Isnt technology great?

I know in some ways it may seem like we are spoiled by technology, and some people seem dependent on it and can't seem to stay away for very long.

But man I love technology, watching 4k content on a good 4k TV, playing video games (I have been playing my switch a lot lately, still love my PS4 for the more hardcore/graphically stunning games though).

I also picked up a JBL Flip 4 for $60 instead of $100 and I can already tell that it is a great Bluetooth speaker good for music and it also doubles as a "soundbar" of sorts making for way better sound than my TV does by itself (that's the only real weak point my TV has feature wise at times), the sound just sounds more full and balanced through the JBL.

I also used to dabble in PC gaming (never anything requiring really high specs) on various games, but I haven't used my desktop for much in a long time.

Living in this day and age with all kinds of marvelous technology I couldn't imagine life without it; although I'm not into bluetooth earbuds, I'm either gonna use the old plug in style (kinda sad seeing phones without the old school headphone jack, just because they figure everyone will use bluetooth anyways) or use an actual bluetooth speaker; it just seems like a hassle to have to charge them up, plus I have to imagine they can be so easy to lose (especially the smaller ones)

This might sound strange coming from an engineering student and former jet engine mechanic, but I feel as though there is an over-reliance, over-saturation, and over-abundance of technology in our lives. I know that can seem a bit hypocritical as I express that thought through the magic of easy access in-home wifi on a laptop, but I've felt that way for a very long time. I can't STAND seeing so much technology in peoples hands...CONSTANTLY. The lack of actual physical interaction with ones surroundings and others is mind boggling and very disconcerting.

For example, I went for a drive up Mt. Rainier on Thanksgiving day with the family. It's a usual spot for us to travel to; it's a beautiful drive, fairly close, and doesn't cost anything. There had been a decent winter storm and the upper elevations received a fair amount of snow. This included the visitors center which usually sees a large amount of foot traffic from hikers, sledders, skiers, and shoers. There is also a fair amount of "tourism" that takes place there. On this particular trip I was upstairs looking out the vast windows at the beautiful mountain before me and all the people enjoying the experience...and that's when it dawned on me. Every last one of them had a damn phone in their hand and they were shooting video (I guess).

It was odd to see them all out there, with outstretched arms, trying to "interact" with each other. It was very apparent that nothing was natural about anything they were doing. It was as if they were all trying to direct a movie and shoot it at the same time. Actual skiers, sledders, and hikers just moved on past. I turned around and looked below me and saw the tables, chairs, benches, and sofas filled with people...staring at their damn crotches (phones, tablets, and laptops). Without any exaggeration, I can tell you that I observed all of these people staring into their own crotches without so much as glancing up or saying anything for fifteen minutes. The scene was only briefly interrupted when a bunch of the "filmers" outside came in, plopped down where they could, and also began staring at their crotches. All conversation, mirth, or apparent enjoyment ended instantly as they were absorbed into their portable electronic devices.

This is a scene that plays its self out all over the US and other countries. It's absolutely crazy to me, and I don't understand it. I have found that with the steady encroachment of ever present technology into our lives over the last couple of decades several human abilities seem to have gone into serious decline. For example, the act of starting and holding a simple conversation is completely lost on most people these days. The "Phone and Google" generation struggle to speak to other human beings. I see it every day on campus. The moment anyone sits down, or disengages from their current activity, they whip out their little hand-held devices. What the hell is so fascinating?

I also think that technology has been overused and over developed in safety applications; specifically automobiles. I honestly feel that today's vehicles are far too "safe"; they are too easy to drive. We are quickly entering an age where cars drive themselves under the disguises of "lane assist" or "accident avoidance". Cars are loaded with backup cameras, parking sensors, automatic wipers, automatic lights, automatic climate control, automatic EVERYthing. But all this safety technology, the ease of use of vehicles, coupled with people's increasingly withdrawn natures and the failure to recognize other humans as existing lead to people driving like absolute maniacs. People drive like they exist online, all for themselves and with very little regard to others. People see other cars as obstacles in their way, things that need to be passed or prevent passing. Things that should not be allowed into traffic so that you aren't delayed. People don't see other people on the road. Nor do they pay much attention to driving anyway.

Cars drive themselves, with almost every function being automated these days. People don't pay attention to their own vehicles carrying themselves and their loved ones much less yours or anyone else's. This is readily apparent by observing the outstanding number of vehicles that drive at night without a single light on. People are so used to a car doing everything for them, they can't figure out how to turn on their lights. They sure as hell don't know how a turn signal works, what the dimmer switch is for, or what following distance means. And I associate almost all of this with the ease of driving today's cars because of technology as well as the nature of today's people because of technology. Vehicles should be harder to drive. They should require your attention. They DO require your attention...but most people don't realize it.

If I could disinvent something, remove its existence from all memory and remove it from society...it would be the cell phone. The cell phone is our society's SkyNet.

Llayden said:

This might sound strange coming from an engineering student and former jet engine mechanic, but I feel as though there is an over-reliance, over-saturation, and over-abundance of technology in our lives. I know that can seem a bit hypocritical as I express that thought through the magic of easy access in-home wifi on a laptop, but I've felt that way for a very long time. I can't STAND seeing so much technology in peoples hands...CONSTANTLY. The lack of actual physical interaction with ones surroundings and others is mind boggling and very disconcerting.

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I'm not an engineer but I made a pretty good living keeping up with new developments in industrial automation, and I agree with this 100%. Our current beliefs about evolution include the notion that characteristics that fall into disuse are eventually minimized or dropped from our DNA. This may be what's happening to human intelligence and social skills. There is evidence that overall IQ is declining.

Because of the competition we have from worldwide adversaries we can't simply put technology back into the Pandora's box it came from. We need to stay abreast of new technology. But if we continue to let our machines do our thinking for us in our daily lives, the human race could end being little more than mindless worms cocooned in a shell of technology.

I'm a software engineer and modern technology absolutely f***ing terrifies me because it's now at the stage where you don't have to have the faintest idea how anything works in order to use it - so 99% of people are going through their lives using technology which is either actively bad for them or poses high risks if something goes wrong.

Facebook is a prime example of people not realising just how much power and personal information they're handing to a vast almost-unaccountable corporation.

Amazon Alexa - hey let's put an always-on hyper-powerful internet-connected bugging device in our home with our kids and allow a billion-dollar corporation to record and monetise our every move! Honestly, the CIA would have been delighted to design something this effective and sneak it into an embassy and now people are paying $50 to buy the damn things.

Smartphones - just, argh, they're a true marvel of technology that's been hijacked by so much invasive bullshit it's unreal.

Internet of things is just the worst - a solution looking for a problem and it's all so broken and insecure, just, gaaah, don't do it!

Raspberry Pis are awesome though, wish they'd been around when I was at school.

As a musician, I've used technology all my life. As an organist, pipe organs used mechanical technology in order to make sound and eventually, music. The mechanics of a pipe organ are fun to explore, and to be able to control it by pushing down keys can be exhilarating.

Fast forward to the 21st century and technology morphs into chip and nano-technology. I was probably an early pioneer using keyboards to make orchestrated or band tracks for church anthems. I've also watched music production change from analogue to digital. Both are amazing if one spends a little money on proper equipment.

I bought a Christmas gift to myself on cyber Monday, ordering a Rega Planar 2 turntable. I haven't been able to play my old records in decades, since I went CD and I'm anxious to hear that richer, fuller sound, though it will be going through last Christmas's gift to me, a Yamaha RX A1070 receiver and some Infinity speakers.

I think technology is like anything else in that it's all about how you use it. The medical field has used breakthroughs in tech to all of our advantages. I'm not ready to go back to the 1930's when AM radio was king.

I'm also an engineer, and agree we are much more reliant on our tech and dumber because of it. Our older engineers who have since retired were able to make quick calculations in their head all the time. Me, I'm reliant on my trusty graphing calculator.

Look at Apolo13 too. They had to figure out how to re-enter the atmosphere using line of sight and a pencil with paper. I highly doubt anyone could do that today.

The truth is, our smartest generation has already gone into retirement. Now it's a bunch of people who rely on the tech in front of us to do our complex thinking for us.

BabyTyrant said:

I know in some ways it may seem like we are spoiled by technology, and some people seem dependent on it and can't seem to stay away for very long.

But man I love technology, watching 4k content on a good 4k TV, playing video games (I have been playing my switch a lot lately, still love my PS4 for the more hardcore/graphically stunning games though).

I also picked up a JBL Flip 4 for $60 instead of $100 and I can already tell that it is a great Bluetooth speaker good for music and it also doubles as a "soundbar" of sorts making for way better sound than my TV does by itself (that's the only real weak point my TV has feature wise at times), the sound just sounds more full and balanced through the JBL.

I also used to dabble in PC gaming (never anything requiring really high specs) on various games, but I haven't used my desktop for much in a long time.

Living in this day and age with all kinds of marvelous technology I couldn't imagine life without it; although I'm not into bluetooth earbuds, I'm either gonna use the old plug in style (kinda sad seeing phones without the old school headphone jack, just because they figure everyone will use bluetooth anyways) or use an actual bluetooth speaker; it just seems like a hassle to have to charge them up, plus I have to imagine they can be so easy to lose (especially the smaller ones)

Click to expand...

I really like projection mapping, and personally like the idea of being able to move within the projection map versus VR. Because in VR your boundaries aren't really defined.