4 ms·

Issac Asimov wrote a classic that always makes me smile in this context [0]. A bit dated to say the least, but short and pointed. [0] https://mcraenglish.weebl

• brabel 2y ago
  I don't find that so dated: "He groped in his own pocket for cigarettes, and brought out a package along with a scattering of small change; old-fashioned coins dating to the first years before the metal shortage had brought into being a credit system tied to a computer-complex." Basically predicting credit cards in 1961?? The part about him still smoking, but being one of the few people with the "privilege": well, today a lot of people still smoke despite knowing of the dangers, and I don't think that, in the distant future, it's obvious that this will not continue to be the case.
  • Y_Y 2y ago
    > predicting credit cards in 1961?? A mere decade or two after they came into use!
    • mlyle 2y ago
      Computerizing it all was a new thought about at that time. In early 1961, my dad was just implementing one of the first highly-computerized systems for demand deposits and commercial banking at MNB. Magnetic marking of checks had only been standardized a couple of years before. Credit cards were not really computerized until the mid-70's.