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This is such a conundrum. When I really sit down and think about all the modern tech in my life, and how much of it is a promise to make my life easier, I can't
by iamcasen 8y ago
This is such a conundrum. When I really sit down and think about all the modern tech in my life, and how much of it is a promise to make my life easier, I can't help but laugh. The modern world is far more complicated and difficult to navigate than ever before. Each new piece of tech just adds to it.
Now we have to know how to navigate healthcare.gov to understand our insurance options, understand email, text, and all other smart phone etiquette. We need to know how to scan our own items at the store, how to use GPS and other touch systems in our vehicles, and know how to use multiple operating systems on computers, tablets, and other devices.
It is never ending! In 20 years, I imagine most engineers and computer scientists won't really be able to understand the scope of all tech we need on a daily basis. Technology will eventually become the equivalent of a magic crystal we carry in our pocket, but have no clue what it's source of power is or how it functions. Technologists will effectively become wizards! Without those wizards, the tech-powered society would crumble into dust.
The author is right that most people will effectively become automatons, mindlessly obeying the little taps and chimes of their tech-addled existence. They wouldn't have a choice of course, unless they are one of the few capable of obtaining a couple masters degrees in STEM.
- dvfjsdhgfv 8y ago> They wouldn't have a choice of course, unless they are one of the few capable of obtaining a couple masters degrees in STEM. That's already quite difficult given high specialization in IT. Even if you put hardware aside and take only software engineering, the difference between, say, kernel coding and the so-called "front-end development" is enormous. It literally takes years to master an ecosystem, and the complexity increases steadily just as we speak.
- ABCLAW 8y ago>The author is right that most people will effectively become automatons, mindlessly obeying the little taps and chimes of their tech-addled existence. They wouldn't have a choice of course, unless they are one of the few capable of obtaining a couple masters degrees in STEM. A couple of masters degrees in STEM isn't going to save someone from having their serotonin spike when their phone vibrates. Being the blacksmith that forges the shackles doesn't make your wrists impervious to your own creations.
- tjr225 8y agoI think it goes even further than that. In my day to day use of my smartphone, even, an iPhone 7, I find the experience largely unpleasant. Even what is essentially just a touch screen computer connected to the internet seems to have all sorts of unpredictable and strange reactions to my inputs. Or it will do something strange without any input at all. I would argue that the future we have created with technology is still mostly pretty janky - and we give the tech too much credit.
- deleted 8y ago[deleted]