Had-To

There shouldn't be any culture shock when we get to heaven if we bring a little bit of heaven to earth now.

In the 1970s, futurist Alvin Toffler coined the phrase "culture shock" to describe the effect rapidly advancing technology was having on civilization. But in truth, what Toffler described wasn't so much a shock to our "culture" as it was the flowering of technological gee-whiz gadgetry that worked to change the face and pace of society. Basically, people are not "shocked" by technological advances as much as they are intrigued by them. People love to "play." Is there anything quite so enchanting as a new electronic "toy"?

Ever wonder why "science fiction" stories and movies are so wildly popular? It's not because the alien worlds our imaginations envision are so weirdly different or unexpected. The "Star Trek" genre thrives because they tell tales laced with all the culturally familiar values and notions we can identify with. The difference is they get to have lots more elaborate toys to play with than we do.

Adaptive human beings can easily deal with gadget changes. It's only when ...