Mieko (Chieko) Shiomi, George Maciunas: Water Music (1964)

"Scrolling can serve some incredibly useful purposes, sometimes even EssentialServices."

I sincerely apologize for starting this series under what I should have known would turn out to become false premises, but each of my series so far has eventually stumbled into this same realization. I might conclude that non-false premises can’t coexist with serious series writing, since some of their purpose should rightfully and properly remain in actually discovering something. I couldn’t have known precisely where the falsity might emerge, only that it would inevitably emerge and, in doing so, turn me into, if not a liar, then a perveyor of partial truths. Absolutists, those who only peddle in complete truths, might not actually exist, so at least I might consider myself in reasonably good company. If my purpose was to discover something, I required some partially-baked basis upon which to initiate my search.

The issue might never be whether premises prove to be false or not. It might be better understood to be about what one does with their inevitable discovery that they were pursuing a partial lie. Unscrolling serves as a good enough stand-in for an example of this principle in action. I began writing about the presumed evils of scrolling, specifically doom-scrolling social media. It had become a bit of a problem for me and for many, many others, so I figured I might learn some non-obvious something about the business if I focused my attention on it for a quarter. I proceeded to mostly badmouth the practice, alternatively pretending that I was not as addicted as I was and flaunting some of that addiction’s products. I never plagiarized, but I leveraged plenty. I was never alone in my inquiry, for there were many engaged in trying to comprehend what seemed to so easily engage so many. The practice revealed many facets.

My revelation yesterday, which I barely hinted at in my Trolling story, discovered what I might label as EssentialServices. Not only has scrolling not turned out to be nearly as distracting as I’d initially feared, but it also held potential I’d hardly considered. I have long argued for the necessity of some access to some sort of random divination process. Manipulate the yarrow sticks, deal the deck, not to predict the future but to perhaps gain some insight. Tarot provides no magic beyond the perfectly ordinary kind, that which offers some alternative framework within which to interpret. Synchronicity might be more feeling than substance, certainly not a repeatable process. It just proves useful when some usual interpretation flags. Yesterday, as a result of Trolling my social media, I discovered an entirely fresh meaning for what I expected would have to be a repeat of my previous grieving.

I hadn’t wanted what I discovered. My notions of what might have constituted a resolution for my grieving problem had absolutely nothing to do with what emerged. I was open to discovering something while plugged into a system that seemed to emulate random selection. The usual collection of largely irrelevant postings summed into an insight for the ages. It might be that too tightly focusing upon finding such resolutions effectively prevents them from emerging from the ether surrounding us all. It might be that we hold too tightly to what we already know, searching for validation instead of even necessary revelation. We might have all the tools required to utterly reframe any unfortunate circumstance if only we could somehow lose our laser-like focus and innocent insistences. If only.

I must now consider the goodness in the obvious evil, lest I leave my best intentions behind. I must acknowledge that I have ready access to such vast resources that they blind me to their subtle significance. I busted through so much unfinished business yesterday, after the sun rose on ample justification to celebrate instead of grieve, I felt like some sort of superman.—Don’t be concerned, I will not be donning any Spandex® as a result of this experience, just softening my focus.—I intend to vilify scrolling when it needs vilifying, and I also intend to embrace its attendant usefulnesses. We are moderns, however unsettling that realization might feel. We do not have the option of undoing even a millimeter of our forward evolution, not even the ugly, unfortunate, seemingly backsliding bits. Scrolling can serve some incredibly useful purposes, sometimes even EssentialServices.

©2026 by David A. Schmaltz - all rights reserved

Tags: #Unscrolling, #PureSchmaltz