AS A LITTLE KID, I WONDERED how the sound traveled from wherever the guy was who was talking all the way into my radio. Telephones were obvious: the voices came through those wires stretched all over the place from telephone pole to telephone pole. Then we got television sets and I was perplexed again. “If Milton Berle is in New York,” I asked, “and we’re down here in Miami, how does it get to our TV?” It comes through the wires, my Mom said, just like the radio and the telephone. That’s why you have to plug it in, she told me. Well, I accepted that, until portable radios hit the market. This is crazy, I cried. There’re no wires. So my Mom says, don’t ask me, how would I know? Ask your father. Then my father says, hey, I’m a butcher, not an engineer. Maybe it’s in the batteries somehow. Eventually I grew out of my “how does it work?” stage and stopped wondering about such niceties. But then I had to deal with the computer phenomenon, which itself got more magical every year. They got more powerful, they got cheaper, and they got smaller. Then, holy shit, they merged with phones, and people carry them around in their pockets wherever they go. That old “it comes through the wires” explanation didn’t hold up any more. I had to agree with Ogden Nash: “Progress might have been all right once, but it has gone on too long.”
I'm with ya Henry, no idea on how it works. Worse yet, no idea on how to fix it. If it's not on/off, volume up/down, channel up/down, I'm screwed. It either fixes itself or I ask my 5 year old grandson how to fix it.
A French politician said that there are three ways in which a man can ruin himself: The fastest is gambling. The most pleasurable, wine, women, and song, and the surest is technology. If he is right, I am well on the way to ruin! In the latter case he meant technology that led to the development of nuclear bombs. There are new methods of warfare being explored like Drone Swarms, machines equipped with weapons to kill and able to think for themselves. Technology doesn't always improve things. That Ogden Nash quote is very relevant.
Einstein once said that he didn't know what weapons would be used in WW III, but World War IV weapons would be sticks and stones.
Hi all when my son inlaw an electrical eng. started talking about bluetooth connectivity about ten years ago i knew i was screwed when it came to electronics.
You guys nailed it ...as did Mr Einstein , I fear !!When" Autonomous Kill Drones"have become part of the conversation you can only say one thing " Noah , get the Boat " ( borrowed from Reddit) we're allfu***d !!!These have been used but I think that concept even scared the Military !!
I am blessed with Mechanics , Electricians , IT Nephews and building contractors ...not to forget a Nurse and a Lawyer in the familyso I think I have most problems solved or a solution is close at hand ...usually !! ...no Astronomers yet ...gotta ask Ms Googlelike everyone else !!!. There is a War going on , I forget which one !!!where they have used Autonomous Drones which will pick their own targets with No Humans Involved ...terrifying shit !!Magoo
