old people bitter about dying just as technology starting to get good?

[TechBoyJK]

Im 35 and dealing with some injuries from 15 years ago that could have been more easily avoidable in today's world.

There's always something.

 

[futurefields]

https://youtu.be/SYUgGs9IStY

 

[Leyawiin]

yes, because nothing can ever get better

Have you been pleasantly surprised during your lifetime? Thought not (and I bet I have a few extra decades on you and neither have I).

 

[brianmanahan]

Have you been pleasantly surprised during your lifetime? Thought not (and I bet I have a few extra decades on you and neither have I).

i actually have been. when my brain surgery worked and i was able to drive again after not being able to for 10 years, that was an amazing feeling.

 

[SlitheryDee]

As a general rule, old people seem to not give a fuck about new technology.

 

[xSauronx]

Technology's always just "getting good". The next 20 years are bullshit. I want to see what's happening in 1,000 years.

really. im 32, and figured that by the time im old and dying, we will be starting the next generation of some amazing things in space, and i wont get to see it.

basically locking in my hope on a massive number of automated cars being a thing.

 

[kranky]

I saw an old dude pick up a newspaper in a store.

I then pulled out my Nexus 5 and laughed. I can view current news within seconds while he has to wait for the news to hit the newsstands. Even viewing the news on TV is slow compared to what I can do online.

I'll make a bold statement - if you think you know what's going on from going to a website, you're fooling yourself unless you're spending an hour doing it. I've tried it. An actual newspaper is more efficient.

 

[Gryz]

I think my generation likes to keep up on the nuts and bolts of technology. How and what makes it work. Not like the teens and 20-somethings of today who are happy in knowing HOW to operate it.

I think you are spot-on.

As a general rule, old people seem to not give a fuck about new technology.

Depends what you call old.
Depends what you call technology.

Probably also depends on what you mean by "not a fuck", "new" and "general rule" too.

I think most young people don't care about technology too.
Just like old people. They aren't different here.
Young people care about gadgets.

I guess you can consider me old. But I am interested in technology. Computer technology especially. In particular: software. I don't care about cellphones. I got an old Nokia. I can use it to call people. And it tells me the time of day. Perfect. I don't need anything else. (I got satnav in my car). Kids of my friends made fun of me, because of my old phone. I asked them why I would need a smartphone ? They said "so you can listen to music in the train and in the bus". Well, I happen to have a car, and the sound quality in my car is way beyond any headset. That made them giggle.

When people talk about "new technology", often they mean "stuff on the Internet". Imnsho if you want to be precise, they mean "stuff on the web". I happen to know pretty well how the Internet works (from what each bit means in an IP header, or atm-cell-header on adsl, to tiny details about linkstate-protocols and bgp, including how to implement that stuff).

Still, people think "he's over 30, he's over 40, he's over 50, he's old, he can't know anything". Well, the people who build the Internet in the 80s and 90s, are all in their sixties and fifties now. Lots of them (early) retired. They came up with this stuff. They built it. They made if scale from toy networks to billions of devices. (There used to be "professional network technology. IBM SNA, AppleTalk, Novell's IPX, Decnet. I call those "toy protocols"). These old guys know more about technology that 99.999% of young people will ever know. But those old guys don't care about gadgets. They probably won't be impressed when you show them your latest iPhone6. Old people ....

Who's the dumbass here really ?

 

[SlitheryDee]

I think you are spot-on.
Depends what you call old.
Depends what you call technology.

Probably also depends on what you mean by "not a fuck", "new" and "general rule" too.

Old does vary from person to person. By technology I mean any method, protocol, device, system, material, or combination thereof designed to fulfill any purpose. By "not a fuck" I mean perhaps experiencing passing interest, but no willingness to put it to work for their own purposes, even if there is a clear application for it in their lives. "New" would be anything that they didn't get acquainted during the time of their lives when they did feel a desire to learn about technology, so "new to them" is what it would be really. "general rule" would mean that this applies to the majority, but perhaps not some outliers. For every 500,000 old folks who decry the internet and cell phones, there might well be one who is avidly following and understanding new technology as it is released.

I think most young people don't care about technology too.
Just like old people. They aren't different here.
Young people care about gadgets.

I guess you can consider me old. But I am interested in technology. Computer technology especially. In particular: software. I don't care about cellphones. I got an old Nokia. I can use it to call people. And it tells me the time of day. Perfect. I don't need anything else. (I got satnav in my car). Kids of my friends made fun of me, because of my old phone. I asked them why I would need a smartphone ? They said "so you can listen to music in the train and in the bus". Well, I happen to have a car, and the sound quality in my car is way beyond any headset. That made them giggle.

You're probably right, but young people will at least try new things to see if they fit into their lives. For instance, they aren't afraid of purchasing their first smartphone just because they know it will have a learning curve. I know many older folks who cling to their dumb phones partially because anything they have thus far learned how to use is better than the new thing they don't know how to use simply by that very fact. They'll say things like "I don't need a phone to do anything but make phone calls", but that statement is belied when they are asking their children and grandchildren to look up information on their own phones constantly. Clearly they see the utility of being able to get information more or less instantly from anywhere, but something else is holding them back from using that capability themselves. New things apparently seem more and more daunting the older you get. Imagining the frustration of navigating a completely alien operating system using an unfamiliar input method on a relatively tiny screen makes smart phones seem not worth the hassle. There's nothing wrong with that. We'll all likely get there. It's just that a younger person would have the interest necessary to enthusiastically tackle all those problems just on the off chance that something in it proved useful to them. That's generally how I get acquainted with new technology. First and foremost I'm so fascinated by it that I simply have to try it out. Putting it to good use in my day to day life afterwards is something that usually happens, but doesn't necessarily weigh in heavily on the initial decision to purchase. It's that "I don't really care if it has a clear application in my life, it's fucking cool man" attitude that is necessary to stay on top of things.

When people talk about "new technology", often they mean "stuff on the Internet". Imnsho if you want to be precise, they mean "stuff on the web". I happen to know pretty well how the Internet works (from what each bit means in an IP header, or atm-cell-header on adsl, to tiny details about linkstate-protocols and bgp, including how to implement that stuff).

That's not what I mean when I say "new technology". I often do learn about new technology on the internet, but I'm definitely more of a "gadget" guy than anything else. Of course the consumer products that eventually find their way into my hands are the net results of advancements made in many fields of technology. They usually consist of things that were once rare and expensive that have been made cheap by the economies of scale and manufacturing progress. The origins of these things is often of great interest to me because I'm old enough to remember when only expensive and impractical iterations of them were available for purchase.

Still, people think "he's over 30, he's over 40, he's over 50, he's old, he can't know anything". Well, the people who build the Internet in the 80s and 90s, are all in their sixties and fifties now. Lots of them (early) retired. They came up with this stuff. They built it. They made if scale from toy networks to billions of devices. (There used to be "professional network technology. IBM SNA, AppleTalk, Novell's IPX, Decnet. I call those "toy protocols"). These old guys know more about technology that 99.999% of young people will ever know. But those old guys don't care about gadgets. They probably won't be impressed when you show them your latest iPhone6. Old people ....

Who's the dumbass here really ?

See this kind of proves my point though. Old people continue to care about whatever it is that they cared about when they were younger. The old guys who were integral in the creation and implementation of the internet as we know it will ALWAYS care about the internet, probably to the exclusion of other things that are just as fascinating going on currently. These people can keep track of the small, evolutionary steps that the internet takes because it really hasn't changed fundamentally in a long time. Everything in it is some variation of what it was originally for the most part, and they have a jumping off point from which to understand everything new that happens in it.

It is half surprising and half unsurprising then that most of this specific group of oldsters don't use smartphones. It's surprising because what is a smartphone but a mobile portal to the internet? It would seem that it would fall under the umbrella of their generalized interest in all things internet. It is probably the single greatest use the internet has ever been put to. I don't mean the ability to listen to the latest Katy Perry album or watch Breaking Bad wherever you are, but the instant access to information of all kinds wherever you are. I believe it's going to make us better as a species before everything is said and done. It's going to foster revolutions in every branch of technology. It's going to bring us closer together as a planet and show us the pointlessness of fighting each other. Making the internet was huge, but getting it into everyone's hands was just as big.

But then I remember that these guys are getting up there in years. To them the internet is something that happens when you're sitting in front of a computer and nowhere else. After all, that's how it was when they were younger and why would anyone need anything more? That's one inescapable fate we all have in store for us. The scorning of new things simply because they are different from the old things. The assumption that if it was good enough for us it should be good enough for everyone for all time. It just ain't true, and never will be hopefully.

 

[blankslate]

I think I'd rather die before

Spoiler

A.I. robots invented by an unstable tech genius takes over the world like in Ex Machina

.....

 

[Phokus]

LOL, call your child on day, 'How do I use this hologram for sex?'

When that tech gets invented, marriage rates will go to single digits

 

[Homerboy]

You could say this about any and all generations since the dawn of time. And you'd be wrong every time too.

 

[SMOGZINN]

You could say this about any and all generations since the dawn of time. And you'd be wrong every time too.

You are wrong. Technology was pretty stable for thousands of years. Go just 300 years back and the technology that I would have used to plow a field, cook my food, and get my harvest to market had been basically the same as the technology my grandfather used to do all those things.

 

[Gryz]

To them the internet is something that happens when you're sitting in front of a computer and nowhere else. After all, that's how it was when they were younger and why would anyone need anything more?

I don't think so.

The problem with smartphones is that they are small and clumsy and you can't do fuck all on them, except read a little bit of info. The input method is crude. You can hardly type on them.

Yes, it's better than nothing, if you are far away from home. I am just lucky I don't travel a lot anymore. And certainly not on public transportation.

Another thing about smartphones is who is in control. Maybe it's just me. But I want to be in control of the device that I use. I bought it, I own it, I operate and configure it. I am the boss. Nothing happens on my computer, unless I say so. Well, that's the idea. But not on smartphones anymore. Not on Apple's OSes. Not on Windows 10. You are the cattle. The computer, its OS and its manufacturer are in control. You do what they say. They determine the default settings. They determine what private info will go from you to them. They decide what apps you install and use. You have to be very strict and very alert to keep all settings correct, or your own phone or your own computer does something you don't want it to do.

I own a tablet. I bought it because I wanted something to read books on. An e-reader is more limited, so I bought an Android tablet. I have no idea what it does, why the thing is often slow, I can't see most settings, can't see which processes are running. Heck, many tablets come without an application to browse your own filesystem. You can't have root access. You can't install another OS. You can't upgrade the software (totally depending on the willingness of the vendor of the hardware). It's all a huge step back. I use mine, but only for reading epub/pdf, or reading the web. I won't use it to post on forums, I won't use it to send email, it doesn't have a text editor. It has very limited functionality.

So no, I don't think those old guys are not interested in new gadgets. I think they know very good what they'd like to have and what they don't need. I also think they have higher standards than teenagers and 20somethings. They're not crazy. They're not afraid.

 

[Homerboy]

You are wrong. Technology was pretty stable for thousands of years. Go just 300 years back and the technology that I would have used to plow a field, cook my food, and get my harvest to market had been basically the same as the technology my grandfather used to do all those things.

You mean go back 300 years when trivial things like rifles were invented? The steam engine?

I'm sorry but every generation for the past untold number of generation has seen life changing inventions in their lifetime.

 

[marincounty]

I'm an audio freak and I actually feel sorry for today's kids listening to crappy compressed music on earbuds. If they do have speakers they are little tiny garbage.
Music was huge to me and my friends when we were kids. Too bad the technology has regressed. MP3s- yuck.
My plasma tv on the other hand, is a fantastic improvement, as is my cable card dvr.

 

[flexy]

You mean go back 300 years when trivial things like rifles were invented? The steam engine?

I'm sorry but every generation for the past untold number of generation has seen life changing inventions in their lifetime.

One could argue that some inventions might even surpass or at least rival "our" inventions, mobile, computers etc.

* Electricity
* Wireless communication
* Cars etc.
* Planes

All this is stuff was revolutionary.

Some cool related reads: Thunderstruck by Erik Larson
The Devil in the White City by Erik Larson

I never liked "History" as a subject, but this guy is excellent, his books make you really re-live history. In the first book it's about how Marconi invented wireless communication, IMAGINE....that you send signals "through the ether" and wire-lessly communicate over long distances, something what at some point was entirely unheard of/unthinkable. Even after he showed that it's possible to receive and to send wirelessly, scientific establishment at the time still insisted it requires line-of-sight like light etc.

The other book about that major world fair in Chicago in 1893, makes you also re-live how the people back then thought what they experience at THEIR time is the most advanced and "far out". It was also the fair where Tesla showcased electric lighting big scale to the broad public.

Also...if you're "angry" not living in 2200...uhm...you could also have been born in 1540. Or 1790. Or whatever

 

[Gryz]

I'm sorry but every generation for the past untold number of generation has seen life changing inventions in their lifetime.

Read my post about this a few pages back.
During the Dark Ages (500-1500) there was almost no scientific or technology progress.
Thank god and the Italians for the Renaissance.

 

[njdevilsfan87]

Changes other than just making what already exists better, until ~2050, imo:
- Virtual reality.
- Augmented reality.
- Smart everything. Like the Nvidia GPU powered oven.
- Self driving cars with really decked out infotainment systems.

Us millennials won't be able to go the stars, but we'll have head sets that may do a very good job providing the experience, and in far less time than it would take to do anyway. VR is in a primitive state now, but 10-20 years from now, the hardware will easily provide for some spectacular VR experiences.

I'll easily take now over having been around to experience exploring the world. The only thing I can say I am somewhat bummed to have missed is the first moon landing. That must have been an amazing experience to witness human beings stepping onto a celestial body that isn't Earth. I hope we can at least do Mars in my lifetime.

 

[Leyawiin]

The only thing I can say I am somewhat bummed to have missed is the first moon landing. That must have been an amazing experience to witness human beings stepping onto a celestial body that isn't Earth. I hope we can at least do Mars in my lifetime.

I remember it. I was eight years old. It was in July and our A/C broke so dad was sitting in his recliner in his tighty whities. I got bored and asked mom to drive me to the town pool for the afternoon so I could play with my friends.

 

[OverVolt]

..

 

[BurnItDwn]

Old people happy to see all the advancement orders of magnitude more than anybody else in all of human history. I think you will see concentration of technologic advancement happening the most from like 1930 to 1960. We went from biplanes to man on the moon in a few decades. We went from the Model T to having a hundred different models of cars. We went from steam locomotives to diesel electric. Nuclear power was born.

I dont believe anybody who dies now will be bitter because they didnt see the new tech. They might be bitter or pissed about it because they were born too late to see the genesys of all the tech.

 

[skimple]

"Most people are on the world, not in it -- have no conscious sympathy or relationship to anything about them -- undiffused, separate, and rigidly alone like marbles of polished stone, touching but separate. "

John Muir

 

[OverVolt]

My "Greatest Generation" parents saw the best decades this country will ever have. I don't think they're worried about dad having an awesome job making piles of money WITH a solid pension, mom staying at home with ease to raise us, being able to buy a house or new cars every few years without breaking a sweat all with nothing more than a high school education vs. your smart phone.

Ouch that burn.

 

[88keys]

10-20 years from now, the hardware will easily provide for some spectacular experiences

Like porn!