Every time I see someone talking on a cell phone while driving, or watch someone's thumbs move in a frenetic blur while texting, I'm reminded of the ancient Greeks.

If I recall my history lesson correctly, during the Golden Age of Greece, really smart guys would sit around in togas all day and think big thoughts about the meaning of life, man's place in the universe, even how feta cheese got its name. Wouldn't that be cool, I used to think, to have nothing to do but hang out with my peeps and philosophize. But, of course, that wouldn't be possible as long as we humans had to work most of our days to put bread on the table, a roof over our heads, and cable TV in every room.

Indeed, as they used to say on the Six Million Dollar Man, "We have the technology." Beginning, I suppose, with the Clapper and followed by the microwave oven and now anything with a computer chip in it, mankind has run off a string of innovations with the potential to make our lives incredibly easy.

And all we've done is to create a society in which we are more stressed and more frenzied than ever before.

I thought about this while stuck in traffic and watching the woman in the car next to me going nonstop on her cell phone. Let me assure you that my reaction was not holier-than-thou, since I, too, have been known to kill the tedium of a boring drive by calling friends, colleagues, or even strangers to conduct some quick business, order takeout, or complain about the weather. I'm also not above checking my e-mail or cruising the Internet from the palm of my hand.

But all this has convinced me that the vast majority of my fellow human beings will never make it to Mt. Olympus because we suffer from addictive personalities. And the more technology advances, the more we are allowing these addictions to run wild.

Let's stay in the car for a minute. I have seen, in just the past few days, other drivers who, besides talking on a cell phone or texting, were lighting matches, smoking, drinking, reading, eating, putting on makeup, and even squeezing their pimples-all while trying to navigate busy city streets or high speed highways.

In a store checkout line, this abuse of multitasking has caused some businesses to post signs that say, "Please finish your cell phone conversation before approaching the counter." This is because too many individuals have caused major backups because they are trying to carry on two conversations at once-with the checkout person and the person on the other end of the phone. (The ultimate is when the check out person also gets a call on his or her cell phone, which I've dubbed the "Classic Four Way.")

What we've created is a community of Hunchback of Notre Dame wannabees, who walk with a phone cradled between shoulder and chin, only switching from one side to the next when the neck pain becomes unbearable.

In every social setting, like a business lunch or a dinner with friends, we now experience dueling technology, with each party under continual assault by calls, emails, and texts, the table vibrating so often and so roughly that you'd swear somewhere a Richter machine is going haywire. The silverware is clanging and water is sloshing out of the glasses.

Even sleep brings no rest, as our occasional middle-of-the-night trips to the bathroom now include a quick check of emails and twitters.

So, are we better off than we were when we actually could get away from it all and we had to find a pay phone when a call was absolutely necessary? Are we any closer to claiming a seat on that mountain top, where we can sip wine and eat grapes all day while we contemplate the true meaning of life-or at least why it always rains after I wash my car?

I think not. I think we imperfect, obsessive compulsive, insecure, easily addicted, anal retentive humans have allowed technology to get ahead of us. We're on a computer-powered treadmill and nobody knows how to get off.

Oh, well, maybe it's all for the better. I really wouldn't look all that great in a toga.