Can We Still Be Amazed?

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I still remember my very first time with a robot. And instead of that “wow” moment, it was more like a disappointed “ehh… that’s it?”.

Back in college, we had access to one industrial robot. Yeah.. Just one.

And it was so old it could easily have stood in a museum right next to a steam engine. The worst part was that we could not even work on it. Because there was only one, our entire group of engineering hopefuls stood around, watching this poor dinosaur slowly move while all the “hands-on” part was happening… in simulation software.

Not exactly the magical first contact with robotics I had imagined. I wanted sparks, science fiction, something to blow my mind. Instead, I got a demo that felt more like “look, it moves… sometimes.”

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Ironically, today I am surrounded by robots every day. It should be mind-blowing. Yet the truth is, more often than not, there is no spark of wonder anymore. Just a casual “hmm” and we move on.

Engineering feels a bit like Christmas. As a kid, it was pure magic, lights and excitement. Later on, everything becomes routine. Even the weather from Frank Sinatra’s famous song does not feel as awful as he sings it.

Robots are the same. Once, every move felt fascinating. Today, when I watch their perfectly repetitive sequences, all I hear in my head is a loud yawn. Boring. Been there, seen that.

Luckily, I found a way to reignite the spark. I love talking about my world to people outside the engineering bubble. Watching them listen with glowing eyes, open-mouthed, as if they just stepped into a science fiction movie. In their eyes, technology becomes magic again. And through them, it returns for me too.

What still excites me most is watching the moment when technology takes over the heavy work from people. That is my real “wow”. Especially during those first launches, when the symbolic relay handoff happens. A human steps back, and a robot takes over.

Every time I witness that, I get chills. My heart starts beating a little faster, in rhythm with a better future. Because I know something is shifting right there. It is not just another programmed move, it is a real change in someone’s life and work.

But why is it so hard to be amazed today? I think people react differently to technology for two reasons.

First primo, technology is no longer taboo. It is everywhere. It became ordinary. Robots are stepping into public spaces. And I am not talking about humanoids from science fiction movies. I mean regular, bulky, industrial arms that now pour coffee, serve pizza, scoop ice cream. Things that once would make jaws drop are now just part of the background. We got used to them.

Second primo secundo, we are victims of oversupply. Like Spotify. Today, every piece of music is at your fingertips. Back then, you bought a CD and listened to it over and over until you knew every note. Maybe it hurt sometimes, but there was ritual in it. There was uniqueness.

Now we have everything in abundance. And that numbs us. Which means we need to relearn how to stop for a moment, look back, and appreciate how far technology has already taken us.

Maybe the real problem is not with technology but with us. We are in too much of a hurry, scrolling too fast to let ourselves be amazed. And yet sometimes all it takes is a simple pause. A stop-frame moment. Looking at a robot that tirelessly performs hundreds of repetitive moves and realizing that not long ago, this sight would have been pure science fiction.

And suddenly, the magic comes back. Maybe without fireworks, but definitely with that quiet “wow” that reminds us why we are here in the first place.

Cheers,

Jacek!