The Technology Slump

After a hiatus from writing my STEM blog, I decided to write my thoughts from last week. I was thinking about the world that we live in, what we have acheived, and what we will acheive in the future.

My thought rested on one key idea, asking if I'm in the wrong timeline? No, not like an episode of Fringe or the X-Files, but more about my place in history. I am aware of how wrotten the 19c was, the illness and very young deaths make it a no return policy, but I believe they might have had a positive outcome that works to mark-out these measly notions.


With technology being at a sombre spot in this era, we were still open to many new ideas. There was a lot to explore, places to see, and information to attain. I am worried that we have hit a slump! We have advanced so fast with our tech in the last century that we may be ahead of where we should be, and until the advancements reach planetary exploration, these new-land-discovery urges can only be a dream.

We might be talking about going to Mars by 2030, though I'm sure it will happen later than expected, what we have now feels like it is holding us down to the ground. As an exploratory person, I love to find new places, create new ideas, and build, just build! I feel that my skills and ideals are wasted right now, being better used 150 years ago, or 150 years in the future? What can I do about it? Let's look at these:

• We are splashed with information all of the time, there is little to be learned beyond the struggle to surpass our current tech level. Although the Internet is a great idea, we are able to share and archive like never before, so what is there to explore anymore?
• Our idols have shifted to 15 minute has-beens, people who are famous for being a face on a cheap TV show. The engineers of the past, scientists that saw huge acclaim, are seamingly forgotten about. It is these people who could alter the future of our planet, making new leaps into a better future.
• With a positive mortality rate, are we making things worse? It's not great dying at 35, but with so many more people pushing 100, are we simply working against the planet's capability? Perhaps this pushes more reasoning towards the off-planet living many have dreamt about.

I could spout on about this, but the key focus is on the fact that I am hard pushed to find new ideas now. As a wee 10 year old chap, I would hash new sketches, build basic prototypes from scraps, all this whilst bearing in mind that 3D printers were still two decades away! This was an inspiring time for me, one that I fear has left me, and the world, for good.

So, should we sit back and wait for the new age to begin in the hope that we make it there, or should we be the ones to start it? What would it take, a new focus on tech for a better future, not a more comfortable one? Perhaps that is were we are going wrong?

What do you think? Tech is great, and serves a key purpose in modern life, but there must be something you would prefer in your life, perhaps from the olden days, or for a future yet to be seen.

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