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My mother reports to me that my grandfather, despite having trouble breathing and extreme weakness, DROVE HIMSELF* to the hospital. The following conversation ensued:
Mom: Momma, next time that happens, call 911 and get an ambulance. I don't want him driving and I don't want you driving either.
Granny: How do I do that?
Mom: Just dial 9, 1, 1 on the phone and the operator comes on and talks to you.
My grandmother is not suffering from any mental problems other than the natural consequences of old age and extreme stress (her husband, who has been married to her for 65 years almost, is slowly dying). Yet I am not absolutely certain that, in the event of an emergency, she would know her address and phone number spot-on. (They changed the area code a few years ago, so even though she's had the same number since it was FEderal-2, it's not the same number.)
I mean, most people would tell you that the number you dial in an emergency is 911 (or 999 across the pond); but each of you reading this, I promise that you KNOW someone who, in an emergency, does not instinctively know to call this number. (You may even be this person.)
In today's world we have "security measures" where you can't get information without reciting passwords, security answers, and things that hopefully only you would know. But what happens when you don't know them? What happens as our population ages and we start to forget where we worked 10 years ago? What happens to our personal safety, to our medical assistance, when the privacy laws forbid disclosing information without proving our identity by verifying things that we can't verify right now?
It's also not an aging thing; I had to verify some information for a credit report, including the name of the employer I had back in 1995. That was 13 years ago, and while I remember how we answered the phone, I don't think I ever DID know the formal name of the business. I'm sure it would have been on my tax records, but I don't keep those for 13 years. So, even if I don't know the business's name, aren't I still me?
How are we going to deal with securing personal information? Are we going to have retina, fingerprint, or other scanners built into SecurePhones that we use to make our personal business calls? Will there be a rise in officials like the notary public again?
My (now deceased) grandmother told me that notaries used to be required to personally know someone, not just identify them with a driver's license. That's why notaries used to be people who knew a lot of the community, like local businesspeople.
*This is not unusual behavior for our family; my great-uncle Craig drove himself to the hospital while suffering a heart attack. This was in the days before cell phones, so it was that or die.
Mom: Momma, next time that happens, call 911 and get an ambulance. I don't want him driving and I don't want you driving either.
Granny: How do I do that?
Mom: Just dial 9, 1, 1 on the phone and the operator comes on and talks to you.
My grandmother is not suffering from any mental problems other than the natural consequences of old age and extreme stress (her husband, who has been married to her for 65 years almost, is slowly dying). Yet I am not absolutely certain that, in the event of an emergency, she would know her address and phone number spot-on. (They changed the area code a few years ago, so even though she's had the same number since it was FEderal-2, it's not the same number.)
I mean, most people would tell you that the number you dial in an emergency is 911 (or 999 across the pond); but each of you reading this, I promise that you KNOW someone who, in an emergency, does not instinctively know to call this number. (You may even be this person.)
In today's world we have "security measures" where you can't get information without reciting passwords, security answers, and things that hopefully only you would know. But what happens when you don't know them? What happens as our population ages and we start to forget where we worked 10 years ago? What happens to our personal safety, to our medical assistance, when the privacy laws forbid disclosing information without proving our identity by verifying things that we can't verify right now?
It's also not an aging thing; I had to verify some information for a credit report, including the name of the employer I had back in 1995. That was 13 years ago, and while I remember how we answered the phone, I don't think I ever DID know the formal name of the business. I'm sure it would have been on my tax records, but I don't keep those for 13 years. So, even if I don't know the business's name, aren't I still me?
How are we going to deal with securing personal information? Are we going to have retina, fingerprint, or other scanners built into SecurePhones that we use to make our personal business calls? Will there be a rise in officials like the notary public again?
My (now deceased) grandmother told me that notaries used to be required to personally know someone, not just identify them with a driver's license. That's why notaries used to be people who knew a lot of the community, like local businesspeople.
*This is not unusual behavior for our family; my great-uncle Craig drove himself to the hospital while suffering a heart attack. This was in the days before cell phones, so it was that or die.
