What is the next age? (i.e., industrial age)

[fredd bear]

As far as I'm aware, there is no way of accurately predicting the future .I'm not sure your prediction may be reasonably made..

In the nineteenth century, in England, a local bishop declared that nothing more of importance could possibly be invented, as anything important had already been invented.

Don't know about you, but I didn't see the micro chip coming. it took me over a decade to grasp its importance. Some years ago, there was an announcement that the limits of the silicon chip had been reached. The next goal was to replace it with the carbon molecule.

Of course, i have no idea what advances will be made in say AI. I also think it's likely than further advances will be made in solar energy, especially in the size of solar a panels. I'm not convinced that battery technology has reached its limits. At present, batteries are far too big and far too expensive for mass use..

in 1970, Alvin Toffler wrote "Future Shock". He claimed that in the coming years the rate of change would exceed peoples' ability to keep up with it. This before the microchip. My perception is that we have been in that situation for over 20 years. The rate of change has not stopped. I suspect our capacity to keep up has diminished. Mine certainly has, but I think that's probably age.

Of course, it could just be that I'm seeing all of this through the lense of age. .I guess we'l have to wait and see.

[onlinebiker]

The Space Age will begin when we learn to circumvent gravity and mass.

You' re not getting to the next solar system on fireworks.

[chimp3]

Right now we seem to be living in the Electronic Age. A boom in technology that transforms essentially every aspect of our lives. What the hell could be next? After this? Something even more wild? What are we capable of?

---

This post was brought to you buy :

---

I think we are living in the Instant Communication Age.

[fredd bear]

Right now we seem to be living in the Electronic Age. A boom in technology that transforms essentially every aspect of our lives. What the hell could be next? After this? Something even more wild? What are we capable of?

---

This post was brought to you buy :

---

I think we are living in the Instant Communication Age.

(((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((9))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))

Indeed.  
.
Has it peaked?  Because  I lack the wit to see how it can get better,  doesn't mean it won't.

I can't even say with confidence that there will be no major advances in communication within my lifetime. 

I love new technology and have been thrilled with say the way computers have continued to evolve since I bought my first computer in 1999--. A pentium 2, Windows 98; 64 Mb of RAM, tiny processor, about 7 GB storage, a 17 inch CRT monitor. Very basic Canon ink jet printer---  $2000.00

 Today, I have an Imac  which is all-in-one, and I love it. ---$1600

[tackattack]

I don't think it's peaked, but let's look at the "instant communication age" we're in.

Advancements:
Library expansion
information storage,computation, transmission and availability increased exponentially
expansion of Global markets (economics, jobs, ideas, etc.)
Automation
AI
Internet governance
Attention economy
I'm sure there's more

What conclusin can we draw from the effects of these on people and their motivation?

[fredd bear]

I don't think it's peaked, but let's look at the "instant communication age" we're in.

Advancements:
Library expansion
information storage,computation, transmission  and availability increased exponentially
expansion of Global markets (economics, jobs, ideas, etc.)
Automation
AI
Internet governance
Attention economy
I'm sure there's more

What conclusion can we draw from the effects of these on people and their motivation?

 
Library expansion is  especially interesting to  me.  Most decent libraries  have already finished or are the process of digitalising all of their books. At the same time, I have the impression that people are reading less, but I can't prove that.
 
I read almost nothing these days, but I think that may be an age thing. My concentration span has shrunk.  That's why it's so important to me to spend time on an internet forum;  I have to concentrate, usually for over an hour.

Nor sure what you mean by attention economy. Do you mean we concentrate for shorter periods on more things?

I've got the gist I think, and tend to agree.

Not sure what  specific inferences may be reasonably made. Broadly, all of these things show me how inventive, motivated, and driven we are as species. Historic disasters have also shown how resilient we are as a species.

[tackattack]

Well as you pointed out with attention economy shorter attention spans. Attention economy to me is the concept of companies trying to monopolize how the brain functions to get, keep and repeat messages. I think it flows against the concepts of an informed consume. I believe it encourages more impulsivity in decisions and shortens attention spans. Maybe narrows is a better word?

[The Valkyrie]

Age of extinction.

[Peebothuhlu]

The Space Age will begin when we learn to circumvent gravity and mass.

You' re not getting to the next solar system on fireworks.

 Bah! If you're not gettig to the next Solar system with fire works... You're simply NOT using ENOUGH!
















 Go BIG or stay home!

 

 

Not at work.

[fredd bear]

Well as you pointed out with attention economy shorter attention spans.  Attention economy to me is the concept of companies trying to monopolize how the brain functions to get, keep and repeat messages. I think it flows against the concepts of an informed consume. I believe it encourages more impulsivity in decisions and shortens attention spans. Maybe narrows is a better word?

((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((9)))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))

 I think the end of the informed consumer was well under way by the of the 1950's. Today it is long gone. I think that being an informed consumer, about everything one buys, is virtually impossible.

My aim today is to not be too badly ripped off, and to avoid buying products which will actually cause me  harm. Came very close a few years ago, when I was taking a prescribed drug called "Phosamax" for osteoporosis. Turns out it was released far too soon. Long term use causes necrosis of the jaw. I stop because of disturbing anecdotal evidence. My dentist confirmed my suspicions. I was very lucky.
When I was growing up, there were such things as 'consumer durables',.Expensive, but they would last 20 years and more

Today many products seem intentionally made  with a very limited life span,.Your Bluray player breaks down? Cheaper to buy a new one.

A couple of weeks ago, my inkjet printer had a paper jam. I could not clear it. Took it back to the shop, where I was told I needed a techie who would take it apart to fix it. Cheaper to buy a new one at $179. I felt both guilty and cheated.

I was appalled at the waste I saw in the US, especially food. But, being objective, I think it' sonly a matter of degree. Imo our consumer societies are  self absorbed and hedonistic, regardless of metaphysical positions. 

It's a bemusing paradox to realise that poverty and want, at least in one's own country, could be eliminated if people actually lived the  religions the claim to follow. Eg "love they neighbour" .  Jesus was asked  "who is my neighbour" His response was the parable of "The Good Samaritan" .The lesson ; every man is my neighbour.


Vance Packard wrote a book called "The Waste Makers" in 1960. It's still in print. Well worth a read. I think today, his argument about the US is true for every 'developed' nation.

The Waste Makers is a 1960 book on consumerism by Vance Packard. It was bestselling when it was released. The book argues that people in the United States consume a lot more than they should and are harmed by their consumption.

One reviewer summarized the book's thesis as follows:

American society overemphasizes consumption, especially the quantity rather than the quality of what it consumes, and that it therefore sacrifices culture, prudence, and a proper concern for the future. He blames these distorted values on the business community, especially on the marketers and advertisers who have beguiled the public into accepting false standards.[1]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Waste_Makers

((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((

 THE SAMARITANS were a sect of Jews /Jeswish-like people other Jews consider(ed) heretics. They were not/are not considered to be Jews and were despised. They survive today.


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samaritans