Monday, October 08, 2007

Telescopes

Everything will be digital – nothing else will exist.  Books will vanish.  Newspapers and magazines will fade away.  Brick and mortar stores will become extinct.  Packaging will be virtual.  Art will be projected, broadcast or streamed.  Concert venues, movie theaters and sports arenas will be a relic of the past.  And, advertising will die out.

Do you agree?

Is this a vision of the future utopia or is it an apocalyptic prophecy?  Do we—does anyone really— believe this?  Or, are we victims of Wall Street and short term profit takers who know how to move markets?

More important, what do you want? Look at the list and see. What makes sense?  What doesn’t? What is really going to add value to your life?  And, what, if anything, do you hope will never happen?

Here’s the starting point: today, nearly everything is digital in some way or another—or at least touched by digital technology.

From buying seasonal fruit at your favorite corner market, to learning about the latest fashion trends, to cheering for your favorite sports team, to crying over the latest and saddest exploits of your favorite celebrity, to enjoying the news, music, movies or books: digital technology has helped make the experience more immersive, bigger, more connected and easier to enjoy.

Digital technology has not replaced the experience, it has enhanced it, and that is, I believe, the mistake (or manipulation) that the market seems to make.

So here is a thought to chew on:

Computer Science is no more about computers than astronomy is about telescopes.
~ E. W. Dijkstra

Have you ever star gazed...?

Time to take back the experiences…

What do you think? 

Posted by David on 10/08 at 09:45 AM
(16) CommentsPermalink
  1. I agree and wish this happens, so we will be able to save trees. However, I believe the need for the tactile will never, ever be replaced. In the late 90s, companies such as ScenTeck and Digiscents Inc set out to change the interactive experience with scent-enabled content, as the olfactory senses hold the power to recreate compelling emotions such as love and fear. The beauty of technology is that it is coming to us, rather than we having to go to it. It is not so much replacing physical needs as it is bringing us closer to them. GPS satellite technology connects us with physical places, and web-enabled personal devices help us get closer to our relationships or even order that fresh fruit. Taking this further... If only we could have a chip embedded in our wrists which enables us to access data upon a wish, I would be the first to volunteer for that experiment. Thanks for propelling this Monday-morning thinking.

    Posted by Rohini  on  2007-10-08 16:23:10

  2. I don't care what experience-enhancing technology they're working on now, watching a ballgame on TV can never compare to a trip to the ballpark. There's nothing like surrounding yourself with the energy of thousands of fans while eating an artery-clogging hotdog and drinking an expensive cheap beer.

    Posted by dawn  on  2007-10-08 16:33:25

  3. I don’t want to live a world where I can’t sit on the beach with the waves lapping at my toes, while I shake out the sand from between the pages of a great book.

    Posted by Mary  on  2007-10-08 16:49:47

  4. You've certainly caused a stir.

    Posted by Rohini  on  2007-10-08 16:56:24

  5. I'm withthe waves and the books myself -- here is another one -- we have a digital fram at home sitting with all of our other framed pictures. Its really cool -- over 100 photos change and disolve one into the other -- really cool... however -- pick up the frame the plug comes out of teh wall -- hold it the wrong way and teh perspective changes -- hold it another way and the whole thing freezes.... I love it -- I do -- its cool -- really -- but id trade it -- if I had to for the old-fashioned framed picture of my grandson that I can hold and examine and pass around to people who probably dont really want to look at it -- but do it without it chnaging to the picture of myself in the clown costume...

    Posted by david sable  on  2007-10-08 17:32:26

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