you have the technology, but can you apply?

The other day I was in a meeting with some external party. We were planning some schedule and the boss brought up that we should avoid the Chinese New Year period. Then he asked, when is Chinese New Year next year. Everyone was clueless, so one colleague went back to the office to check, while I took out my Nokia E72 and googled it. Some 5 minutes later the colleague came back with a print-out of the same page that I found.

After deciding on the date, I saw everyone taking out their smartphones and jotting down in the calendar/organizer function. Except me, who scribbled it on my analog notebook and transferred it later after the meeting. Close to one minute on and they were still poking on the touchscreen. Looked like the latest smartphone from a Korean brand.

It is one thing to have access to (and blindly chasing after) latest technology, but another thing to know how to apply it. In fact, it is useless if you don't know how to apply it. I'm sure everyone at the meeting has a mobile data plan, and I'm sure my phone isn't the smartest among all at the meeting.

There is a reason why armies still have foot soldiers, and why foot soldiers still carry bayonet.