http://news.webindia123.com/news/Article...14937.html

For some reason, I'm not surprised.

I have a sneaky feeling that's a hoax report ... I've seen that (or something so similar it would be its sister) in one of those email circular things that get sent round. Can't find anythign on snopes though.

Kyu

(April 3, 2009 at 9:29 am)Kyuuketsuki Wrote: I have a sneaky feeling that's a hoax report ... I've seen that (or something so similar it would be its sister) in one of those email circular things that get sent round. Can't find anythign on snopes though.

Kyu

It's not. It was reported on Countdown with Keith Olbermann with the audio of the 911 call. I just tracked down a news blurb about it because I can't access video at work.

(April 3, 2009 at 9:29 am)Kyuuketsuki Wrote: I have a sneaky feeling that's a hoax report

The article was written on 2nd April, and it has this disclaimer: "Officials stressed that the incident was a serious call and not an early April Fools' Day joke."

So I guess the incident happened before April 1st, and I'm entirely sure it's possible. I wouldn't say we're getting too dependent on technology, just some people don't understand that there are always manual overrides in place.

I think in some areas we are getting too dependent on technology. For example, air conditioning is weakening people's bodies ability to adapt. They sit in a warm house/office all day, then walk outside and it's freezing cold, and they get the flu. Or builders now use powertools instead of working by hand which means they aren't building their muscles as much.

Nothing fatal at the moment, but maybe in the future?

(April 4, 2009 at 1:34 am)athoughtfulman Wrote: For example, air conditioning is weakening people's bodies ability to adapt. They sit in a warm house/office all day, then walk outside and it's freezing cold, and they get the flu.

This happens to everyone, and it has nothing to do with air conditioning (I'd like to see a paper that links to two if you have it though). When we go into an environment that is too cold for us, and we don't protect against the cold properly, our body defenses start to fail, which means the cold virus can easily infect us.

Quote:Or builders now use powertools instead of working by hand which means they aren't building their muscles as much.

Builders have to lift power tools, and in most cases also have to carry bricks, beams, etc as part of their job. It's far cheaper to hire men than getting a robot to do it. The demand for builders is still there, and the requirement for builders is to be strong, so they have to workout.

(April 4, 2009 at 10:19 am)Tiberius Wrote: This happens to everyone, and it has nothing to do with air conditioning (I'd like to see a paper that links to two if you have it though). When we go into an environment that is too cold for us, and we don't protect against the cold properly, our body defenses start to fail, which means the cold virus can easily infect us.

Well, its more of a personal opinion, just something that I think might be happening. But I am in no way sure. Though I think our dependence upon technology will show itself in time to be a weakness. In Europe (so I've heard anyway) they do something called a hot/cold treatment. I think it's something where they sit in a sauna then go under a cold shower and back and forth a number of times. This practice trains their body to adapt quicker to changes in temp. But when our bodies are too used to a consistent temperature, they lose their ability to adapt as quickly.

(April 4, 2009 at 10:19 am)Tiberius Wrote: Builders have to lift power tools, and in most cases also have to carry bricks, beams, etc as part of their job. It's far cheaper to hire men than getting a robot to do it. The demand for builders is still there, and the requirement for builders is to be strong, so they have to workout.

Of course, the demand for builders is still there. I was merely pointing out the fact that less manual labour is required. A builder can now use all sorts of powertools to make his job easier. However, like you said, this does not cancel out the fact that they still spend large amounts of their time carrying bricks, wood, concrete, etc.

Perhaps it's more of a case of if technology were suddenly completely removed and we had to survive without anything electrical, any computer, any heater, stove, fridge, etc, how many of us would survive? But maybe it's a pointless question, seeing as technology will never "suddenly disappear". Hundreds of years ago we knew how to live off the land, without computers, mobile phones, genetically modified crops, etc, but now we have become dependent on the machines to do it for us. But again, there are still people who know exactly how to live off the land. I feel like it's something unique to the western world where we tend to take technology for granted.