Summary Of Bumping Into Mr Ravioli

The Generational Value Clash Advances in technology have led society into a technological revolution in which recent generations have adapted, completely abandoning traditional ways of life. Sherry Turkle, describes this revolution as the “robotic moment”(Turkle), a moment in time where technology can offer what human beings simply cannot. During the robotic moment, people lose interest in authenticity and substitute it with a desire of efficiency. This ideology lies prevalent in today’s generation and even embodies societies’ youngest including Adam Gopnik’s daughter, Olivia. In article Bumping into Mr Ravioli, Gopnik examines Olivia’s new imaginary companion due to his particular inability to spend time with Olivia and unusual busy lifestyle.

Gopnik’s prejudice toward Mr Ravioli does not truly relate to Ravioli’s uncommon nature, but rather to the ominous threat Ravioli’s generation posses upon Gopnik’s established lifestyle. In accordance with Gopnik, Turkle similarly observes technologies impact on the world around her and is bewildered by our youth’s mutual acceptance to substitute what has become known as traditional for what is more efficient. With the astonishing development and advancement in modern day technology, human values have undergone an extensive transition substituting new desires of efficiency for outdated traditional values jeopardizing the lives of previous generations who are not accustomed to the efficiency, pace, and busyness associated with technology, in essence making them obsolete. During the eighteenth century, advances in technology associated with the Industrial Revolution completely altered humanities way of life. Gopnik compares the life of Samuel

The ambitious entities characterizing our new generation’s philosophy can be examined through the ideology of both Gopnik’s seven year old son and Turkle’s fourteen year old daughter. Luke, at such a young age, has already “become a true New York child with the schedule of a cabinet secretary”,“too busy to play with [his younger sister] anymore”(Gopnik), whereas in similarity, Rebecca reflects societies new values of efficiency by questioning the very existence of an authentic turtle in a museum exhibit, adamantly stating, “They could have used a robot”(Turkle). Being of an older generation, Gopnik and Turkle do not posses the ambitious qualities exhibited through the character of their respective offspring, indicating why Gopnik’s relationship with his sister is much closer than that of Luke and Olivia, and why unlike her daughter, Turkle is fascinated by the authenticity of a live turtle. This transition in values arises from the endless cycle brought upon by the constant advancement of technology and the unyielding demand of productivity, where people believe that, “[in order] to be less busy, [one must] do more work”(Gopnik). Turkle would confirm this argument, stating that societies values shifted when, “we discovered [a] network-[a] world of