4 ms·

You could also ask "Are we getting overly reliant on technology"? But the original question about GPS is already interesting. The GPS network is getting pretty

You could also ask "Are we getting overly reliant on technology"? But the original question about GPS is already interesting. The GPS network is getting pretty old. What if a few satellites fail? Replacing them will take a while, won't it?

kovar 16y ago
The satellites are (somewhat) regularly replaced. There was a funding scare in 2009, but as far as I know, we're not at risk of losing any satellites and creating a hole in the constellation.
hammock 16y ago
Technology is technology. The cotton gin is technology. The tomahawk is technology. I don't think that's the right question to ask. We get into trouble when people conflate the Internet with technology. The Internet is is just ONE new development of tech, the way television was, or electricity, or woven textiles. It's not the end all, be all, and there is probably <0.01% of people in this world thinking about what happens when the Internet gets replaced by something else - or more to the point, what the opportunity cost is of spending so much time and effort on the Internet when there might be something better just around the corner.
- wladimir 16y ago
  With technology I meant "electronic technology". One big solar flare, and all our devices break down due to EM. I'm not so much worried about it, but it's still an interesting question what would happen to human civilization. I'm not sure what you mean about the internet being "replaced". Unless we find an fundamentally different information unit to transfer (qubits?), the international packet-switched network is pretty much it. Sure, protocols might change, mediums might change, formats might change, the scope could change from Earth to to the solar system, heck we might call it some other name and start sending direct neural impulses over it, but when is it "replaced"? Hey, be optimistic, we're still using television, electricity and woven textiles :)
  - hammock 16y ago
    >With technology I meant "electronic technology". One big solar flare, and all our devices break down due to EM. I'm not so much worried about it, but it's still an interesting question what would happen to human civilization. In that case I agree and it's an interesting question for sure. >I'm not sure what you mean about the internet being "replaced". Unless we find an fundamentally different information unit to transfer (qubits?), the international packet-switched network is pretty much it. See that's the attitude I'm talking about; so many people aren't willing to consider the possibility that there's a better way. "Replaced" was the wrong word to use- TV or the internet won't ever be replaced, but something else will come along that will divert some or all of our attention away from it.

kovar 16y ago

The satellites are (somewhat) regularly replaced. There was a funding scare in 2009, but as far as I know, we're not at risk of losing any satellites and creating a hole in the constellation.

hammock 16y ago

Technology is technology. The cotton gin is technology. The tomahawk is technology. I don't think that's the right question to ask. We get into trouble when people conflate the Internet with technology. The Internet is is just ONE new development of tech, the way television was, or electricity, or woven textiles. It's not the end all, be all, and there is probably <0.01% of people in this world thinking about what happens when the Internet gets replaced by something else - or more to the point, what the opportunity cost is of spending so much time and effort on the Internet when there might be something better just around the corner.

wladimir 16y ago
With technology I meant "electronic technology". One big solar flare, and all our devices break down due to EM. I'm not so much worried about it, but it's still an interesting question what would happen to human civilization. I'm not sure what you mean about the internet being "replaced". Unless we find an fundamentally different information unit to transfer (qubits?), the international packet-switched network is pretty much it. Sure, protocols might change, mediums might change, formats might change, the scope could change from Earth to to the solar system, heck we might call it some other name and start sending direct neural impulses over it, but when is it "replaced"? Hey, be optimistic, we're still using television, electricity and woven textiles :)
- hammock 16y ago
  >With technology I meant "electronic technology". One big solar flare, and all our devices break down due to EM. I'm not so much worried about it, but it's still an interesting question what would happen to human civilization. In that case I agree and it's an interesting question for sure. >I'm not sure what you mean about the internet being "replaced". Unless we find an fundamentally different information unit to transfer (qubits?), the international packet-switched network is pretty much it. See that's the attitude I'm talking about; so many people aren't willing to consider the possibility that there's a better way. "Replaced" was the wrong word to use- TV or the internet won't ever be replaced, but something else will come along that will divert some or all of our attention away from it.