It is Tuj's second year into using a smart phone. He has got used to checking emails, messaging, shooting photos while pretending to be checking messages, taking quick notes, navigating, listening to podcasts, looking up foreign concepts from Google and even making payments on his phone. However tomorrow Tuj will go outside with about nothing on him. (Oops, Tuj will be dressed, of course!!)

Preparation

He wrote down on a piece of paper the instructions on how to get to the three points of his choice. No note-taking app to write the instructions in. :( And no peeking in a map app tomorrow. In case Tuj got lost, Tuj would ask passers-by for help. Also Tuj will carry a pen and some paper to write down his transient thoughts.

Then he dug out some banknotes of small denomination, for he absolutely does not want to go about with a wallet full of 500-euro banknotes or, even better, 10,000-singapore-dollar ones. ;) Tuj will probably need to buy water and bus tickets on the way.

Tuj will carry a mathematical paper in case of emergency so that he has something for diversion while waiting for certain death.

Result

It is definitely OK to be without a smart phone.

Tuj did not get lost. It was just as in the good old days: figure out the route beforehand and navigate. Tuj felt the sensation of a map of the streets composed of shimmering lines gradually forming and stabilising inside his head, as Tuj took in the view/data. With a smart phone, Tuj would look at the screen.

So far the world still accepts cash. Will this change in the future? Will there always be a physical form of payment?

We definitely should do this every year to commemorate the days without smart phones. #nosmartphoneday

Epilogue

The day was over. Tuj returned from his adventure. He picked up his phone with a blinking light indicating notifications. There were some messages and emails, which may or may not change Tuj's fate. Among them is a poster on a position. It would be great if Tuj were to get the offer. Tuj told himself not to get his hope up because he is probably not the best fit, which by the way is a very vague concept. No one is a best fit unless one is the absolute number one in the domain. For the rest of the crowd, circumstances may be favourable or totally against one. In the fluctuation of circumstances, a best fit is chosen. Whatever the outcome, Tuj will continue his quest whether his living standard goes up or down... well, but surely not hitting the bottom so that the quest is obstructed, right? And surely he has some basic human/alien rights, right?