Today, we went to Hasselblad. Hasselblad is a company that makes professional cameras, and photos like Abby Road and photos of Marilyn Monroe have been captured with this camera. The inside of Hasselblad looked like a museum. It was very spacious and decorated with photos and cameras, and there were photo-album type books on tables for people to admire.
We met in a conference room and we were given a presentation about the history of the company and how it started with a family that liked cameras. Their son really fell in love with photography and wanted to make an “ideal camera” that would fix the problems he had with the one he was using. His passion for photography really helped the brand grow because he was determined to constantly make improvements and put out the best equipment possible. Today, Hasselblad is an empire for professional cameras, unlike brands like Canon and Nikon that make cameras for the everyday consumer. Something else that is very unique about Hasselblad is they hand craft every single camera.
This company was very relaxed, a common trend I’ve been seeing in Sweden. The best thing about this atmosphere is everybody is very passionate about cameras and photography. I think it really shows in the quality of their work.
Afterwards, we went to ABB Robotics and had lunch right away. Something I’ve learned in Sweden is not everyone speaks English, but it’s safe to say that the younger generations do. That being said, it’s more common for older generations to not know English. The lady working in the lunch-line at ABB was older, so I asked her “har du nagra vegansk mat?” asking if there was vegan food. She spoke English! Either way, I’m happy that I’m more comfortable asking things in Swedish. The pea soup was vegan but she told me she would have the chef make me something. The chef asked “vegan or vegetarian?” I think it’s really amazing that everyone is on board with at least knowing what it means to be vegan or vegetarian. People in the United States are so ignorant to that kind of stuff. Check out my vegan page for the absolutely amazing and beautifully presented meal.
The presentation at ABB talked about the history of technology and robots. There was an unsuccessful robot revolution in the 1980s and Bert (our presenter) thinks it went wrong because ambitions were too high. People expected too much out of robotics that was too unrealistic, so the revolution never took off. He says in a perfect world, humans and robots will work together. “Anything a robot can do, a human shouldn’t be doing” he said, in regard to jobs. This makes sense because some work is very physically exhausting or dangerous. In that case, it’s much better for a robot to be performing those tasks.
We saw forms of virtual reality that are up and coming, and I personally don’t see the point.It’s amazing what technology can do, but I just don’t think all of it is necessary. We saw one video where a lady was presenting a headset that you put on and can see all the functions of your computer, and you can control them with your hands. She used her hands to make her internet window smaller, right before her eyes (every screen she saw was a hologram right in front of her). She would move the windows around, spin them, use voice activation, etc. I personally think it’s easier and more effective to just use a phone or a laptop, but the concept is interesting. I think virtual reality is a great idea for movies and education.
For dinner, we went to a Chinese restaurant with Sylvia and Morgan. It was a quick experience, but still very delicious.
Afterwards, we went to a hockey game!! I wasn’t NOT looking forward to it, but I definitely wasn’t excited for it because I really don’t care about sports. Similar to the cooking school, it was way more fun than I ever thought I would have. I’m so happy I went. I would love to go to another one. I even bought a jersey as a souvenir.
Take aways:
- If and when I move to Sweden, hockey games will be a regular.
- Work with passion.
- Hockey fans beat drums and chant for the entirety of games.
till sverige 