On a stroll in Berkeley I passed by what was formerly one of my favorite shops, Tupper & Reed. It was a music store. But no more: it’s quaint awning has been usurped by the digital age…

Now I’m not a luddite, but does this bode the end of instruments (at least, those without a keyboard)? Do we lose something by not making music more “mechanically”? Is typing different than writing? Do we lose something of the creative process as we evolve into the age of bits and bytes? Just as Marx bemoaned the alienation of labor that came with mass production, I fear we will lose something of our cognitive and creative abilities as we increasingly automate.

For example, when was the last time you did – without the aid of any tool – math?….