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Future Shock
Years ago when I was in college (my majors were 'the wheel' and 'fire'), we were required to read a book by Alvin Toffler entitled Future Shock. Although my recollection of the book's scope is somewhat fuzzy, Toffler's premise was that scientific and technological advances would increase at a pace that would eventually overwhelm mankind's ability to absorb. In the 30 or so years since that book was written, this prediction seems to becoming a reality, at least for me. I was reminded of all of this when, in a recent conversation, I began listing technologies that have come and (mostly) gone in my lifetime...
- Vacuum tubes
- Vinyl records (recorded at 78, 45, 33 1/3, and yes 16 2/3 RPM)
- 8 Track tapes
- Reel-to-reel tape recorders
- "Miracle" plastics
- 5 1/4 inch 'floppy' disks
- Automotive carburetors and points, use of a timing light, backyard tuneups
- Analog music recordings
- Telephones with rotating dials and bells that actually rang
- Telephone numbers that had names and no area codes (the phone number we had when I was a kid was Fieldstone 3-8278)
- And much, much more I'm certain
Am I ancient? Yeah, maybe somewhat. As an admitted technogeek, I find myself more and more future shocked and questioning whether our world is necessarily better because of computers, satellite transmission of news instantaneously around the globe, cell phones, microwave ovens, the Apple iWhatevers, and digital everything. Ya gotta wonder...
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Another assumption! My memories are fading with the wind...although I do remember learning to type on a manual Smith-Corona typewriter in 1969 as a sophomore in high school!
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