computerless societies [was Re: kathryn's comments]

Spike Jones (spike66@ibm.net)
Sun, 12 Sep 1999 00:21:07 -0700

Once again, Robert J. Bradbury has presented us with a number of thought provoking and entertaining notions, including:

> ...If we hadn't elected Clinton, I feel pretty sure we would
> be teaching creationism in most of the class rooms now...

Which floored me. And got me to thinking, it is a curious habit for generations of humans to want to be *known* for something. The baby boom generation has rock and roll, generation X is big on [fill in the blank], generation Y likes to pierce body parts, etc, but what is next? In each case, a generation distinguishes themselves from the previous generation in a way that may shock and dismay the parents. Right? We smash the idols of our elders. So what is next?

In keeping with Alex Bokov's earlier post, what if generation [Z?] coming of age in 2005 turns hard against technology? Perhaps it will become wicked cool to be rad retro, to disdain all the computer wizardry that we on this list find so... wicked cool. I am not offended by green hair, ratty clothing, piercing, *any* expression of sexuality, etc, but the disdain and rejection of science and technology by a generation of young people would cause me to be... squicked. spike