A Quote by Adam Smith
How many people ruin themselves by laying out money on trinkets of frivolous utility? What pleases these lovers of toys is not so much the utility, as the aptness of the machines which are fitted to promote it. All their pockets are stuffed with little conveniences. They contrive new pockets, unknown in the clothes of other people, in order to carry a greater number. They walk about loaded with a multitude of baubles, in weight and sometimes in value not inferior to an ordinary Jew's-box, some of which may sometimes be of some little use, but all of which might at all times be very well spared, and of which the whole utility is certainly not worth the fatigue of bearing the burden.
(I'm not sure what a Jew's-box is, but I hope it doesn't give offence...Adam Smith lived in the 1700's, different standards applied)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adam_Smith
Where's My Jet Pack and Flying Car
I think every generation ponders what the future is like and sometimes seem to miss that they are living in the future at that very moment.
I lived in LA a few years back and a friend dropped me off after lunch in his completely battery powered car. I went inside to put some time in on my LifeCycle which has the ability to intermitenly simulate hills as I pedaled to a DVD of an outside environment in reasonable sync with the hills presented on the LifeCycle. (Stage 3 smog alert outside- unsafe to exercise outdoors) I was listening to an ipod of digital music when overhead a sonic boom rocked the entire house as human beings were returning to earth from a space shuttle mission in outer space. It dawned on me: "The Future is Now".
That said, at times I dream of being a complete Luddite.
the future will have...
bathtubs that clean themselves, robotic hands that feel human in touch - descending from your ceiling, giving you a massage that brings your body, mind and soul together - leaving you feeling rested,healed,happy,complete...paradise, eh? 😉 and of course, we will be able to teleport.
Aren't we something like ten...
Aren't we something like ten years behind in technological developments. Might be more like twenty now...considering advancements. The future may be now, but we're living in the past.
Who could forget Blade Runner! Veering off topic... Not a huge sci-fi junkie...I've always wondered...any relationship (story wise) between BR & Terminator? BR being a pre-Terminator world.
Simple things
Iv'e a rather gloomy outlook for the future regarding the ecological issues of our planet but generally speaking I'd like to see a less greed-driven society, vastly reduced focus on celebrities and for parents to take more responsibility for their children.
Maybe the 'santas' could be solar powered and be dressed in anything other than RED.
less is more
Mr. Smith had the right idea.
My suspicion is that the purest form of existence is the freest, and whatever it is that prevents you from attaining that nomadic utopia had better be truly worth the burden. What you do decide to own and become caretaker for had better be almost worth sacrificing total freedom for, right?
Something like that...
moto modernist
I could not agree more with moto modernist and I put major emphasis on the children part. The USA(where I was born and live) has really gone downhill, mostly from parents forgetting to teach their children anything. How can a child grow without basic information that parents should be teaching. Sex, money, self respect, respect for humanity, respect for the Earth, drugs and alcohol, love, and everything else that they will be encounter throughout life should be taught by the person a child looks to most. There are so many loppy and selfish parents with selfpitty(and yes this subject hits home).
That said, at times I dream of being a complete Luddite.
I love that line in Big Television Man's post.
I don't know...a few years ago, it seemed like I woke up and found myself in the leather soled shoes of the refusenik. I just sort of fell out of love with all the trimmings/distractions on offer from the 21st Century. It wasn't a conscious decision or effort -- as I don't feel like a holdover -- it was more an involuntary reaction. I'm clearly not a Mennonite, and I shudder to think of living without certain mod cons, but I sometimes feel like we got it mostly right around take 23, and here we are on take 100. That said, will there one day be communities based around conventions of the 20th century? Some technology, but just not too much?
Maybe Bill Ludd had it right.
To see the future.....look at the past
My theory on this matter is the same as with many areas (fashion, architecture, the arts etc). It seems to me that most of the time when new architecture, fashions, trends etc imerge, they are re-inventions of older ideas. The most famous example of this is the Renaissance (French = re-birth) which was literally the rebirth of art and architecture. So many times in history designers etc have looked at the past in order to invent something new. There are of course also pieces of art and design that are completely (or appear to be completely) original with no inspiration from past designs.
So with respects to what will be popular in future (like e.g. the egg chair or Eames lounger is popular today), I think the same thing will happen as it always has. Some designs will go down in history because they fill certain critera like functionality, originality, looks etc. And others will go down the forgotten route because they didn?t fill these criteria.
http://www.luckners.com
Yes, I too could not live
without mod cons and I am assuming you mean "modern conveniences" with the words "mod cons". I have no desire to stable horses and use a horse and buggy as a means of transport.
I guess my Luditte dreams seem a little wacky as I post on an internet forum with people from all over the world from my "laptop computer". But I do remember when my dad would come home from work in the sixties and especially on a Friday night, he would be totally unreachable by his clients until Monday morning at 9:00 am. No cell phones, blackberries (aka crackberry) IM's. It's the always on connectivity, and how insulted people seem to get when they don't get an instant response that makes me sometimes dream of a simpler future.
Technology should be our slave, and in many ways, we are slaves to technology. Oh well, as Cheech and Chong so aptly put it: The worlds comin to an end, I don't even care,(na na na, na na na) as long as I can have my limo, and my orange hair (na na na na na na na)
.
things have changed very fast, I rarely answer the phone , my old housemate and I were equally phone phobic and quite often one of us would take it off the hook and the other would nod and then we'd sit down and read the papers for 3 hours, lovely.
I was very lucky to grow up in a rural area and summer afternoons we would swim in the local creek, often go to school barefoot and there were a few kids who even rode horses to school, and I'm only 31 (and still walk around barfott as often as possible)
But for anyone who feels like they can't keep up its a pretty simple choice, this stuff about the "pace of modern life" is false. Just stop and dig your heals in and read the papaer, the sky won't fall in.
I'm not religious but I try and observe shabbat, it helps.
Future through films, (sci-fi)?,
nice, I like these a lot:
,Metropolis, a masterpiece by Fritz Lang (vintage + future + design),
,Brazil, (nothing to do with the country, I still remember the glamorous top fashion ,hat-shoe,)
,Gattaca, it,s OK, just a little bit predictable, But also great
,Blade Runner, of course!
Oh, ,Barbarella, I need to wach it for first time, to Condiment/Seasoned my present mood : ,children of men, + ,city of god, + ,trainspotting, I hope can found it.
The most recent sci-fi films?
It,s seems that the trend is to picture a dark future. Why? Just a projection of the present?
Last week I saw "Children of men", I love it.
Some reviewers say that, children of men, is the Blade Runner of the 21ct. well, I don,t no, but a real possible future if some things go on.
http://www.amazon.com/Children-Widescreen-Juan-Gabriel-Yacuzzi/dp/B000N6...
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0206634/
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