Smart Phones

Off Topic
21

[quote]Professor X wrote:

20 years from now, your kids won’t actually know anything themselves.

they will just be “plugged in”.[/quote]

Robert Heinlein many, many years ago wrote a great book (or short story, so long ago I can’t remember and I refuse to google it HAH) about a society where every kid got “all” human knowledge downloaded into their brains when they reached a certain age. But certain dumb kids’ brains could not handle the download and had to learn the old fashioned way, one word at a time.

Turns out the “dumb” kids were the only ones with the potential ability to be independent thinkers, and would be depended on to provide whatever innovation might occur in the future…that Heinlein was one prescient dude.

Less and less people actually “think” now, they just know how to “search”. I have a basic dumb phone, and refuse to get a smart phone unless they inevitably become the only option. Off soapbox.

22

[quote]punnyguy wrote:

[quote]Professor X wrote:

20 years from now, your kids won’t actually know anything themselves.

they will just be “plugged in”.[/quote]

Robert Heinlein many, many years ago wrote a great book (or short story, so long ago I can’t remember and I refuse to google it HAH) about a society where every kid got “all” human knowledge downloaded into their brains when they reached a certain age. But certain dumb kids’ brains could not handle the download and had to learn the old fashioned way, one word at a time.

Turns out the “dumb” kids were the only ones with the potential ability to be independent thinkers, and would be depended on to provide whatever innovation might occur in the future…that Heinlein was one prescient dude.

Less and less people actually “think” now, they just know how to “search”. I have a basic dumb phone, and refuse to get a smart phone unless they inevitably become the only option. Off soapbox.[/quote]
I started reading him again, just finished Puppet Masters and read Starship troopers before that. Probably start on Stranger in a strange land tonight

23

[quote]Derek542 wrote:
I started reading him again, just finished Puppet Masters and read Starship troopers before that. Probably start on Stranger in a strange land tonight[/quote]

The Moon is a harsh Mistress is another good one, TANSTAAFL

24

[quote]Professor X wrote:

[quote]flipcollar wrote:

[quote]Professor X wrote:

[quote]therajraj wrote:
They’re destroying my attention span, making it increasingly difficult for me sit down and read a book, watch a movie without checking it.

I literally can no longer take a dump without my iPhone.

[/quote]

That is what I am afraid of.

When I had my phone stolen…to go back to the cheap phone I got to stand in (that was literally the cheapest one they made until I settled on what to get next), it was like someone had taken my tv and radio away 20 years ago.

Not having gps had me lost for the first time. Not being able to see an email without a computer became a major hassle at work.

II don’t like being addicted to technology like that.

20 years from now, your kids won’t actually know anything themselves.

they will just be “plugged in”.[/quote]

I feel you on this. I’ve been making a strong effort to unplug myself. I recently cancelled my cable tv at home (still have internet), and I plug in my phone/leave it plugged in while I’m at home. I will only answer the phone if it actually rings, I don’t respond to texts. I rarely use a computer at home now. I also deleted all my cell phone games.

I found it really strange that, in 30 years of life, I’ve never gone more than what I would guess is a week without access to cable tv in my home, or wherever I’m staying. That’s crazy. I literally don’t know what it’s like NOT to have tv as an integral part of my life.
[/quote]

Holy fuck the commercials are bad enough but they make them louder so I constantly have to change the sound. Hate it

That is one major change I made years back…I do not watch much “programmed tv”. I watch tons of movies and dvds, blue rays…but I stay away from much of the chatter.

I turned it on a few weeks back and the constant barrage of commercials (most at a louder volume even than the program) just feeding shit into my head gave me a headache.

I like my phone…it is a huge step up from the tech that the iPhone just brought…but seriously, the only next place we can really go is human interface with the tech on a biological level…and there will be no such thing anymore as “on your own”.[/quote]

25

[quote]Professor X wrote:
Are they too smart?

My new phone recognizes my face to unlock it.

If I had seen this when I was in college, I would have thought it was a prop from a new Star Trek movie.

I can control my tv control from my phone.

My phone has too many fucking cameras for one device. Really…a camera so I don’t have to turn it around? Damn…

This is a lap top 15 years ago.

Is anyone else scared?[/quote]

If you took your Avi pic with it I’d say it’s a great camera. Damn you’re huge! Now, if only the dude in the background dropped the towel.

26

[quote]theBeth wrote:

[quote]Professor X wrote:
Are they too smart?

My new phone recognizes my face to unlock it.

If I had seen this when I was in college, I would have thought it was a prop from a new Star Trek movie.

I can control my tv control from my phone.

My phone has too many fucking cameras for one device. Really…a camera so I don’t have to turn it around? Damn…

This is a lap top 15 years ago.

Is anyone else scared?[/quote]

If you took your Avi pic with it I’d say it’s a great camera. Damn you’re huge! Now, if only the dude in the background dropped the towel. [/quote]

I bet PX would drop his towel for you.

27

[quote]punnyguy wrote:

[quote]Professor X wrote:

20 years from now, your kids won’t actually know anything themselves.

they will just be “plugged in”.[/quote]

Robert Heinlein many, many years ago wrote a great book (or short story, so long ago I can’t remember and I refuse to google it HAH) about a society where every kid got “all” human knowledge downloaded into their brains when they reached a certain age. But certain dumb kids’ brains could not handle the download and had to learn the old fashioned way, one word at a time.

Turns out the “dumb” kids were the only ones with the potential ability to be independent thinkers, and would be depended on to provide whatever innovation might occur in the future…that Heinlein was one prescient dude.

Less and less people actually “think” now, they just know how to “search”. I have a basic dumb phone, and refuse to get a smart phone unless they inevitably become the only option. Off soapbox.[/quote]

Did they have to re-invent the wheel each time too? You must really be afraid of all the information that’s available on the internet. Better go back to sifting through libraries again. oh wait that’s just a slower version of “searching”.

28

[quote]Hellfrost wrote:

Did they have to re-invent the wheel each time too? You must really be afraid of all the information that’s available on the internet. Better go back to sifting through libraries again. oh wait that’s just a slower version of “searching”.
[/quote]

Dude, yes. The other day, I wanted to learn about genetics. Did I rent a book at the library about genetics? Hell no. It’s likely outdated and much slower to find the key information. I googled it and found a website that detailed all the basic information I wanted to learn.

With my smart phone, I can learn something that I am pondering, yet know nothing about while I am going about my day and would likely forget by the time I sat down to a computer.

29

I can’t stand people who text and go on their phones when they’re talking to me. Fuck these people.

30

[quote]TomFoolery wrote:

[quote]theBeth wrote:

[quote]Professor X wrote:
Are they too smart?

My new phone recognizes my face to unlock it.

If I had seen this when I was in college, I would have thought it was a prop from a new Star Trek movie.

I can control my tv control from my phone.

My phone has too many fucking cameras for one device. Really…a camera so I don’t have to turn it around? Damn…

This is a lap top 15 years ago.

Is anyone else scared?[/quote]

If you took your Avi pic with it I’d say it’s a great camera. Damn you’re huge! Now, if only the dude in the background dropped the towel. [/quote]

I bet PX would drop his towel for you.
[/quote]

I actually had a dream about him last night. wtf. no more looking at his pic before bed.

31

For me, the name “smart phone” isn’t a reference to the amazing functionality these little devices provide.
They’re “smart” because the companies behind them know that once you buy one, you’re hooked on an exorbitant data plan.
Smart phones are Capitalism at its finest (Marketing in particular).
It’s interesting to observe how companies try to market this kind of technology, and even more so to note that the people who are addicted to this kind of shit are generally vapid, detached, and have a limited attention span.
Mind you, I’m not casting aspersions upon anyone posting on this thread, especially a T-Nation titan like Professor X.
And I’ll never “unplug” because technology is a very useful tool.
But just like a hammer isn’t smart, and a car isn’t smart, a phone ain’t smart.
They’re just tools (at least for the next 50 years or so).
Peace!

32

[quote]Hellfrost wrote:

[quote]punnyguy wrote:

[quote]Professor X wrote:

20 years from now, your kids won’t actually know anything themselves.

they will just be “plugged in”.[/quote]

Robert Heinlein many, many years ago wrote a great book (or short story, so long ago I can’t remember and I refuse to google it HAH) about a society where every kid got “all” human knowledge downloaded into their brains when they reached a certain age. But certain dumb kids’ brains could not handle the download and had to learn the old fashioned way, one word at a time.

Turns out the “dumb” kids were the only ones with the potential ability to be independent thinkers, and would be depended on to provide whatever innovation might occur in the future…that Heinlein was one prescient dude.

Less and less people actually “think” now, they just know how to “search”. I have a basic dumb phone, and refuse to get a smart phone unless they inevitably become the only option. Off soapbox.[/quote]

Did they have to re-invent the wheel each time too? You must really be afraid of all the information that’s available on the internet. Better go back to sifting through libraries again. oh wait that’s just a slower version of “searching”.
[/quote]

I rest my case. Point totally whooooshed by…

Every time I see these types of posts, it is inevitably written by some young stud with unlimited potential.

33

Technology is freaking awesome. Anyone who argues otherwise is an absolute idiot. They’re like the dudes who don’t get vaccinated ever because they don’t get sick often.

That being said, you definitely must deliberately evaluate what your relationship to it is. Better do that before you’re viewing tnation through your contact lens’ HUD…

34

The NSA is monitoring your every call and text. The NSA can turn on the webcam and microphone even when the phone is off (so long as the battery is still attached). At any point the government can triangulate your location based on the phone, even if it’s off. That’s how they target people for drone-slaughtering overseas.

(BTW, check out “double-tap drone bombs.” That’s where your beloved government bombs a location once, then bombs it again sometime later to murder all the people who came to help those still alive in the wreckage from the first strike. Cue up rednecks mindlessly chanting USA…USA…)

So yes, smart phones are scary. And it’s much more terrifying that so many people are willing to throw privacy completely out the window just to have the latest “it” gadget. You love the technology and toys, so they enslave you with it. If that’s a path that makes you comfortable, and that’s a world you want for your children and grandchildren to inherit… keep on keepin’ on. I guess.

If, on the other hand, you think this Orwellian state has gotten out of hand, start speaking with your wallet and starve this beast to death.

35

[quote]Travacolypse wrote:
The NSA is monitoring your every call and text. The NSA can turn on the webcam and microphone even when the phone is off (so long as the battery is still attached). At any point the government can triangulate your location based on the phone, even if it’s off. That’s how they target people for drone-slaughtering overseas.
[/quote]

I don’t know how much faith I have in this. You are talking about a country who went to war with another and couldn’t figure out that they really didn’t have weapons of mass destruction.

36

[quote]punnyguy wrote:

[quote]Hellfrost wrote:

[quote]punnyguy wrote:

[quote]Professor X wrote:

20 years from now, your kids won’t actually know anything themselves.

they will just be “plugged in”.[/quote]

Robert Heinlein many, many years ago wrote a great book (or short story, so long ago I can’t remember and I refuse to google it HAH) about a society where every kid got “all” human knowledge downloaded into their brains when they reached a certain age. But certain dumb kids’ brains could not handle the download and had to learn the old fashioned way, one word at a time.

Turns out the “dumb” kids were the only ones with the potential ability to be independent thinkers, and would be depended on to provide whatever innovation might occur in the future…that Heinlein was one prescient dude.

Less and less people actually “think” now, they just know how to “search”. I have a basic dumb phone, and refuse to get a smart phone unless they inevitably become the only option. Off soapbox.[/quote]

Did they have to re-invent the wheel each time too? You must really be afraid of all the information that’s available on the internet. Better go back to sifting through libraries again. oh wait that’s just a slower version of “searching”.
[/quote]

I rest my case. Point totally whooooshed by…

Every time I see these types of posts, it is inevitably written by some young stud with unlimited potential.[/quote]

I don’t know about stud… :slight_smile:

Like someone else mentioned earlier, technology is a tool. If you can’t use it to your benefit, that’s a personal problem. There are things that I simply don’t know and can’t easily find the solution by asking friends or reading a book.

Example: I had to do some trunking today and didn’t know the CLI command for the 802.1q protocol on a Cisco switch. Either sift through networking books that may be outdated, or spend 2 minutes googling and continue with my setup.

I think it’s more important for someone to be able to find an answer than it is for them to know it. No matter how much you study, you won’t be able to remember everything. Being easily able to find the information you need makes you much more efficient at your job,.

37

[quote]Rico Suave wrote:
I can’t stand people who text and go on their phones when they’re talking to me. Fuck these people.[/quote]

This is easily the most annoying thing on this planet.

38

[quote]Travacolypse wrote:
The NSA is monitoring your every call and text. The NSA can turn on the webcam and microphone even when the phone is off (so long as the battery is still attached). At any point the government can triangulate your location based on the phone, even if it’s off. That’s how they target people for drone-slaughtering overseas.

(BTW, check out “double-tap drone bombs.” That’s where your beloved government bombs a location once, then bombs it again sometime later to murder all the people who came to help those still alive in the wreckage from the first strike. Cue up rednecks mindlessly chanting USA…USA…)

So yes, smart phones are scary. And it’s much more terrifying that so many people are willing to throw privacy completely out the window just to have the latest “it” gadget. You love the technology and toys, so they enslave you with it. If that’s a path that makes you comfortable, and that’s a world you want for your children and grandchildren to inherit… keep on keepin’ on. I guess.

If, on the other hand, you think this Orwellian state has gotten out of hand, start speaking with your wallet and starve this beast to death.[/quote]

Oh boy…

39

[quote]Rico Suave wrote:
I can’t stand people who text and go on their phones when they’re talking to me. Fuck these people.[/quote]

Well I just love it when I go somewhere with my friends so we can all go on facebook on our phones.

40

[quote]Hellfrost wrote:

[quote]punnyguy wrote:

[quote]Professor X wrote:

20 years from now, your kids won’t actually know anything themselves.

they will just be “plugged in”.[/quote]

Robert Heinlein many, many years ago wrote a great book (or short story, so long ago I can’t remember and I refuse to google it HAH) about a society where every kid got “all” human knowledge downloaded into their brains when they reached a certain age. But certain dumb kids’ brains could not handle the download and had to learn the old fashioned way, one word at a time.

Turns out the “dumb” kids were the only ones with the potential ability to be independent thinkers, and would be depended on to provide whatever innovation might occur in the future…that Heinlein was one prescient dude.

Less and less people actually “think” now, they just know how to “search”. I have a basic dumb phone, and refuse to get a smart phone unless they inevitably become the only option. Off soapbox.[/quote]

Did they have to re-invent the wheel each time too? You must really be afraid of all the information that’s available on the internet. Better go back to sifting through libraries again. oh wait that’s just a slower version of “searching”.
[/quote]

I am guessing you haven’t actually been to too many real libraries.

On some level, you are right, it is a “slower” method of searching.

It also required deeper understanding of the subject to keep searching…which meant the average person doing some real “searching” for a topic in a library would likely be way more informed by the end of it than someone who just types in a sentence on a Google search.

This is about how we as humans will lose the “hardships” that truly helped define some of the greatest minds and accomplishments in human history.

What that means is long term, what we have to look forward to is people who can find anything in a second…but have no real original ideas or individual thought. They will be stagnant.

You will simply be a being that is fed information.

Some people don’t see that as a good thing.