The least amount of Tech you should use in Academia
you can always overdo it, but never ever you'd want to end up a boomer in your twenties still using manual citations
General Adab on Tech
In a world of i-phones, i-macs, i-pads, what should be our i-hsaan in using them? (forgive me for this abomination of a beginner, couldn’t resist), or in a world built on Tech, mediated by it and controlled by it, how do we think about tech-wa? (This is good, you have to admit).
As academicians, most of us love to sit in a corner and be content with whatever version of a PDF reader we have on our ten-year old laptop. We are mostly happy if we can get the work done on time. Yet, as mentioned in the previous posts, if we are thinking about Adab in Academia or in life in general, one cannot help but recognise the importance of technology and its psycho-social-cognitive-spiritual effect on us. We are deeply aware of the ways it disciplines our bodies, minds and souls. As the theory of Adab tells us, recognition also entails the recognition of the importance of action and actually doing it. The dangers of technology and the adverse effects it has are tales as old as the world. Do you remember when writing was invented? Well needless to say people were paranoid:
Socrates recounts a myth involving the Egyptian god Theuth, who is credited with inventing writing (among other things), and King Thamus, who responds with skepticism.
Here’s a brief summary of the myth:
Theuth presents his inventions to King Thamus, praising writing as a great aid to memory and wisdom. However, Thamus replies with a critique:
"This invention will produce forgetfulness in the souls of those who learn it, because they will not practice their memory. They will trust to the external written characters and not remember of themselves... You give your disciples not truth but only the semblance of truth; they will be hearers of many things and will have learned nothing; they will appear to be omniscient and will generally know nothing."
(in Chat GPTs words)
Yet, writing is not the first or even the last thing that comes into our mind when we talk about technology. Do technological advancements have ethical compasses? Are they inherently evil? Is the phone you are using to scroll reels the devil in disguise? (your mother may say so; believe her and give her a kiss), Is Instagram a bad thing? Adab in thinking about technology is about understanding and separating the tool from the product. The tool is merely a tool, a scientific discovery that can accelerate humanity’s development. A product is a tool on sale with the intent of creating maximum profit. Profit is not a bad thing, and neither are tools; profit without ethical parameters is bad, and tools without someone turning it into a useful end product for you and me to use is a lack of advancement and a waste of human thought and labour. Adab in technology would then entail understanding and resisting capitalist notions of profit without ethical boundaries and cultivating a self that is disciplined and can discipline unethical profit-oriented products for our own benefit. Adab then would be about recognising the importance of tech and, through the principles of Ihsaan, as mentioned in the previous post, increasing our efficiency, not for the profit of this life but for the one after. It is about being able to stand in front of Allah SWT on the day of judgement and say, O lord, I tried my best. I employed the most efficient way to write that Assignment; I always tried to do better for your satisfaction and with you in mind.
It would be redundant to say technology is changing by the millisecond because the moment I typed that out, technology has changed. It is part of Adab to recognise this nature of technology and to always be on the lookout for newer and better ways to streamline your work. This means always being aware of the technological changes happening around you (YouTube, Twitter, Facebook, wherever you scroll). But, a word of caution, as stated, technology is also about products, the latest iPhone, the latest laptop and the latest Kindle that we won’t be able to afford yet drool over. One should also follow the general Adab of recognising one’s own financial conditions and being satisfied with the ni’mat Allah SWT has given you. Yes, I am talking about being happy about the 6-year-old Chromebook your cousin sold to you and the mid-range phone you have with a crack across. That being said, awareness about technology is mandatory, if your ghulam robot starts malfunctioning one day and become sentient (don’t worry, it’ll never be human or alive) you have to be aware, because whether it is sentient or not, you still need it to write that assignment.
The Hard Part
The hard part refers to the hardware, the must have hardware for someone in academia. This is the least amount you need to survive and thrive Insha Allah. As mentioned earlier, the least you need is a pen and a paper, but the things I mention have long before taken its place in our lives, so it is only imperative that we catch up. (Yes, I know it’s not accessible for us all, but that is something related to qadr and Allah SWT). All we can do is help each other, individually and structurally Insha Allah. I suggest three pieces of hardware:
A Phone: Well, Alhamdulillah, most of us have this. Learning how to use it, learning how to discipline ourselves in terms of it is the question. Especially as Academicians, how do we make the most out of it? At a glance I’d say, casual notetaking and casual reading is the best uses of the phone, because it’s handy and small and accepted everywhere.
A Laptop: If you are in the business of word processing, which is what all of Academia is, processing words, then a Laptop is a must. To read semi casual and academic writings of moderate length and to take notes, annotate and write lengthy stuff. The benefit of a laptop is that it will help you in arranging and delegating tasks more efficiently (more on this below).
A Kindle: Buy a cheap Kindle, this is for book-length readings without straining your eyes and without having to spend too much money on books. If you are a pirate of the erstwhile open cyber seas, knowledge is out there for you, and a Kindle is your tiny boat to tread it.
Some Soft Stuff
The good thing about democratised technology is that people have already found solutions for your problems. These solutions, as I have mentioned are usually on the market as products. Below I will be mentioning the minimal amount of products you should be using if you are in Academia. This list is a culmination of my experience and usage, it’s contingent. All of the necessary tutorials for these are available on the internet/youtube, I will only suggest if there’s any specific tutorial I feel like you should follow.
Software on Laptop
Notion: It is lauded as a note-taking app, use it to plan your life, academic or otherwise. It is the great planner.
Zotero: It is everything you wanted on your laptop to read and annotate and cite your readings. It is the best PDF/EPUB/Document reader out there for academics and it is the best way to annotate, highlight and take notes. Oh and did I tell you that it manages your citations? It is a beast, tame it and it’ll be your most faithful help in the great Academic Wars. It is the great keeper of your books.
Obsidian: This is the great Repository for all your knowledge in text. This is where all your knowledge in text, notes, everywhere ends up organised, hybernated, at your service when needed. I have written about it in detail in the last post, and I will quote that here:
At the end, I personally follow a very specific method of note taking called Zettelkasten using a digital note taking App called Obsidian. All my notes from my phone from One Note, Zotero and Kindle/Book readings are finally stored on Obsidian. It works by linking together your notes, helping you generate new ideas. It’d be an understatement to say that it has revolutionised my Academic Writing. Below is one video, the only video you should watch to set up your Obsidian (don’t watch anything else, strict warning).
Apps on Phone
One Note: I know, I know, how many note taking apps will this guy suggest. But look at it this way. Notion is your big thick planner notebook, One Note is your tiny notepad with super charged organisation, that is necessary for quick notes for lectures, lists and other things. Zotero is the margins of your print out files, Obsidian is your central repository, where everything from your One Note, Zotero and Handwritten notes end up neatly and can be used and linked for future use.
Tick Tick: This is a to do list app, but it is the best out of there, I pay for the premium version because the app was so useful in helping me manage my time, I wanted to support the creators (plus, the premium had some good features, worth the money). Insha Allah I hope to write something on the Adab of time management.
Regain: This is something I have mentioned in the previous post, I will share what I had written there:
When you are sitting down to read, distraction is your devil, the phone is merely a tool in his hand. The whole of duniya is distraction, set a timer for an hour or thirty minutes and keep your phone away. Alternatively, I have found an App called Regain and the focus mode on it to be very useful (it lets you use the phone but blocks selected apps during focus mode, oh it also blocks reels on Instagram)
Technology will not redeem you, they can only make you more efficient. You can only redeem yourself once you recognise your self, Allah and your purpose in life as Allah has explained through the Qur’an and the life of the beloved Prophet ﷺ. Once you recognise that, and is honest in your covenant with Allah, you will see barakah in Academic life, and the ability to use technology efficiently is a big barakah in and of itself.
Wallahu A’lam/ And Allah knows best.
Also there’s a second part to this:
