The book Future Shock by Alvin Toffler proposed
that mankind was psychologically and emotionally unable to adjust to rapid
change; that change, to be comfortable, must happen over an extended time.
Boy was he wrong.
Change did
come slow when knowledge was acquired by trial-and-error.
At the time
of Jesus, the wheelbarrow was cutting edge technology. The
world prodded along for centuries until the invention of the printing press in
the 1400’s. The printing press allowed
the mass sharing of information including the technology of the day.
By the early
1900’s the T-model Ford and primitive airplanes were cutting edge technology. Changes were happening, but they were still
slow.
In 1976’
computers were in their infancy and the Apple-2 with 4 Kb of ram, 5 ½ inch
floppy disk and a monochrome monitor that wrote in upper case only was
available for home computing for around a thousand dollars.
Now in only
forty years we have gone to hand held gigabyte computer phones with hundreds of
apps available. My GPS has the address,
maps and driving directions for everyone living in the United States and
Canada. NASA has probes hurling into
deep space and the internet has connected almost every person on earth.
This is only
the beginning. Computers are changing
our world at such a pace that it is hard to keep up with new innovations. We are on the cusp of artificial
Intelligence (AI) where computers will learn and think for themselves. It is almost unimaginable where technology
will have taken us by the turn of the 22nd century.
The book is outmoded
But still a good read
If only to see
Where we have come from.
the Ol'Buzzard
Interesting. I love when you blog about books. Otherwise I would be stuck with what my local book store has up front. I do love me some new book smell.
ReplyDeleteI really like that book. I think there is validity to the idea, though, when you look at the reports of the significant increase in stress folks report in their day-to day lives. Even though there are many good things associated with the technology tidal wave, the added stress is a strong negative that also impacts us and I suspect the rapid nature of this change is the major reason for the increased stress.
ReplyDeleteI am now on a computer instead of a tablet so it is easier to write. Even though I agree with the idea you suggest on how we HAVE coped with incredible change in a short order of time... I do think that there have been hidden costs of a variety of sorts (which to me keeps Toffler's ideas valid as well). I mentioned stress in my previous comment. And, unfortunately, clinicians are finding that a large number of the modern illnesses we face in society have some pretty strong linkages to the increased levels of stress hormones most of us have in our bodies.
ReplyDeleteI sometimes wish I could go back to the late 50s or early 60s prior to the jump starting of most technology that entered the general public's day-to-day. I can reminisce of course, but I would like to experience it again WITHOUT any of the baggage of hindsight (what I mean is without knowing what was to come). I think it would be much more quieting for my mind and spirit.
PipeTobacco
I remember when that book was the talk of the town! I never got around to reading it though.
ReplyDelete