BF2S Forums Age of Technology

I don't think you are looking at it the right way.

If you look at technological breakthroughs since the beginning of time, the time elapsed between each new breakthrough has been shortened.

See:
Agricultural revolution to Industrial revolution to Information age to Nanotechnology (left out a bunch).

In addition, the "life span" of the new technology is shortened as well, as the new technology overrides the previous "ages".

This has to do with the common technology curve - brand new technology isn't immediately accepted and is costly, gains acceptance and cost decreases to use the technology, followed by applying the technology to other areas for which it wasn't immediately created.  Once this has occurred, enough time is saved so people begin to focus on the next technology, thereby starting the next "breakthrough" technology curve.

For instance take computers and the automotive industry to illustrate the secondary application phase.  We used to buy a car with an on-board computer...now most of the parts are computer controlled...you're almost buying a "computer" with wheels.  Or take a look at agriculture - 95% of the society used to be involved...now there's like 1%.

So in other words, it's not money.  The technology (aka breakthrough) curve is shorter than in the past, and the velocity is increasing daily.

The primary driver is competition...and the fact that during the secondary application phase multiple breakthroughs are possible.

There's a theory out there for this - I can't remember it - but profit is but one of the factors driving society to become more and more competitive.

konfusion wrote:

But that's not all I meant. What about having a real childhood? Our "Age of Technology" allows no time for fun... Parents working all the time, kids at school until they're 22. When do we have fun? In the moments between studying, sleeping and eating? Are we reduced to this?

-konfusion

You don't have to be a zombie - you choose to be one by:

1) Lack of free thought
2) Reluctance to accept responsibility = inefficiency
3) Lack of passion for something interesting (hobbies)
4) Being bitten by another zombie because of your inability to heed the warnings of your neighbors and instead having sex with girlfriend

I work a lot.  I spend 80-90% of my free time with my kids.  That's fun for me.  When they get a hobby to cut into my fun, I'll do something else.

What's fun for you?  Obvioiusly it's not materialism.

I believe we are in an over saturated "consumer spending" frenzy that requires us to have useless devices and technology just to have it...not for necessity as much.  Older people, and some wise youngsters realize that life is just as rich, informative, and productive with what they have.  FOr example, I'm cool with my banged up 8700c model blackberry and though the 8300 "curve" model is out and much more attractive and capable, I'm just gonna stick with my old phone....and i can have that curve for free too with no phone/data bill.

Commercials = the deviiiiiiil.

More people in the world = more research = quicker discoveries = more gadgets coming out quicker.

Stuff is also cheaper.  You can buy a brand new PC for less than one third of what a comparable model (compared to others at the time) would have cost 15-20 years ago.

CommieChipmunk wrote:

applying that same logic

More people in the world = more person to person interaction (think continent hopping) = more susceptible to a pandemic.

Overpopulation truly scares me

/digression.

Technology has truly exploded over this last century, it'll be interesting to see if we can maintain a parabolic expansion or if it'll level off (which one would assume it has to).

It's scary. Either we hope for a disease that wipes out a large portion of the population, or we get some kid-restricting laws/taxes like in China.

-konfusion

KEN-JENNINGS wrote:

It's all about perspective.  Ferris Bueller said it right - "Life moves pretty fast. If you don't stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it."

I make sure I have fun.  For me, life isn't about earning money, moving up the corporate ladder, or any of that.  If and when I have kids, I hope to instill this idea in them.

Perhaps the fact that you see more people working with less time for their children isn't a result of the "Age of Technology" as you put it, but a cause.

The more I hear from you, the more I think you might be my long lost brother.  Why are you no in Zulu yet?