Intersections: 022 — Questions and Answers

September 7th, 2025

There is a secret trail tucked away between two overgrown bushes at the back of my favourite local campsite. It doesn’t go far, but it does take you somewhere special - up and over a rocky spine of Canadian Shield, through a prime blueberry patch, and down to a private point on the water.

This trail intercepts a single braid to a neighbouring site, and it’s here that two free range boys from who-knows-where bound after us as we all chase the setting sun to water’s edge.

They’re nine and six year’s old. We’re pushing forty. Their joints are juicier.

We perch on a rock and settle in. They secure the perimeter, chatting incessantly to each other and occasionally lobbing sideways questions to me just to make sure I’m still listening:

Digs up a chunk of moss, “Do you like tacos?”
Yes, obviously.

(...three minutes of puttering around...)

Throws a rock in the lake, “Ronaldo or Messi?”
Messi, duh.

(...two more minutes of messing about...)

Hits a tree with a stick, “What’s your favourite food?”
We had grilled cheese for dinner.
sage nods of appreciation all ‘round
They had burgers.

(...a minute of trying to look busy...)

Tries to lift a boulder, “I’m using my gluteus maximus - another word for butt.”
No snickers amidst the serious work.

(...the liminal space between two thoughts...)

Out of nowhere: “Do you guys like your phones more than each other?”
I answer honestly: sometimes.
Adding: Do you think adults spend too much time on their phones?
“Yeah.”
Yeah.

We had been checking the weather as a tornado warning had just buzzed our pockets, but it still touches a nerve.

To what degree does technology add to and take away from our lives? It’s a question worth considering, because the most important thing that we have is time and much vies for it. Do we want to mindlessly give it to companies for which our attention is a business model or actively focus on those directly in front of us? We have a choice where to direct our attention.

Having answers to any question in our pocket isn’t necessarily the issue - it’s reaching for them so often we forget how to think. Our vast digital social networks aren’t inherently problematic either, but become so when we start mistaking them for IRL connections. And while AI can be powerful as a tool, we risk letting its mediocrity replace the creative drive that leads to mastery and unexpected breakthroughs.

I could go on about the lack of consideration in development for things like climate impact, economic disruption, and social shifts (all of which have no simple undo button)...but I digress.

We are a culture that has become addicted to answers. When a question comes to mind, what do we do? Reach for our phones. To instead sit with the question and allow space for not knowing...this is a counterculture act. It’s amazing how, even this way, the answer is often right at our fingertips.

I’m all for technology, but only so much as it can serve this planet and all of us sharing its ecosystem. It doesn’t need to be a binary all or nothing.

A random question from random kids; a nerve struck.

The storm is clearly visible on the horizon now and no amount of refreshing the radar’s view on my phone is going to alter its course. It will hit when it hits, and the morning will come anew.

Take care,
David