If Alexander Graham Bell knew how his invention would be misused, he might have changed his urge to invent this tool of communication and, instead like Sir Isaac Newton, might have waited under a tree till something fell from above.
With the advent of the mobile version of the telephone all manner of queer, weird and unacceptable things are happening in the world.
It is a well known fact that criminals, especially “underworld characters“ - some of them even wearing ties and suits -use this device to promote and implement their criminal activities.
Now another trend, in vogue at present, is using the telephone to gather and check important facts when writing books on topical issues. In the world of media there are a few senior journalists who are referred to as “telephone journalists”. They are famous for covering major events with the help of the telephone, never sighting the location. Their reports are published with the added line “Reporting from London"’, or whatever venue it may be.
Now politicos also seem to be copying these media personnel!
In these circumstances the story of the man who climbed a coconut tree to steal toddy should be modified to suit current developments - namely, that, asked the reason for him to climb the coconut tree, he replied promptly: "I am writing a book on toddy and I wanted to see for myself what is happening when the coconut flower is tapped”. And, asked what he was doing with a mobile phone up there he said:”I was checking some facts with the Coconut Board”.
Another important capability of the telephone, especially the mobile one, is as a tool to relay the happenings in some place to another individual far away. If someone is not allowed to attend secret or private meetings, he can ask one of his henchmen (by using bribes—money or sex) attending the meeting to relay the happenings at the meeting, by phone. In other words he would be able to know “who said what” at the meeting. Thus the phone can be used as a relay tool to COPE with the situation.
By Vijaya Ariyarathne
