“Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.” – Romans 12:2
When it comes to new technologies and innovations I am typically not among those classified as “early adopters.” In other words, if you are familiar with the diffusion of innovations theory I am not, for example, one you will find standing in line to purchase the latest version of the i-Phone when it hits the market. There are at least two reasons for this, one is I am too cheap to pay the premium price it usually commands, and two I am too lazy to spend the time learning how to use it. I prefer to wait until my old phone wears out before I bother to upgrade hoping by then the price will have come down.
A few years ago my two sons convinced me to join one of those mail-order shaving clubs where I could buy quality razors and blades a lot cheaper than the corner drugstore chain. So, I signed up, but typical of me, I opted for the cheapest and lowest-tech version which suited me just fine. Recently, though, I tried to order some new blades only to learn they have discontinued the low-end model. Now I’m in a quandary, do I upgrade to a higher-tech razor which (a) costs more, and (b) I have to adjust to, or go back to shopping at the corner drugstore, which again is going to cost more? Such problems!
This is where the “diffusion of innovations theory” becomes helpful in explaining how the use of new technologies, processes, and innovations spread through a society, and why they are adopted over old methods. Imagine a bell curve. At the extremes, the bottom left lip of the bell represents the innovators, the risk takers who are first to jump in. The bottom right lip represents the laggards, the very last group to accept new innovations, if at all. The bell itself is populated by most everyone else, from left to right the early adopters, early majority, and the late majority. As you can see, I probably land somewhere along the downward slope of the curve – at least with razors and i-Phones.
The Apostle Paul encourages us to “not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.” Paul, of course, is not concerned about i-Phones or shaving products, although such things do matter. Nor is he concerned where we reside along the bell curve. Rather, are we progressing, renewing our minds in such ways that advance God’s Kingdom, and in ways that bring us nearer to Him?
c1yzgi
h5fxgh