Manuals

 

Recently,   my eyes fell on a rather intriguing title :  "A manual for being human", by Dr. Sophie Mort .

A Sunday Times bestseller,  the manual is defined as a self-help book based on various principles of personality and psychology. 

The main message of the book, (according to reviews and comments), is that we, humans, are not raised to understand ourselves, and that makes it difficult for us to  understand life and the world around us.  

True.  We come into this world with no... manual attached. Parents and schools are supposed to educate, guide , teach us about  the facts and meaning of life,  They don't always manage to do a good job. Well,  nobody's perfect. Life is not perfect. 

On the other hand,  whenever we buy a specific product we insist on getting its manual. It comes under various names : User's manual,  Instructions manual, Repair manual. Manual for beginners/advanced/experts, etc...

A manual is meant to give  details about the product, and teach us how to use it and maintain it . We are more successful  when dealing with specific products than  with Life in general.  Life is too vast and complex  for us, both, as individuals and as society.

I haven't read the book yet (published in mid 2021). I think it's perhaps, an eye opener ; some readers may find answers and solutions for their problems in its content.  Still,  a manual for being human  sounds rather far fetched and confusing to me.

                                              (AI)

Removable Or Not - that's the question.

 

Whenever something  works well for me, it gradually disappears from the market - gets discontinued, as they say.

My android smarthphone is 7 years old. Lately, its battery has been showing signs of  'getting south' : the phone is slower, sometimes it shuts down unexpectedly, things like that. It's a removable kind of battery, and this is how I like it, as it gives me control over the phone. If I feel something is wrong , I open the case, take out the battery , leave it out for 10-15 minutes, then put it back - and voila!  Everything is fine.

During the last years, very few phones come with a removable battery. In  my neck of the woods these phones are almost inexistent ( except perhaps some Nokia types, which don't connect to Hi-Fi).  The manufacturers "blame" it on the consummer. The later, they say, likes the non-removable battery as this makes the device  slimmer, more sophisticated, allowing use of premium materials .

A non-removable battery, as opposed to a removable one, is glued and screwed into the internals of the phone. Only an expert who has the proper tools, can  take it out to replace it.  This costs money, of course, and makes one dependant on the lab.  and the technician. 

So far, I haven't  managed to get a new battery to replace the current one.  Over the years, my phone has had several falls, and I don't want last moment surprises. So, I'm facing now the reality of buying a new one, with ... a non-removable battery.                                

                                              yes. I love my phone  (AI)