Old v New

Old v New
An Interactive Mall Directory and Football
by Editor Wong Yang
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A few days ago, my family and I went to NEX Shopping Centre for lunch. We have always been going to the food court, so this time round we decided to look for a new place to eat. Heading towards the mall directory, we noticed a long line around it. What could cause such a crowd around the directory? The answer may be very obvious to some of you, but for my family and I, we only knew the answer when we got into the line. Ah, it's the interactive mall directory, set up by the mall to keep up with the modern times. Information of the grand array of retail outlets and restaurants in the mall all stored in it! The children love it because the directory is touch-screen, just like their beloved iPad. The adults embrace it as the opening hours of each shop are available upon clicking on the shop you are interested in. The people at the customer service counter admire it, for they no longer have to point out where a retail outlet is to a consumer. However, as the saying goes, there is always two sides to the same coin (quite cliche).

With the interactive directory, only one person can use it at a single time. That is, with the unlikelihood that the person waiting behind you is looking for the same shop as you are. With the traditional directory, however, consumers can gather around and find out what unit the shop is at, or what restaurants are available. All this, in two shakes of a lamb's tail. That's because everyone is literally on the same page. No waiting, no "could you hurry up?!" from the impatient auntie. Unfortunately, interactive directories are here to stay.

An interactive directory
in the United States

Football has changed too. Not that I have been on this planet for a very long time, but it's obvious how modernization has changed football. Simple joys are no longer cherished, spirit and heart do not matter. People are greedy for more, and they are willing to do anything for that piece of cake. Moral values are not valued. Power and money now lie in the higher echelons of footballers' priorities.

Match-fixing, a product of the greed, has ruined the game too. Fans come to watch a game, not a play - scripted, with actors, not players. The football stadium is a theatre, yes, but what makes the game great is that there is no script. Surrounding the game are sponsors, millionaire owners splurging on players' contracts, match broadcasting rights and betting. Back then, the focus of the game was the game itself. How simple! Leonardo da Vinci once said, "Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication." This quote plays on the fact that simplicity isn't banal, it is elegant.