Our Paradoxical Future

Does technology spell a dystopian future for our society? Or will it save us from our previously-inevitable destruction? Paradoxically, the answer is, in my view, a little bit of both.

Even in today's hyper-connected world, misuse of technology remains a major concern. Hackers constantly attempt to infiltrate the servers that form the underpinnings of the Internet. We continue to utilize dirty fossil fuels that possess an extreme externality cost on future generations of world citizens. Children and adults are distracted by an overload of context-less, meaningless information. Unscrupulous governments, and in many cases, even supposedly-democratic governments like our own, spy on their citizens under the guise of "security." Taken like this, it would seem that technology is an oppressive force that will ultimately bring about our society's collapse.

But the paradoxical reality is that technology will be our savior to these problems. More effective security protocols can protect the web from hackers. Green energy technologies like wind, solar, and geothermal will in the future carry the day as we choose to drive primarily electric vehicles. We can engineer new technologies to "humanize" the Internet and educate our citizens in such a way as to provide context to an increasingly overloaded world. And public participation, outcry, and ultimately, technological advancements and reform, can reduce the harmful use of warrantless wiretapping by governments. Indeed, there are challenges to meet with technological advancement, but ultimately, we will be defined by our response, and our response, like it or not, is going to come in the form of technology.

Above, I embedded the trailer for Showtime's new miniseries Years of Living Dangerously, which premiered Sunday night. The documentary series follows influencers and change-makers as they discover the real-world impacts of anthropogenic climate change and potential strategies for its mitigation. In a paradoxical fashion, technology (in this case, fossil fuel technologies, like deep-sea drilling and hydrofracking) are bringing about unprecedented global destruction, and yet technology forms our best answer at solving the problem (new renewable energy production, all-electric vehicles, and energy-efficiency best practices). It's a paradoxical perspective, but it aligns well with our paradoxical reality.

A Reflection on Early Adoption

The line for the first-generation iPad at Apple's famous "Glass Cube" retail store in New York City on launch day. These people are early adopters, like me. (PHOTO: All Things D/Wall Street Journal)

It's official: I'm an early adopter. What does that mean, you may ask? It means that I adopt new technology quickly and before others. It means that while I might be aware of the risks of first-generation technologies, I am willing to accept some tradeoffs in order to be among the first to try a new product. It means that I am tech-savvy, choosing to challenge convention with new products that may or many not yet be proven.

Don't blame me; new technology is fascinating! Especially products that change the world all while making your life easier. As for potential security and safety issues, I'm of the opinion that it wouldn't ship if it weren't safe or secure. And there's something special about being among the first to try something. You get to claim that you tried or had something before it was popular, or that you were an early adopter of that technology.

Case in point: despite the inherent risks of sending money over the internet, I was among the first of my friends to use Square Cash, a service which allows individuals to send money directly to others using nothing but your debit card and smartphone. While I saw the genius of this technology and how it would make my life easier (no more splitting checks!) my friends and family were concerned about the relative security of sending money over the Internet. Square may have bank-grade security, but the ease of using the product causes many to grow concerned. Luckily, because Square Cash does not require that both users use the service, one can send money to another person even if they do not have the app. So the first time I used Square, I sent my dad $5 for losing a bet. While he was confused initially on how to accept the funds, he did so and now is an avid Square Cash user. In this way, early adopters can convince members of the early majority to adopt a product.

I can share similar examples. I was among the first to purchase a Verizon iPhone, for example. (Carrier contracts weren't worth breaking for the first-generation iPhone.) I was among the first to own an iPod touch. I dream about Tesla, and would own one if I had the cash. In fact, that illustrates a larger point: even when I cannot reasonably become an early adopter, I long to become one. And perhaps that shows more than anything else why I am an early adopter of new technologies.

Artist Spotlight: Bibio

I feel like this song needs more recognition. Props to Bibio for crafting a genuinely interesting, unique, creative, inspiring, and uplifting track with "Lovers' Carvings." I'll be keeping my eye out for new material from them, and hopefully you do too.

Updates

A Tiny Day in the Jackson Hole Backcountry from Tristan Greszko on Vimeo.

In my free time, I like looking up ski videos. Since skiing is one of my many passions, it tends to happen a lot. Often, I'll end up spending hours just watching video after video off of Vimeo or Newschoolers. They're cool, reflective, artistic, inspiring. They serve the producers' intentions ultimately and always, and I think that in many ways they are able to capture what words cannot. Better yet, they do it in a way that recognizes the present moment--by using modern filmography techniques and equipment, by telling a story, and by sharing it with the wider skiing community.

Staying focused on the present is hard, and that's why I'm coming back to blogging. Here. So here are some updates on things that I'm working on and where I'm hoping to go with them.

The End/Beginning: ELPers, seek your passions

(EDIT: I'm staying on Blogger! Read my posts as they continue here throughout the coming weeks and months.)

One of my passions is having an outdoorsy lifestyle that embodies the spirit of my home, my lifeblood, the Pacific Northwest. Pictured here is Grand Tetons National Park in autumn. What are your passions? How can you attain them?

How can it be over already? It seems like it was just yesterday that I nervously walked over to the Locatelli Center for that first class in January. I didn't know what to expect, or really why I had signed up in the first place. I wanted to connect with a group of people that I wasn't finding in the Fall Quarter and wow, have I found that much and more.

I could not have asked for a better experience for the Winter Quarter of my freshman year here at Santa Clara University. Combined with numerous other experiences (namely, the DISCOVER Retreat with Campus Ministry, CLC, and a few other great programs), ELP has been absolutely essential to my  development as a student, as a leader, and as a person. Honestly, I've learned more, I think, about myself than I ever could have expected. And, quite honestly, it's helped me to make it through.

Toward the middle of the quarter, I was seriously struggling with being away from my home in the Pacific Northwest, as I was feeling increasingly disconnected by the day. Meanwhile, I still didn't really feel like I fit in, that I could be myself, here at Santa Clara. This, combined with my apparent lack of a career/major direction, contributed to what I would term a serious mental/emotional breakdown. Where did I fit in? 

As it turns out, I discovered by the end of the quarter that I fit in here. And I don't have to abandon my past, my values, my experience, my home, in order to have an amazing university experience. I belong here. Among my fellow ELPers. Among these great leaders, these awesome, hilarious people who don't mind me being me. Among this awesome group of people that explores their passions each and every day. I couldn't have asked for a better group of people with whom to share this experience; so thank you.

I learned about how my own personality can influence my leadership styles--and how different peoples' personalities necessitate varying styles of leadership so as to better communicate goals and values. I learned that my values many times also influence how I lead. I'm very passionate about everything to do, and unsurprisingly I'm thus extremely passionate in my leadership style. But some people may not respond well to that style, so I need to know when and how to tone it down so as to create the best platform for collaboration. I learned that the struggles of one person can quickly become the struggles of the group if they aren't dealt with and vocalized in a strong, empathetic way. We work the best together when we recognize each other's strengths and weaknesses and build from them.

Most of all, I'd say that I learned that we work the best together, create the best products, organize the best events, craft the coolest retreat ideas, when we are passionate, when we care deeply about, when we love our work. Passion is everything. Where would we be if we hadn't explored our passions, our desires, our greatest loves? And where would we be if we hadn't persevered in the search? As an undeclared student who has gone through many different thoughts as to a possible major, this class, combined with DISCOVER, has helped me to realize that what I choose to study doesn't matter nearly as much as what I choose to do with my studies. More than that, I learned that I should chase my passions before all else--because by doing so, we are best able to lead, organize, grow, and create. Here, I'm guided by the words of Pedro Arrupe, S.J., the former superior general of the Society of Jesus:

Nothing is more practical than finding God, that is, than falling in love in a quite absolute final way. What you are in love with, what seizes your imagination, will effect everything. It will decide what will get you out of bed in the morning, what you do with your evenings, how you spend your weekends, what you read, who you know, what breaks your heart, and what amazes you with joy and gratitude. Fall in love, stay in love, and it will decide everything.

It's not so much about "finding God" as it is about "finding passions." Fall in love, stay in love, and it will decide everything. It describes that moment when our worries and fears fade away and the only thing in front of us is our "here and now." It describes how I have felt about ELP these past few weeks.

Anyway, I hope to continue my leadership development. Most significantly, I need to continue with weekly self-reflection. I find it as an opportunity to air my concerns and center myself as I head into the new week, and it has been one of my favorite experience of ELP. So this blog will continue--although it will be, following this post, jumping here, over to Wordpress. All of these posts from ELP will remain archived here and a copy will exist there as well. Tumblr allows greater flexibility for posting mixed media and I can hashtag things. Which I like.

Seriously, though, my development as a leader--and as a person--is absolutely essential to me. And by reflecting as I go, I find that I'm better able to recognize where I succeed and where I fail as a leader; that way I can work to improve. As I grow into leadership positions, I expect to use the knowledge I gained in ELP about how different types of people work and lead in order to create environments that are inviting for all to, first and foremost, seek their passions.

The End of an Era: Yeah, I'm a Harry Potter Nerd. Deal with it.

So I've been having a bit of a Harry Potter nostalgia-fest. As someone who read the first novel at age six and continued with them up until the midnight release of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, I cannot even begin to express what my world view owes to the series. Its themes have become important aspects of my value set, from the pervasiveness of love to the importance of family. 

I remember countless roadtrips with my parents, listening to the audiobooks in the car. Jim Dale's voice still rings in my ear, as I could easily predict half of the lines of dialogue in the final three books of the series. I remember attending the movie premieres with my entire family--grandparents and all. Nothing could be more reminiscent, nothing could better describe my childhood, aside for maybe skiing.

So enjoy this video as I start watching Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone instead of studying for finals. Why am I watching? Because I know that "whether [I] come back by page or by the big screen, Hogwarts will always be there to welcome [me] home."

Self-Survey: Opening Oneself to Criticism

(NOTE: Text in brackets indicates direct quotes changed slightly in order to fit the context of a particular sentence.)

"What are my gifts?"

As I've already discussed, at the beginning of February, I attended a retreat with SCU Campus Ministry called DISCOVER. Focusing on the "three key questions," the weekend led me to a total [but necessary] personal breakdown. These questions and the two added by CM emphasized the personal:

"What brings me joy?"
"What are my gifts?"
"How can I discern my relationships?"
"Who does the world need me to be?"
"What are the costs?"

The question of gifts particularly resonated with me. What were my gifts? It struck me that I've never really given the question much thought myself. Who does? We're so focused on attention and praise that we don't really give time to reflect on our own strengths. And that's the other thing. I mean, it's one thing to think that you have a gift for something, but it's another thing entirely to be told that you have a gift for something by others. It's gratifying. It makes you feel good. It makes you want to go out and use your passions to change the world for the better.

But the unfortunate fact is that it doesn't give you the full story. It doesn't tell you where your weaknesses lie. It doesn't give you opportunities for self-improvement or growth--as a person, as a student, as a leader.

So after DISCOVER, I set up a Google Doc where my friends and family could anonymously and honestly share such information. I only asked two questions:

"What are Anthony's strengths?"
"What are Anthony's weaknesses?"

The responses were gratifying. Emotionally-charged. Rich. Honest and sincere. Incredibly true and occasionally frustrating. I mean, really? Do I really do that? Am I really? It's amazing how many things we don't notice that our friends and family do.

I was praised for "[my] ability to put plans into action, [my] dedication to others, [my] loyalty to [my] friends and ability to see the good in people and respect their opinions." I was recognized as "a wonderful activist" who holds "[myself] accountable for [my] actions and decisions," making me "a very dependable and consistent person following [my] conscience." I was called "a caring person that tries to make sure that all people [I] come into contact with [will] succeed." More broadly, respondents noted my empathy, passion, and faith as positive qualities.

Meanwhile, responses made clear my many weaknesses. I "can be a bit overbearing in arguments and sometimes...avoid looking at the other side," which can be "a bit intimidating." I have a "tendency to be very opinionated and talk over others, (not in an offensive or exclusive way, just excited[ly])." "Want[ing] things to be done a certain way," I "don't often delegate." Much of the comments were focused on my political beliefs and opinions, which I have a tendency to make quite obvious to other people, especially on Facebook, and often causing problems like long arguments in comments sections of statuses and photos. Overall, the main refrain was that I am sometimes so passionate that I appear to be judgmental or non-agreeable.

The exercise, though, was one of the coolest, most informative, most interesting things I've ever done to determine what other people see and hear when I am talking to them. My "strengths" were good to hear, but my "weaknesses" were humbling, yet necessary. I believe some of them can be explained at least partially by my MBTI type (an ESTJ/ESFJ tie), but they certainly bring opportunity for self-improvement.

I should try, for example, to keep political comments to a minimum so as not to enrage people who may not agree with my views or who aren't interested in politics. When I do make my opinions known, I need to make sure that I allow other people to get their views in as well--and I need to consider them equally with my own. I need to ensure that everyone has work to do so as not to feel unimportant.

All things that a leader should constantly be working on.

Overall, I encourage others to attempt to post a self-survey. You can create an anonymous Google Doc, allowing you to receive responses from people without their names being displayed--only a timestamp. I encourage you to take your praise in stride and your weaknesses as chances for improvement.

If you'd like to participate in my survey, I'd welcome your responses.