9 things that will disappear in our lifetime....

Evolver wrote: Dean wrote: The one thing that will not disappear is progress. But not it's opposite, Congress.

At first this made me angry, but then I realized this old old joke is perfectly appropriate for this thread. 

Sean Trane wrote: Dean wrote: The one thing that will not disappear is progress.   we probably don't have the same definition of what progress is... at least what I'd consider positive progress   AFAIC, it's already dead

Edited by Dean - June 25 2011 at 05:22

Dean wrote: Sean Trane wrote: Dean wrote: The one thing that will not disappear is progress.   we probably don't have the same definition of what progress is... at least what I'd consider positive progress   AFAIC, it's already dead      a missile is just a spear with an engine after all.

I'm gonna steal that. You work in the computing sphere (I think) so you clearly have a 'hands-on' view of such matters and the points you make all strike this computer illiterate as perfectly valid. However, is there not some hope that the murdering p.r.i.c.k. who fires the state of the art spear might actually progress to take up state of the art knitting instead?

Sean Trane wrote: Dean wrote: Sean Trane wrote: Dean wrote: The one thing that will not disappear is progress.   we probably don't have the same definition of what progress is... at least what I'd consider positive progress   AFAIC, it's already dead    There is only one definition of progress - it just means to move forward (in time), so views of positive and negative progress are in the main subjective and dependant upon the destination of that forward movement being somewhere you want to be.   ::snipp::   The Luddites weren't wrong, they just faced a product that worked all of the time - this time around the techno-luddites are up against a product that only works some of the time, so the result is a lot less certain. yeah, whatever   You completely missed my point , but it doesn't matter. ....             (I wasn't  talking of technological "progress", even that is probably one of the least-dark  aspect of the progress I was referring to, even if technologies generally widen the social gap between the affluent and the less fortunate)

It was quite clear, but not even implicitly said?  indeed

A view from the third world:

1.  It is practically dead even here. Not because of email but because efficient private courier has made it redundant.  If you do want to send a nice greeting card or a book or a CD as a present to somebody over long distance, you could very well use the courier service.  They'd at least take some ownership if the dispatch gets delayed or is sent back undelivered and help you out.

2. Not yet.  There is not enough trust of net banking yet.  I can see something like that happening over my lifetime (and that means roughly another 50 years more so it's a LONG time) but as of now, the check is still very much ubiquitous and not at all an endangered species.

3.  In India, newspapers have done very well over the last few years.  Nobody knows why but it makes everybody happy. 

4. Don't see it happening it.  And as with newspapers, new writers have somehow done well in India. Actually, writing is not nearly as dead as people like to think. Whether there is any GOOD writing is a matter of taste.  Yeah, I gather this is more about ebooks but even with regard to that, people still like to flip through the pages.  What's got hit badly is the encyclopedia.

5.  Maybe not for personal use but corporate landline telephony gets better and better technologically. In my previous org, we had completely mobile extensions that you could log on to on any handset in any office in India.  And at least in this country, that is supposed to be amazing infrastructure.

6. Music as an art form will have some sort of existence but the music business is in very real danger of becoming irrelevant and eventually ceasing to exist.  It would be a shame in a way because that you could afford to do things on a certain scale and expense in the music industry fuelled ambition and daring (which, sorry, is a good thing).  But, well, the industry has more or less dug its own grave so it is difficult at this point to see myself feeling much regret over it if and when it happens.

7. Again, nay!  I guess we are about 50 years behind socially?  TV is not going anywhere and it's a burgeoning industry.  Of course, all I watch these days are mainly sports events and a bit of news. TV SHOWS specifically are crap.    


8. You still can't have a virtual car or a virtual ranch, etc.  An interesting case study here is the wristwatch.  Since you can check your time on a cellphone or your computer, why do you need a wristwatch? And yet, even I who don't care for style or fashion bought a nice new one and paid money that would have got me maybe 8 music albums.  As long as people don't mess up branding horrendously, man will always crave for things to own.


9. In re the last point, you have a CHOICE not to update your status all the time, not to talk about what you recently bought, not to upload intimate photographs on your facebook profile.  And as a matter of fact, I generally don't. I use my status update to put up my latest articles for a cricket website for friends to read and generate interest in the website so my ed won't complain or to recommend music or make occasional comments on burning topics.  If people want to be sheep and do as everyone else does, that is also their choice but your privacy hasn't been taken away from you, you chose to give it away. We don't have so much surveillance here so I concede that point. But you absolutely have a choice not to share your life 24/7 on social networks and if you can't 'resist' it, hard luck but I haven't got much sympathy. 

Somewhat related to point 9, I don't use short forms on facebook and try to avoid it on mobile sms except where the message gets too long and cannot be sent as a single sms, if you know what I mean.  I don't depend on spelling or grammar check (so please excuse any mistakes in here )and I try to work out simple calculations on my own instead of using calculators or excel.  None of this may be out of sync on this forum, but most people of my age group in my country don't write full sentences these days and frequently confuse "lose" with "loose" (argh!). You have the choice not to let technology make you a dumbo but if you don't make that choice, you have yourself to blame for the consequences.   And I am not grandstanding here, there is seriously nothing hard about all this. People have to remain grounded and not let themselves get swept away by technology.  Instead, use it intelligently to make your life more comfortable.




Edited by rogerthat - June 26 2011 at 07:06

The things that will disappear in the near future is:

1. Cheap food.  The prices now even for the supermarkets budget brands has risen with 100 - 200 % during the last year. I expect at least the same next year. 

2. Cheap fuel. Both for heating up house and for the car. 

3. Car holidays, school runs and small errands with the car. Too expensive in the future. Bike or walking is the new car.

4. Cheap electicity. Forget that one too. Those times are over.

5. Good living standard for the working & the middle class. No more, I am afraid. There will now be one overclass with a very good luxerious living standard..... and the rest of us.  

6. Holidays in the sun for the working and the middle class. To expensive, I am afraid. Even a holiday in the nearest beach resort will be beyond the means of most of us. 

7. "You have never had it so good" statements by politicians. Really ? Come over here and I will f***** give you a black eye. Then a f******* broken nose and I will also re-arrange all your f****** bones. You f******* liar !!!!!!!!!!!!

8. Four seasons. Well, for those of you who lives in a place which still have four seasons in a year (that exludes all of us in the British Isles). In the future, the rest of you will get two seasons...... In other words, just like in Scotland.

9. Big entertainment things. Like PCs, TVs and so forth. The future will be handheld and small just so they can fit into our smaller houses. 

And now, ring the Samaritans and complain. 

i want living breathing pokemon

Don't forget the oil.  It'll run out eventually.  Maybe not completely in our lifetime but we'll be crippled by it in our lifetime.

I pay my rent by cheque.  I prefer it that way.
I read paper books.  I don't like e-books that much.
I don't want to use a Cloud.  The new Chromebooks are silly but will sell well because people are silly.

Henry, stop ruining threads with your idiocy.

toroddfuglesteg wrote: 8. Four seasons. Well, for those of you who lives in a place which still have four seasons in a year (that exludes all of us in the British Isles). In the future, the rest of you will get two seasons...... In other words, just like in Scotland.

How do you know it's summer in Scotland?

(The rain's warmer)