Idiot Box

[Mark A Becker]

Idiot Box

Who remembers when CRT
meant cathode ray tube?

That vacuum was repackaged
as an echo chamber,
then touted as progress.

[TranquillityBase]

Hi Mark,



For a Fun poem, this is making me do a lot of thinking.  And it has sent me off to read about CRT (I do remember), LED, OLED, not to mention the concept of the echo chamber (which, in Wikipedia, has a see also for bathroom singing!).  And I'm not done with it yet.  



Thanks for the read.  I am having fun with it.



Tim

*******************************************************

I showed the first version of your poem to a "teutonically technical" friend (his description) and I thought you might enjoy his response:

I think it is a poem
Comparing passive media (was bad)
With active, self-segregating, self-aggrandizing conspiratorial gossip media. 
Angry dream gossip megaphone brains gone wild in pocket (is worse). 

[Namyh]

Mark - I llked this. It brought back memories of long, long ago.....and yes I do remember CRT. Those were the days! It seems that Time stands still for no one. Enjoyed your work MB. Namyh

[busker]

Idiot Box

Who remembers when CRT
meant cathode ray tube?

That vacuum was repackaged
as an echo chamber, then touted

as progress. A new generation
still viewed in black and white.

Idiot Box

Who remembers when
CRT meant cathode ray tube?

That vacuum was repackaged
as an echo chamber,

then touted as progress.
Now it even fits in our pockets.

This is good. Really good.

That vacuum was repackaged
as an echo chamber,
then touted as progress.

Beautiful!!!

---

I didn't know that CRT meant anything other than Cathode Ray Tube, in fact...and then I checked wikipedia and came across Critical Race Theory
There's a delightful, second layer of physics irony in a vacuum being repackaged as an echo chamber.

[Mark A Becker]

Hey busker-
Thanks for your comments:

I didn't know that CRT meant anything other than Cathode Ray Tube, in fact...and then I checked wikipedia and came across Critical Race Theory
There's a delightful, second layer of physics irony in a vacuum being repackaged as an echo chamber.

I have done away with the last line/edit as it wasn't necessary.

The cathode ray tube (CRT vacuum tube) has definitely given way to the social media "echo chambers" that are now ubiquitous, and we can now carry around that idiot box everywhere. 

I was hoping that someone would notice that 2nd layer (vacuum vs echo chamber), as there is no sound in a vacuum (thus no echo).  It's debateable whether "the olden days" were actually quieter days, but I find that the multiple forms of media noise that now assault our senses are much harder to escape from. 

"Critical race theory" just happened to offer up "CRT" as a convenient way to contrast/compare the past with the present, and to convey that while technology may change quickly, human nature evolves much slower.  Flash point controversies now innundate us, and everybody seems to need to weigh in: I'm sure that tomorrow will bring another phrase for folks to fight over.   

And Tim: I found your buddy's comments quite amusing.