And it's going to get worse, in my opinion.

I'm no luddite (I use computers and software every day with my website,
using CAD software, etc.), but I see *too much* reliance on technology
and the forgetting of how to do simple things without it.

It only takes a couple of generations to do away with that "old, useless
way of doing things" and putting the technology band-aid on more serious
issues tends to quell public concerns until something else undesired
happens. But by the time that that happens, we have all this new
technology(!) that can be implemented! It seems to be recursive.

Many of the old tech/skilled/trade jobs have been marginalized or
eliminated due to automation and the knowledge at the "local" level has
been cast off to history in many situations. The promise has always been
that technology will improve society (flying cars, work only 3
days/week, become an "idea person" rather than a lowly worker) but
things don't seem to be working out that way in the real world.

It's quite sad, actually, to see so many centuries of technological
progress and knowledge get stuffed into software and then largely forgotten.

Speaking as an old draftsman, I've seen the trade/profession change from
one that required talent, learned skills and dedication to one where the
ability to click a mouse and know specific software has become more
important. This is convenient for MBA/manager-types, since complicated
thought and consideration is now relegated to the machine and can be
easily counted. The people that operate the machines can now be measured
by a simple time-and-motion study.

This list has been fairly inactive lately, I hope these comments will
spark some lively discussion and exchange of ideas.

Paul

qqf_avengers wrote:

> Yes, that's definitely the one. It's all about the infamous 1967 NE
> blackout. His point is that one tiny little piece of technology (a
> trip relay, in this case) can cause a collapse of all our technology
> (and therefore our society) because of the extremely complex
> technical interdependence that every has these days. It seems more
> true today that it was then. And, believe me, our electrical systems
> are worse off today than they were in 1967 despite improvements in
> technology. It's jumbled like a Christmas tree!
>
> I mean, look at how Katrina has affected the entire country and
> economy. It's a domino effect.
>
> Michael