Prior to seeing The Social Network today, my beloved and I were lunching in the Crown Casino foodcourt. Apropos absoluely nothing and after a long silence, Toby looked up from his Grand Angus burger and spake thus:
TOBY: I have a strange question.
ME: Mm?
TOBY: What if you had an implant or something – a microchip under your skin – that worked as a wireless internet network. Would you say you had a wireless network, or that you were a wireless network?
ME: *stunned silence, followed by helpless laughter*
TOBY: But it’s a relevant question! Because you might say, I have a guitar, but you’d also say, I am a doctor.
Such are the everyday perils of being married to a philosopher.
The everyday perils of being (a) geeky and (b) a writer mean that I eventually gave a serious answer, once my ribs had stopped shaking.
But that’s another story.
Oh that’s just precious! ha ha ha! I’d love to hear your answer. What did you think of film? I’ve had lots of discussion based on Zadie Smith’s article on it via Cassandra Gold’s page.
I liked it! The score was fantastic, and the acting was great. That being said, I had an article I’d read about Sorkin making up the girlfriend character and the fakeness of the Silicon Valley misogyny in my head; so it was a good film for interpretation and discussion afterwards.(Link: http://techcrunch.com/2010/10/11/memo-to-aaron-sorkin-you-invented-this-angry-nerd-misogeny-too/)
You can tell Toby I would say “had” because to say “were” would suggest that’s all I was when clearly there would be more to me than just a broadband network. Having said that, the statement “I am a doctor is also a bit limiting isn’t it? Better to say “I work as a doctor” which leaves open the possibility of a more rounded person. I think…