Relegated to the dustbin of history

[iamlost]

I know that as Bob Dylan wrote back in '64 The Times They Are A-Changin'

I know that as Gordon Moore observed back in '65 computing power (still) grows exponentially.

I know that I'm increasingly decrepit as I am reminded each morning getting out of bed.

I know that I'm already ancient and out of touch as my children tell me so.

BUT

Spotify is really truly rubbing my face in all of the above.

Oldies but Goodies | 2000 - 2016. By Spotify. Instant classics from the new millennium in one sweet mix.

[birdbrain]

Hi there iamlost,

it appears that you have put all your trust
in the transient rather than the eternal. :(

birdbrain

[lucy24]

Oldies but Goodies | 2000 - 2016

In another venue, someone mentioned suchandsuch (I forget) happening in the early years of the century. I find it jarring to realize that the present century has been around long enough even to have “early years”.

There is now only one person alive on this planet who was born in the 1800s. How weird that seems, too.

[tangor]

The rate of "technology" or "culture" change is increasing. I am reminded of my many great grandmother (mother's side of the family) who was born 1890 (sic as in no typo) and died 2003. Looking back at what she experienced remains an eye opener.

For me the past ain't past ... it's the future that remains cloudy.

[graeme_p]

People do seem to assume that the future will not be very different from the present - I think they are wrong. On the other hand the pace of technological change (other than Moore's law and its consequences) have slowed down - the rate of really revolutionary new inventions has been much slower in the last forty years or so.

[engine]

the rate of really revolutionary new inventions has been much slower in the last forty years or so.

That's an interesting statement. It got me thinking about "really revolutionary new inventions" and that might be open to interpretation. I was looking at disruptive technology a few years back and came across the 3D printer. The technology allows for new ways of doing things, "disrupting" the normal way of making things. Perhaps it's not about the 3D printer, but inventions coming from the technology.

[graeme_p]

Yes, I think the 3D printer is one exception, and gene sequencer is another. However, in general, there have not been many compared to say 1930 to 1970 which saw: jet engines, transistors and integrated circuits (“silicon chips”), helicopters, nuclear reactors, the contraceptive pill, electronic computers (and mice), lasers and masers, the internet (counting ARPANET), photocopiers, ball-point pens, tape recorders, mobile phones and CDs. SInce before the industrial revolution the pace of invention accelerated, not it seems to have slowed.

[lucy24]

I'm comfortably using a computer that is coming up on seven years old. Twenty years ago I could not have said that. I believe the technical term is Punctuated Equilibrium.

Come to think of it, I'm pretty sure my calculator is 40 years old. Does everything I need--allowing for the fact that I no longer have the manual, so some of the more obscure functions are a mystery--and works fine.