life be different if not for the smartphone,or the computer? If not for the subways or cars? If not for microwaves? What are the tools governing your interactions with the world? Can you deconstruct your life and figure out what makes you “you”, and how much of who you think “you” are is actually tools or media, or not you at all? At which point in this deconstruction do you become a different person?    RK