Automation

2+2 = 4
10*10=100
That song you haven't heard in years, yet remember every lyric.

It surprises me how well the human brain can retain and regurgitate information. I'm even more shocked at the speed in which this dormant information can be called upon. You see a problem and BOOM, you have a solution.

Whenever I'm at work checking, most of the time it doesn't even register with me (no pun intended) that I'm handling $50-$100-$200 dollar orders hundreds of times a day without batting an eye.

Example

"Ok, your total will be $167.14"
-Customer hands me a wad of crumpled bills and throws a random amount of change at me-

In my head

"Ok, this guy has..."

• $20
• $50
• $90
• $140
• $170
• and....a dime and 5 pennies...so this guys getting $3.01 back

Boom. 20 seconds have gone by, that customer is out the door and I'm onto the next one before the conscious part of my brain even has time to process what just happened. Automation

The heart surgeon finishing a surgery with skill, speed and poise. Automation
The barista preparing a cup of coffee with jaw-dropping style. Automation
What makes a king out of a slave? Automation
What makes a flag on the mast wave? Automation
What makes a elephant charge his tusk, in the misty mist or the dusky dust?
What makes the muskrat guard his musk? Automation
What makes the Sphinx the 7th wonder? Automation
What make the dawn come up like THUNDER? Automation
What makes the hot in Hottentot so Hot?
What puts the ape in apricot?
What do they got that I ain't got?

Sorry about that...kinda got carried away...

Is this 'The Matrix'?

This is a serious question. Everytime I go to work, roughly 20% of my customers will come though my line staring at their phones, completely ignoring everything around them. You may recognize these productive members of society as the oblivious individuals who insist on texting while driving. Why do people do this?  Is it purely a means of escaping the hum-drum repetitiveness of the 9-5 work week? Out of fear of becoming a social pariah? Why do people immerse themselves in the social quagmire that technology has made all too available in this, our 21st century.