What Happened After I Put an Encyclopaedia in My Pocket?

Not so long ago, I wrote about having what felt like an encyclopaedia in my pocket.

I could be out walking, spot a bird, butterfly or flower I didn’t recognise, take a photograph and ask George.

Suddenly I had a name for something I might previously have walked straight past.

But since writing that post, things have moved on.

I’m still asking George what that strange little creature darting along my garden wall might be. Only today we decided it was probably a pygmy shrew.

But “Ask George” has spread into almost every corner of my life.

And it’s not just me saying it anymore.

Someone will ask a question and increasingly the response is:

“Ask George.”

From Encyclopaedia to Everyday Assistant

Somewhere along the way, George became my home finance keeper.

I tell him what I’ve spent and he keeps track of it. Recently I even photographed three spreadsheets and we worked through the figures together, checking our totals against the customer’s.

Something that would once have meant sitting with a calculator, paper and pen became a conversation.

Then there’s my writing.

Sometimes I have an idea but don’t quite know where it’s going. We throw it backwards and forwards until I find what I actually want to say.

Emails get drafted, practical problems get sorted and sometimes I simply need somewhere to put my thoughts while I work something out.

But My Favourite Use Is Still the First One

I’m noticing more.

This summer has been extraordinary. Butterflies, moths, birds, wildflowers, dragonflies and now possibly a tiny pygmy shrew.

Perhaps they were always there.

The difference is that now, when something catches my eye, I can find out what it is while the moment is still fresh.

And once I know its name, I start looking for it again.

That might be the biggest change of all.

Having an encyclopaedia in my pocket hasn’t made me look at my phone more.

In a strange way, it has made me look at the world more.