just wondering, given the above average "geekiness" possessed by many who post here, in 40-50 years when we're all much older and winding down our careers, will we still be able to keep up with technology then? Will we have no problems using an iPad 50, or whatever machine is out there? I remember my 80 year old grandma who saw my iPad and had absolutely no idea what it did, or the significance of what it was (while at the same time, some kids are even selling their kidneys for one), will we end up like that or will we be able to keep up our technology sophistication as we get older?
Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
iPads way in the future
- Thread starter bniu
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
Cheffy Dave
macrumors 68030
Sure! I'm 63 and have no problems, switched from Windoze in 2007 at 59.
I'll be computing until they pry my lappie out of my old,cold, dead hands!😱😎
Alchematron
macrumors 65816
By that time humanity will have rediscovered the full potential of their brain and consciousness.
Dependence on the external will reverse to dependence on the internal.
Self-realization, enlightenment, photographic memory, telepathy will be the norm. 🙂
Dependence on the external will reverse to dependence on the internal.
Self-realization, enlightenment, photographic memory, telepathy will be the norm. 🙂
My guess is that in 50 years less people will know about the tech side than now.
Like cars. More people drive cars every year. And less people know anything about how they work..
Like cars. More people drive cars every year. And less people know anything about how they work..
Piggie
macrumors G3
I predict that in 40 to 50 years time people will be a lot dumber than they are now.
NOW, you have people in their 40's and 50's who were teenagers when the computer revolution was exploding. They were writing their own programs at home, typing in listings from magazines, using the command line to control their machines. having to read manuals to make thins work.
Now kids just tap a button on screen and it works.
Way to dumb down a generation !!!!
Give a modern teenager a C64, or an Atari 800, or Sinclair ZX81 / Spectrum and watch them become frustrated and confused.
The world is going to get dumber.
NOW, you have people in their 40's and 50's who were teenagers when the computer revolution was exploding. They were writing their own programs at home, typing in listings from magazines, using the command line to control their machines. having to read manuals to make thins work.
Now kids just tap a button on screen and it works.
Way to dumb down a generation !!!!
Give a modern teenager a C64, or an Atari 800, or Sinclair ZX81 / Spectrum and watch them become frustrated and confused.
The world is going to get dumber.
MRU
macrumors Penryn
Coz da yuuf are ignorantz init!
😉
Seriously though these assumptions of the 'older generation' are really rather patronising and not based on any real fact.
bubulindo
macrumors member
Wouldn't you? I seriously get pissed at these remarks as they are not fair.
Is there any kind of information about those relics around?
Can you buy a magazine that will tell you commands on how to use it?
Are you so sure that a kid wouldn't just put the thing down, and google how to operate it?
Plus, why would you want to operate it? With so many shiny new things around, why would you want to waste time on a 8 bit machine?
And, have you compared the time it takes for you to understand and work on one of these new devices and the time it takes for the teenager to do the same? I'm quite sure he's faster.
So, wether this is evolution or devolution, is up to each of us. Truth is that your grand father or great grand father said exactly the same thing about your generation.
Piggie
macrumors G3
The problem many, and I won't say all, as not all kids are like this. Is that they have the attention span of a mosquito with ADD.
Must work NOW NOW NOW......
they are getting more and more used to having to use zero imagination and demanding to just sit there, tap on something and be fed entertainment instantly.
This is not really how computers are and any programmer knows what a slog it is to do even the most basic things.
One of my ex girlfriends teenage sons knew I used to program computers and said he wanted to learn. He said he didn't want to start off with anything too ambitious as a 1st project, just some driving game, a bit like grand theft auto, but he didn't mind if you were not able to get in and out of different cars.
Hearing that, I didn't think he probably would be that interested in learning that:
Input A$
Print "Hello"; A$
Print "How old are you?"
Input B$
Print "Wow, so you are ";B$
Not quite grand theft auto !!!
In the past you HAD to have patience and develop those skills as otherwise you got nothing done. You had to put effort & skills in for your enjoyment.
bubulindo
macrumors member
Ok... I get the point... now, instead of pointing your finger at the kids, isn't it actually the parents fault?
These teenagers aren't the ones to blame for the current financial crisis... and yet, it is exactly the same symptoms that you pointed out above that caused it (allied with big bank interests).
Wouldn't it be safe to say that someone, probably older than you and me, would write something like:
"Must get (insert object of desire) NOW NOW NOW......"
"In the past you HAD to have patience and develop your skills as otherwise you got nothing. You had to put effort & skills in for your enjoyment."
about my parents and my generation (I'm 31 by the way)?
I get your point, but pointing the finger at the kids is wrong. They are adapting to what they have and taking what they see as an example.
Could it be that their ADD is actually caused by the information overload they are subject to and have no idea how to deal with it (unlike you and me, that have lived in a world without it and can always revert back to what worked before)?
And exactly what percentage of teens a generation ago (or two) learned to program?
Just because most teens now aren't geeky enough for you doesn't mean that most teens when you were a teen were, either.
Way to generalize!
Who cares about about Commodores and Atari's?
I work in the medicine and younger folks don't know about medicines that are no longer or rarely used. That doesn't mean they're dumber. I also work in clinical informatics at the ripe old age of 62 and I can't use an Atari either. Why? Because it's freakin' irrelevant!!
Mac.World
macrumors 68000
Don't fool yourself. Technology is a set of tools, used differently by different people. You don't need to know the inner workings of a cell phone to be able to use a cell phone.
Every generation benefits from the previous. It's called progress. But to call one generation smarter than the previous, is an over generalization that lacks any substance. If that were true, we would be in regression as a society, and clearly we are not.
Every generation benefits from the previous. It's called progress. But to call one generation smarter than the previous, is an over generalization that lacks any substance. If that were true, we would be in regression as a society, and clearly we are not.
This stuff about 'knowing how things actually work' is impossible to satisfy, anyway.
I know how cars work,
1) you step on the gas and turn the wheel and they move
2) they have an engine that runs on fuel
3) because I know about the differential and the gearbox and suspension and what they all do, etc.
4) because I'm an engineer who knows about the properties of gasoline and friction coefficients etc. and the forces at play inside a V8
5) because I'm a theoretical physicist who can tell you why the component parts of the car don't collapse into a waveform and instead keep the shape of a car
At any point of 'knowing how something really works' there's always a level of further abstraction, and someone with higher-order specialized knowledge can look down their nose and say 'you don't really know how it works, you just push the button or manipulate the spanner to get it to do what you want', and therefore you don't have a right to something.
Half the point of technology is to increase the things people can do without having them do the labour of figuring it out all over again. I suppose everyone who knows how to use a hammer (use an iPad) needs to know how to procure and forge metal (write an OS).
There are still plenty of people doing smart things, they just devote their energies to not doing the same thing over again 😱
I know how cars work,
1) you step on the gas and turn the wheel and they move
2) they have an engine that runs on fuel
3) because I know about the differential and the gearbox and suspension and what they all do, etc.
4) because I'm an engineer who knows about the properties of gasoline and friction coefficients etc. and the forces at play inside a V8
5) because I'm a theoretical physicist who can tell you why the component parts of the car don't collapse into a waveform and instead keep the shape of a car
At any point of 'knowing how something really works' there's always a level of further abstraction, and someone with higher-order specialized knowledge can look down their nose and say 'you don't really know how it works, you just push the button or manipulate the spanner to get it to do what you want', and therefore you don't have a right to something.
Half the point of technology is to increase the things people can do without having them do the labour of figuring it out all over again. I suppose everyone who knows how to use a hammer (use an iPad) needs to know how to procure and forge metal (write an OS).
There are still plenty of people doing smart things, they just devote their energies to not doing the same thing over again 😱
This is what people fail to recognize all the time. Every generation can point out something that they think is superior about their generation. But I've got news for you, just because something was harder or required more patience and skill when you were a kid isn't a fault of the current generation. Its called progress, and thank god for it. I don't really want to spend an entire day each week chopping firewood. I'm glad my life is easier in that respect. But its a lot HARDER in a lot of respects than my grandfathers life was when he was my age.
spinedoc77
macrumors G4
We all know what the future will be like as evidenced in this documentary:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0387808/
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0387808/
ZBoater
macrumors G3
anjinha
macrumors 604
There are still teenagers these days learning programming. My boyfriend is 22 and he's been programming since he was 14 and he learned everything completely by himself. I've also met a bunch of teen programmers at WWDC this year, some that make some very popular apps that a lot of people here probably use. Yeah, they're not the majority. But they weren't the majority before either.
Consultant
macrumors G5
If Apple is around (and it should), you'll be fine.
Apple's innovation is to make things easily usable, from GUI, mouse, to touchscreen devices.
That's in strong contrast to other companies who only care about feature list that don't work well.
Btw, some developers are experimenting with using iPad to code.
Apple's innovation is to make things easily usable, from GUI, mouse, to touchscreen devices.
That's in strong contrast to other companies who only care about feature list that don't work well.
Btw, some developers are experimenting with using iPad to code.
bursthead
macrumors 6502
I think kids "add like" attention spans come with the amount of data kids have to sift through these days..
Back in the day people could manage the time to learn programming and really work with the core of computing fundamentals. You guys didnt have to deal with all the information that flying out at you. You had radio, tv and the pony express. Today we have so much info, we don't have time to sit and try go into detail with every piece of technology to learn it. It's just not efficient, so we have adapted to technology becoming inept at being patient...
Back in the day people could manage the time to learn programming and really work with the core of computing fundamentals. You guys didnt have to deal with all the information that flying out at you. You had radio, tv and the pony express. Today we have so much info, we don't have time to sit and try go into detail with every piece of technology to learn it. It's just not efficient, so we have adapted to technology becoming inept at being patient...
You can learn deal with a lot of information at once without becoming "inept at being patient." Just saying...
spiderman0616
Suspended
iPad is the computer Steve Jobs set out to make 30 years ago. It's the everyman's computer. It's a computing appliance. My 4 year old son can use one to learn about dinosaurs, my 65 year old uncle can use it to email me from the beach. I can use it to write music, create video presentations, and countless other things that I use it for every single day.
I don't believe that Apple thinks the PC is simple enough, even when it comes to a Mac. There's still a file system to deal with, you still get weird errors and crashes, and a whole host of other problems that come with all computers. Apple was the first company with the balls to suggest that most people don't need all the headaches that come with a full blown PC, and it turns out that in a lot of ways they were right. There is still a need for full blown computers, but more and more, that need will be confined to the workplace.
This is a trend that was predicted before the iPad was released and it will continue. I think that PCs as we know them today are going to get more "appified" as time goes on and these mobile OS's will start to take over. I know that concept is scary for a lot of IT people and computer enthusiasts because it will change the job market and give hobbyists less things to tinker with, but it's the direction things are going.
I don't believe that Apple thinks the PC is simple enough, even when it comes to a Mac. There's still a file system to deal with, you still get weird errors and crashes, and a whole host of other problems that come with all computers. Apple was the first company with the balls to suggest that most people don't need all the headaches that come with a full blown PC, and it turns out that in a lot of ways they were right. There is still a need for full blown computers, but more and more, that need will be confined to the workplace.
This is a trend that was predicted before the iPad was released and it will continue. I think that PCs as we know them today are going to get more "appified" as time goes on and these mobile OS's will start to take over. I know that concept is scary for a lot of IT people and computer enthusiasts because it will change the job market and give hobbyists less things to tinker with, but it's the direction things are going.
I'd have to agree with this. Has the average geekiness level of a computer user gone down than in the past? Hell yes. But that doesn't mean motivated nerds don't still exist, or that they're any dumber than those who came before. It just means that a lot more people are using computers than in the old days. People are as dumb as they ever were, but individuals will continue to be as smart as they ever have been, and they now have access to a lot more information and technology. As always, that comes with both advantages and challenges, and it often requires a different kind of intelligence than in the past. Not less or more, just different.
iPads weigh in the future? Nothing. Unobtainium will be plentiful and devices we carry will float at any level we leave them at. Park yours in the space in front of you then let go. Just stay out of windy areas as your iPad may blow away. 😉