soul searching at CES 2019

soul searching at CES 2019 Last weekend was CES 2019, an annual convention in Las Vegas that I didnt even know about until a couple of my friends told me to register to go to it with them. It was described to me as a showroom-type thing where companies set up booths to display the latest gadgets they are marketing/will take to market soon. Neato. The convention isnt necessarily open to the public (I think you actually need business credentials or media affiliation), but I was able to get in on the last day for free (!) by registering as a student. I was there for hours and didnt see even a quarter of the displays. The Las Vegas Convention Center is huge, and every open space was packed with people. Some of the exhibitors even had their own specially designed buildings outside of the exhibition halls. Google pulled a very EC stunt in setting up a roller coaster inside their building, and they also built a gumball machine that dispensed products ranging from Google beanies to Google Homes (the device not an actual Google house) to anyone willing to wait two hours in the line (not me). I also saw multiple massage chair displays some skates  reminiscent of a hoverboard immersion cooling arcade games tons of people a speaker with a built-in screen (???) Waluigi (wah) a TV whose audio was transmitted through the screen as demonstrated by some metal balls a TV that rolls up a phone with ten-point discrimination even under water a bread machine the United States Postal Service a ceiling of screens 3D-printed dentures and dental molds spinning LEDs that made images look 3D and a tractor that made me reconsider a career in Big Farm-a. It felt like an adult science fair. Plenty of people have recapped the cool stuff thats coming out of this convention, so I really dont feel like discussing AI and 5G and autonomous devices here. I had a sort of spiritual reaction to being surrounded by shiny new consumer electronics. It struck me how so many of these products represented the hard labor of the people who made them, but that this human element was being suppressed in favor of talking up the product. (I know thats the whole point of a technology showcase but let me FEEL!) Im a junior in college, which means Im starting (hahahahaha) to worry about future employment. Ive often thought that grad school is the only possible next step for a bio major who wants to be able to live comfortably. Recently, Ive decided to take on a second major (in Comparative Media Studies) just because the classes Ive taken in that field have been so much more intriguing to me than my bio classes. I dont know if grad school is what I want anymore. I look at my resume, I look at myself, I look at the displays at CES and wonder what it means to be marketable. Am I marketable, or at the very least are my skills marketable? Do I have skills? Why am I worrying about this when Im only 21? Most people reading this are probably highschoolers. As much as I dont want you to relate to this, Ive got a feeling you might. Youve filled out application after application attempting to market yourself to these schools who have never met you. Its hard to feel good enough. Im at MIT, and I still dont feel good enough. Im working on it. Buuuuuut Im also working on making my display booth interesting to ensure other people see me. Good luck to all of us. Post Tagged #ces