I’m thinking about everyday objects which have a single purpose. I feel like so many things today are multipurpose. For example, my phone is a music player, map, book, internet browser, video game console, compass, camera, calculator, clock, calendar, notebook, fitness tracker, audio recorder, and television. Also it can make calls. What happened to when phones could only make calls? I wonder how this multiplicity affects my thinking. When I engage with an object of singular purpose, I know exactly what to expect. When I pick up my ukulele, I’m playing music. When I open a book, I’m reading. When I look through a film camera, I’m taking photos. In a way, all of them are shallow. Their nuances are exposed. On their own, they don’t lead to larger worlds. Even books are only windows to an unchanging world. On the other hand, I’ll probably never understand how my phone works and I’ll never see everything it can show me. Its ambiguity of purpose makes it a weird object to engage with (lol, breaking the rules.)
I want more simple objects.
*note: I still haven’t taken photos on film yet.
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