We live in a world of gadgets, there's no doubt it. I must confess I'm mesmerized as the next person by Palm Pilots, flat screen TVs, DVD players, and laptop computers. But in my opinion the piece of technology that has influenced the world the most is the telephone, that instrument of communication that has really allowed the IT revolution to take place. My fascination with the telephone began when I was a toddler in America. I used to love picking up the telephone and pressing the buttons, listening to the ringing sounds that ensured if I dialed correctly, or the automated operator saying: "This number does not exist. Please hang up and try your call again."
      My parents had no clue about my habit and I probably would have moved on from local calls to dialing long distance if I hadn't dialled a number that some how got me connected to the police department (I think it was 911). The man on the other end of the phone kept saying "Hello? Hello?" but I stayed very quiet. I think he heard me sucking my thumb because the next thing I remember was him telling me very sternly,"Little girl, do you want me to come to your house and take your telephone away?" I replaced the receiver hastily, backed away from the phone and have never abused my dialing privileges since.
      On my return to Pakistan, where I spent most of my adolescence, I learned that the telephone could be an instrument of torture, not just of communication. I had not learned Urdu properly and didn't at all feel comfortable speaking it in public. However, when the phone rang, I gamely tried to answer it a few times. The caller, usually a Next>