What modern invention/innovation do you wish had *never* been developed?

[Gregg Axley]

Unfortunately there are way too many people out there who see social media as a kind of cheap therapy. When I used to frequent the chatrooms I would invariably get someone who would PM me and start unloading their personal problems on me right off the bat. What a way to get to know somebody. :doh:

Fantastic, I need to send you a PM.

I've seen the earpiece users, and I really don't think they are on the phone.
In fact, I'm under the suspicion they put that piece in their ear, so they can talk to themselves, and use it as a cover.

 

[Stearmen]

Again, 91% have cell phones, but we do not see 91 out of a hundred people in a room abusing their privilege. It is still the 1 or 2% that are annoying. It is amazing how fast cell phones have taken over, even those of us that said we would never own one! I do not think that TV and radio took over this fast. I rarely use mine, other then to answer the occasional call. I think, hearing only yes and no during the conversation dissuades people from calling me, even loved ones, and I do not text.

 

[MissMittens]

Ironically, the internet. It killed quality newspapers, radio, bookstores,……..etc.

 

[dh66]

Ironically, the internet. It killed quality newspapers, radio, bookstores,……..etc.

The internet is a little like morphine. A very good thing when used properly, but overuse and dependance have produced disastrous effects.

Sent from my SGH-T959V using Tapatalk 2

 

[scottyrocks]

The internet has come to offer options that were never, and would never be, available in any other media, due to the much fewer controlling interests in those media.

The issue with the internet is being able to sift through the BS to find the valuable stuff, in whatever the topic of interest.

 

[sheeplady]

The internet has come to offer options that were never, and would never be, available in any other media, due to the much fewer controlling interests in those media.

I don't know about this... plenty of independent radio stations have been bought out. Independent newspapers have died and we've seen a consolidation of the ones that are left.

What we can find and read or what on the internet is carefully controlled by search browsers who choose the order and what appears when doing a search based upon algorithms and paid advertising. We still have a few controlling interests in the media. The only thing that has changed is the ability for lay people (like us) to contribute to the information on the web- basically making the long tail available. (There's a huge discussion on quality around that, but we'll leave that be.) Even that information on the web is a mile wide and an inch deep- you can find out a little bit about almost anything, but the deep information you need is either not available on the web or is locked away in paid publications- which again are controlled by very few publishers.

In addition, the long tail we have of this mile wide and inch deep information comes at a high cost of being continually monitored, studied, and subjected to advertising in ways the public never has been before.

I'm not saying that one or the other is better, but the internet is not the mythical "free information zone" complete with magical ponies who dance through the rainbows of search engines.

 

[V.C. Brunswick]

Obviously I have a cell phone, a smart phone even. It's how I'm able to join in these lively discussions. One thing that I see (hear?) all the time is someone on the phone getting into an elevator while saying "I'm getting into an elevator, I'll probably lose you" to whoever it is they are talking to. Obviously they have learned this from past experience, why not just get off the phone before entering the elevator? Basically they are saying to the other person "my time is more important than anything you might have to say, I'm certainly not going to wait on another elevator, even though they run all day."
The one that really gets me,though, is the little earpiece. When I hear someone talking and I look around and see them on the phone, it really doesn't register on me and I go about my day. But when I look around and someone is gesturing with both hands and having a conversation with thin air...... that's a little disconcerting. Crazy. Something you see crackheads doing after a rough night, just before they start beating up a parking meter.
Then there's the little earpiece itself, with it's eerie little blue light. What a fashion statement that is.

Sent from my SGH-T959V using Tapatalk 2

Whenever I see one of those bluetooth things Lobot from The Empire Strikes Back comes to mind.

 

[Nobert]

One thing that for some reason mildly amused me is that many of the Somali (or other east African) women in Portland improvise a blue tooth by sticking a regular cell phone in their hijabs, up against their ear. I had to admire the ingenuity.

 

[dh66]

I don't know about this... plenty of independent radio stations have been bought out. Independent newspapers have died and we've seen a consolidation of the ones that are left.

What we can find and read or what on the internet is carefully controlled by search browsers who choose the order and what appears when doing a search based upon algorithms and paid advertising. We still have a few controlling interests in the media. The only thing that has changed is the ability for lay people (like us) to contribute to the information on the web- basically making the long tail available. (There's a huge discussion on quality around that, but we'll leave that be.) Even that information on the web is a mile wide and an inch deep- you can find out a little bit about almost anything, but the deep information you need is either not available on the web or is locked away in paid publications- which again are controlled by very few publishers.

Let's not leave out the scores of local book and record stores done in by e-commerce. The aesthetic of slipping a vinyl record from it's work of art sleeve and plopping it onto the turntable, or a saturday afternoon trip with friends to the nearest independant music store, or a good cup of coffee and a rack full of magazines to peruse, these things have all fallen away to the instant gratification of the download. The exaltation of finding that awesome vintage jacket or hat after an afternoon of hitting every thriftstore in the zip code has given way to the point and click of a mouse.
It's a double edged sword. Good stuff (and by stuff I include news and entertainment) is much easier to come by, but good life experience seeking it out is lost in the process

Sent from my SGH-T959V using Tapatalk 2

 

[LizzieMaine]

In addition, the long tail we have of this mile wide and inch deep information comes at a high cost of being continually monitored, studied, and subjected to advertising in ways the public never has been before.

I'm not saying that one or the other is better, but the internet is not the mythical "free information zone" complete with magical ponies who dance through the rainbows of search engines.

Exactly my view. When I first encountered the Internet in the late '90s, it was at the reference desk in a public library, and I saw it as an adjunct to the library -- a way of getting at research information that wasn't available locally in hard copies. I still view it that way, but apparently I'm one of a dying few. The Boys From Marketing control the modern internet, and that control will only get tighter as we go forward. I'm spending less time on line than I used to for just that reason, and I can see a day when I just walk away from it altogether. It's getting to not be worth the effort to sift the worthwhile information from the heaps of market-driven waste.

 

[MissMittens]

I completely agree with you Sheplady. Yes, information is there, but getting to it isn't worth the trouble you have to go through, the constant stream of ads, etc, etc, etc

I don't know about this... plenty of independent radio stations have been bought out. Independent newspapers have died and we've seen a consolidation of the ones that are left.

What we can find and read or what on the internet is carefully controlled by search browsers who choose the order and what appears when doing a search based upon algorithms and paid advertising. We still have a few controlling interests in the media. The only thing that has changed is the ability for lay people (like us) to contribute to the information on the web- basically making the long tail available. (There's a huge discussion on quality around that, but we'll leave that be.) Even that information on the web is a mile wide and an inch deep- you can find out a little bit about almost anything, but the deep information you need is either not available on the web or is locked away in paid publications- which again are controlled by very few publishers.

In addition, the long tail we have of this mile wide and inch deep information comes at a high cost of being continually monitored, studied, and subjected to advertising in ways the public never has been before.

I'm not saying that one or the other is better, but the internet is not the mythical "free information zone" complete with magical ponies who dance through the rainbows of search engines.

 

[HudsonHawk]

The internet has come to offer options that were never, and would never be, available in any other media, due to the much fewer controlling interests in those media.

The issue with the internet is being able to sift through the BS to find the valuable stuff, in whatever the topic of interest.

This is a double edged sword. On one hand you can get anyone's opinion on anything, on the other, you can get anyone's opinion on anything.

 

[HudsonHawk]

I completely agree with you Sheplady. Yes, information is there, but getting to it isn't worth the trouble you have to go through, the constant stream of ads, etc, etc, etc

Before the internet, the village idiot stayed in his own village.

 

[sheeplady]

Exactly my view. When I first encountered the Internet in the late '90s, it was at the reference desk in a public library, and I saw it as an adjunct to the library -- a way of getting at research information that wasn't available locally in hard copies. I still view it that way, but apparently I'm one of a dying few. The Boys From Marketing control the modern internet, and that control will only get tighter as we go forward. I'm spending less time on line than I used to for just that reason, and I can see a day when I just walk away from it altogether. It's getting to not be worth the effort to sift the worthwhile information from the heaps of market-driven waste.

While the internet had huge huge potential, I agree it has largely given over to market forces. The internet had the potential to bring bucket loads of information to your door, allow you to connect to others around the world, allow individuals to organize in the name of democracy. Those seem like some lofty goals, but quite honestly, at one time it had the potential to do all those things on a large scale. There was talk of the internet fundamentally changing the way academics publish- making the newest research available to free to anyone. I know it is a child's dream, but think of a person in a poor area being able to find basic medical care information online; the organizer living in a totalitarian regime being able to organize dissidents; the girl who is not allowed to go to school because she's female learning online. Some of that happens, but not to the extent it could.

Those goals can only happen as long as the internet was a "free" place- and by free- I mean free of all the money-making schemes. There was a time (believe it or not) that academics were publishing articles on "could you make money off the internet other than e-commerce?" Things sure have changed.

Unfortunately we've had our libraries stripped in the name of "all the information is on the internet and we don't need librarians." (Hardly.) The publishers who had a stranglehold on university and local libraries 10 years ago have tightened their grip, while authors find their work stolen and reprinted online with no recourse. The internet is used to spy on innocent people and companies yield to governments' beck and call to foster this information- including companies handing over information that they *know* could result in a political arrest, torture, and execution. You make a simple internet search which states it is by "relevancy" but notice the first page of results is published by lobbies of various kinds selling an agenda- if you can find who published the page at all. We've got internet companies that are willing to bend and twist every which way to capture a market, compromising their often "stated" morals. And we've got a public so interested in participating in the internet, being fodder for the market, that they'll buy devices that they know were make in torturous conditions to do so.

While I am far from saying it is all bad, it surely has fallen far from the lofty goals I once heard about. At least there are a few good cat memes.

 

[scottyrocks]

Despite the criticism my viewpoint has received, the internet allows me to easily find information that would otherwise be unavailable to me unless I went out to look for it, taking me much longer, and most likely with lesser results. For that, I am glad it is around.

All the complaining about it as it is does nothing. Market forces will drive things in any medium they are 'allowed' to enter and get a foot hold in. That's what market forces do.

But I can still find things on the internet, whether information, entertainment, or goods, that were not available to me just 10 years ago. dh66 bemoans the loss of the need to do the legwork to locate a prized catch. I don't. I like the idea and ability of virtual shopping. It saves me loads of time, and makes things available to me that I would most likely never be able to locate in person.

I like being able to read viewpoints that differ from what the mainstream generally offers. That's part of what makes TFL so attractive. Most people I know have no interest in 'old stuff.' People here do.

I have other hobbies, and views, that are easy to research and address on the internet. If someone here at home, or at school, has a question about something, the answer is only a moment or two away. The world is open to me at my desk.

 

[rjb1]

It's not hopeless for the younger generation concerning the internet vs. books. Here is an e-mail that I recently received form one of our relatively recent (2010) engineering graduates:
"Hey Dr. ______,

How have you been?

Although you mentioned numerous times throughout my 4 years at Vanderbilt to hold on to my textbooks, I have failed to do so. Whether they were lost in moving or misplaced, I was wondering if you could help me find some new books. With my job, I am constantly looking for good, concise resources for my research, which can’t be easily found just by Google.

Would you happen to know who I could contact in order to find out what textbooks are being used in the Mechanical Engineering Department?"

 

[Gregg Axley]

Before the internet, the village idiot stayed in his own village.

Now they are giving you their medical opinion.
Or recipes, take your pick.

BTW Roadierfl, I disabled my ads somehow.
They try to link up with the ad server, but I disabled their ability.
Can't remember anything more than a zip file, and mps(?).

 

[sheeplady]

I have other hobbies, and views, that are easy to research and address on the internet. If someone here at home, or at school, has a question about something, the answer is only a moment or two away. The world is open to me at my desk.

I have no problem with your viewpoint and I feel the same about that aspect. However, I have very very serious concerns about the effects the internet is having on our society- everything from the dismantling of our nation's libraries to a lack of fundamental information literacy. We seem to wrongly believe that the internet can replace fundamental aspects of our society (it cannot in its current state) while also any idiot can use it effectively. We seem to think that young people can magically learn how to differentiate a good source from a bad one simply because they are young- as if youth has translated into magical internet information literacy.

Neither of those things are true. The first thought is dangerous because the amount of information on the internet is pitiful for deep research and most of it is bogus. The second thought is dangerous because the amount of information on the internet is pitiful for deep research and most of it is bogus.

It's not hopeless for the younger generation concerning the internet vs. books. Here is an e-mail that I recently received form one of our relatively recent (2010) engineering graduates:
"Hey Dr. ______,

How have you been?

Although you mentioned numerous times throughout my 4 years at Vanderbilt to hold on to my textbooks, I have failed to do so. Whether they were lost in moving or misplaced, I was wondering if you could help me find some new books. With my job, I am constantly looking for good, concise resources for my research, which can’t be easily found just by Google.

Would you happen to know who I could contact in order to find out what textbooks are being used in the Mechanical Engineering Department?"

This is exactly the mile wide and inch deep problem. And it is not the book being a physical entity that matters to me so much, it is the focus on the internet as replacement for all sorts of other sources. The internet at this point just can't replace those textbooks because that information isn't on the internet. But yet many people seem to obnoxiously think it can- just like it can replace librarians, libraries, etc.

 

[LizzieMaine]

This is exactly the mile wide and inch deep problem. And it is not the book being a physical entity that matters to me so much, it is the focus on the internet as replacement for all sorts of other sources. The internet at this point just can't replace those textbooks because that information isn't on the internet. But yet many people seem to obnoxiously think it can- just like it can replace librarians, libraries, etc.

Until the power goes out.

 

[sheeplady]

Until the power goes out.

True. But if the power goes out, do you really need the stuff on the web to survive?