THE BUTTON

THE RESET BUTTON

EMOTIONAL VS RATIONAL

I think one of the reasons we golfers keep returning to the course is that no one can ever conquer the game.  A handful of humans have dominated their competitors, but never attained Nirvana on all shots.  I’ve hit many bad golf shots in my day and I like the advice of Tiger Wood’s father to take ten steps after a bad shot before doing anything else.  Its kinda like hitting the Reset button.

We sort of have a Reset button on today’s e-mail messages in the form of “Send Later” instead of pushing the Send button.  But there are many other forms of social media that don’t have that ability.  Its been said that arguing politics with total strangers on the Internet is like wrestling in the mud with a pig.  You both get muddy but the pig actually enjoys it!

Present technology now enables us to distance ourselves and create all sorts of human tragedy while pushing impersonal buttons.  One contemporary example is the use of military drones to destroy property and lives clear across the globe from the operator.  A human now pushes a drone Send button that kills an opponent and he then drives home to his family for dinner.  An operator can push a Send button that releases missiles to all parts of the world without being anywhere near the intended target that often includes “collateral damage”.  And then there’s the infamous “Red Button” that has the potential to release a nuclear holocaust.

The examples above have worldwide implications, but the line between good and evil metaphorically runs through the heart and brain of every human being.  David Eagleman in his book Incognito illustrates the battle between emotional and rational networks in the brain with a paraphrased version of a short story titled “Button, Button” which was later scripted as a Twilight Zone television episode.

A stranger arrives at the door of a man with a very tempting deal.  He tells the man who is experiencing financial hardship that all he needs to do is press the button in a small box and he will pay him one thousand dollars.  The man obviously asks “What will happen if I do this?”  The stranger replies “When you press the button, someone far away, someone you don’t even know, will die.”  The stranger leaves the man agonizing profusely over the decision for quite some time until he finally lunges to the box and pushes the button.  Nothing happens in the subsequent silence.  Then there’s another knock on his door.  The stranger enters and hands the man one thousand dollars, takes the box and turns to leave.  The man nervously shouts “Wait, what happens now?”  The stranger replies “Now I take the box and give it to the next person.  Someone far away, someone you don’t even know.”  (And therefore, someone that doesn’t know you). 

Are we now engaged in a tragic shell game of harming others with an impersonal decision to act in an instant gratification zeal that seemingly keeps people Teflon?  Are we unwittingly being drawn into and immersed in a circular firing squad in America?  You decide.  We are better than that and we have the instruction manual to fix the problem that contains centuries of wisdom and teachings.  Its time to start pushing the Reset button.