The new iPhone fits into a pocket, and within it fits the sum total
of your personal information, plus an immeasurably large portion
of human knowledge including many of the observations gleaned
through the sense-expanding machines of our ingenuity. Plus you
can use the mic and camera to add to the burgeoning data terrain.
On the other hand, about 4 billion years ago, a single cell chanced
to use a specific protein chain in combination with other chemicals
to build what amounted to an energy net. This molecular device
captured the energy radiating from the sun and turned it into food.
That said, I’d like a new iPhone.
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Actively engaging both poetry and comedy since the late 80s, Daniel Ari writes and publishes extensively online and in print. Writer’s Digest, Conscious Dancer, McSweeney’s Internet Tendency, Ceramics Now, Turbulence and Jack Magazine have recently published his writing. He also performs solo work based on favorite poems and still does stand-up every once in awhile, though rarely these days because he never got as famous as, say, Patton Oswalt, and when you’re doing open mics after many years, it’s depressing. Try it and see.