Things we Take for Granted: The Amazing Speed of Technology
Last night, I needed to download a new version (or "update") of some of my virus software.
Cholla cactus in bloom, California
As I sat there-- for about 16 seconds-- watching a 32MB file download, it made me think about a time in the not too distant past where "a 32MB download" would have been an invitation to go away and cook dinner, watch a movie, maybe do some paperwork and come back to my computer three hours later to watch the progress bar on the screen reading "Now Downloading 73%."
It made me stop and have a moment of appreciation for the amazing speed of technology we have today.
Granted, I'm an "old fossil" who remembers the days of dial up and modems that transmitted at 1200 baud, not 110mbps. But then, I also remember an Internet that was "all text" and involved downloading information from online "bulletin board" systems (BBS) and newsgroups in "batch" files to read on our local computers. That was the interactive web of that day...
Once my download was complete, it only took about 10 seconds to install the software.
That was another reminder of how "installation" was often something that could take 30+ minutes and involved restarting your computer several times as part of the process. These days, I find it "annoying" and "outdated" to install and app and get a dialogue box that says it requires a restart to function properly.
How Quickly Things Have Changed
The whole process of updating my software took about one minute.
Ladybug on the desert, California
It made me take a few moments to reflect on just how quickly things have changed. And how quickly they are changing. And lastly, on my own attititude, having evolved from resignation to dealing with an hour-long process to impatience that I even have to "waste" one minute with an update.
Our grandchildren (now 7, 4 and 1) will grow up not knowing a world in which we were not all connected 24/7. They will never know a world without instant news and information; they will barely know what a land line telephone is... they will (most likely) not know how to find their way, using a paper map rather than the GPS on their smart phones.
Don't get me wrong, I'm not waxing nostalgic for some "good old days," merely taking a moment to consider how quickly things have changed. Think about it: all this has happened in the course of just one generation (20-ish years). Which, in turn, made me pause to speculate on where we might be, one generation from now.
How about YOU? Do you ever pause to take a moment to consider the march of technology? Do you find it exciting, or troubling... or some of each? What major things have changed completely in your lifetime? Where do you think we'll be in another 20-25 years? Will "devices" be completely replaced by "implants?" Leave a comment and share your ideas! Start the conversation!
(As always, all text and images by the author, unless otherwise noted. This is original content, created expressly for Steemit)
I remember going to a friend's house to learn how to play a computer game. The game was on a floppy disk (the real floppy ones--five and a half inches or something like that) and it took something like nine minutes to load onto the computer before I could play it. My friend stuck the disk in and got it started and then we did something else for a while before coming back downstairs to play the game.
As far as keeping myself and my children rooted even with all these technology changes, I have found studying the Montessori method of education to be really helpful. There's a huge emphasis on handworks and just slowing down to let learning happen at its natural pace, but without denigrating technology. We sometimes sacrifice more than we realize with so much technology driven efficiency. At the same time, it's great to be able to use the tools of modern technology and be well versed in them. I think the key is in who is master of what. Humans need to be in charge of the technology they use, not the other way round. If the tech is starting to get too much in control of you, then it's good to turn it off for a while and do something outside or work with your hands and just be.
Ah yes, I remember those big floppies! I used to have one of those cardboard insets the same size as the disks, which were inserted in the slot if you moved the computer, to prevent the read-head from moving around. Used to take it with me to "tech-ish" events and let the young turks guess what it was. Nobody under the age of 30 ever had a clue....
Yes, the Montessori system does do an excellent job of keeping us (kids) in touch with some of the hands-on things that are "real." Your words remind me of something I was always battling with in my "past life" (in IT) in the field of Usability-- the machines should be made to adapt to OUR needs... we shouldn't become slaves to accommodating ourselves to their systems... and if we are? Then it's a case of really poor/lazy programming, and it needs to be rebuilt, from scratch.
Great to read the inside perspective on what to do if machine is not adequately serving man :)
Oh, and the title to a book I imagine myself writing someday is Montessori, not just for kids. It's a great methodology all around.
Uhmm, let me think about this half a second.. ¡Yes! some of each!!
What I really observe with increasingly concern these days is this:
Every day I am witnessing that an immense amount of young people (even on their twenty something) are being incapable to know what time is it if they look and try to read it through a simple & ancient hand clock. Yup! those 'obsolete & useless' ones with needles. You know? ;)
And this without even mentioning, when you ask them ¿How much is 2+2? if they haven't some kind of a calculator at hand. Because then, they will be totally lost, even having two hands full of fingers to respond.
On the other hand, intuiting that we both just must be a pair of Ol'fart techy dinosaurs, using technology from the times of Methuselah and who went thru similar experiences with technology, according the story you are sharing with us above.. I will kindly ask you if you could help me out to decipher a very hard riddle and long held puzzle contained in an old article I posted almost a couple of months ago about kinda this same topic. ¿Deal? ..my esteemed fossil @denmarkguy? :)
@por500bolos, thank you for your comment! I will go look at your post after finishing here... not sure if I can answer your riddle, but we will see!
There is no doubt that technology is changing the way the world works... some of it is good, some of it not so much. I do sometimes worry that we will simply "forget" how to do very basic things because we have handed them off to technology.
I find it exciting, especially when watching videos by futurists Stefan Hyttfors or Gerd Leonhard.
I find it exciting, too... in most ways. I sometimes wonder about whether this all will impinge on our "freedoms" (aka right to have individual/independent thought) over time... a sort of "fit in, or perish" paradigm.
When I left Canada for Switzerland 22 years ago I had almost no connection with friends and family back home. A phone call was very expensive and so we actually wrote letters. Eventually I bought a fax machine for myself and one for my parents and we faxed letters back and forth!
How I longed to read my home town newspaper and to catch up on some of the info of my favourite sports teams.
Now I see family and friends with FaceTime calls and I can read any paper and see any game that I'd like.
I wouldn't go back but I do feel that I suffer from information overload. It would be good to wean myself off of technology and head for the woods from time to time!
Ah yes, I remember the days of letter writing... when I first moved from Denmark to the US for University (in 1981) I wrote lots of letters to people "back home."
I'll share with you something interesting I am seeing... my wife and I have a small art gallery/gift shop here where we sell all handmade things. There is a tremendous growth in things handmade, I expect as a response to the technological age... we spend our lives tapping away at keyboards and smartphone screens and I think there is some part of our psyche that longs for "hands-on" things... so yes, DO head for the woods now and then; fell the soil and leaves between your fingers. It's healthy!
interesting post! Great pictures! Thank you!
Thanks for your comment!