Too Wired In?

It’s not uncommon to see a tweet about being on vacation. It’s not even unheard of to see someone posting on Facebook about a recent trip to the grocery store. Without a doubt, people are more connected in the digital age than we ever have been. It makes you wonder if we are actually losing the enjoyment and satisfaction of certain activities by being so connected to the world. Take a look at vacations: family vacations are a way to bring the family together, and not worry about everything else going on. But at the end of the day, the majority who are supposed to be enjoying vacation are making sure to check their email, Facebook, and/or Twitter. Of course, certain situations make this more difficult than others.

A few years ago, I went on a family cruise to St. Maarten, Puerto Rico, and Haiti. While it would have been really cool to upload some pictures or check on my friends, there was one major problem: international waters. This meant that if I wanted to even send a text message my phone bill would take a hit. The cruise ship’s internet required extra money, so there really was no contact with the outside world. I have to say that my cruise had to be some of the best days of my life. Of course it was fun, but it was nice to not worry about anything going on, and just relax.

This is a feeling that many people miss out on, unfortunately, by remaining “plugged in”. We have become so connected as a society that many people become more interested in the lives of others than their own. Not to mention the lack of privacy and security. As sad as it may seem, posting your location when on a business trip or vacation can put you at risk. With people’s need to be connected and let the public know, it’s scary to think about how much more connected we can be as a society.

Nobody’s perfect, of course. Even while typing this post I could think of a few instances that I might have been a little too candid with my public information. It’s great to catch up with everyone and see the current events that are going on, but how much is too much? Should we be making the world more integrated, and keep everyone “on the grid”? Or maybe, just maybe, everyone can have an opportunity every once in a while to sit back, relax, and unplug.

All As One? - The Singularity

There has been a topic both heard in whispers and in loud laughter. From a serious scientific debate, to Ken Jennings “welcoming our new robot overlords.” This topic is known as the singularity. The singularity is a theoretical moment in time when artificial intelligence will overtake humans in terms of overall skill and intelligence. Numerous novels and films have explored the idea of the singularity, such as The Terminator or I, Robot. It is definitely an interesting thought to consider, with all of the advancements in the field of technology, especially those in robotics and artificial intelligence.

For me, it’s hard to believe that the singularity will happen any time soon. While we might be making strides in technology, we also have to have an accomplished understanding of the brain, as well as the human psyche. The singularity is defined as artificial intelligence becoming superior to us in terms of skill and intelligence, so it only seems fair that we will not reach that point until we fully understand the depths of our knowledge and the inner workings of the human mind. It is true that we have come quite close, but only to a certain degree of artificial intelligence. The key trait that humans possess that is non-existent in a robot or AI is unpredictability. Sure, someone can program a “random” variable into the code, but that only works for a predetermined set of possibilities. This is a major characteristic (you know, besides skin and bones) that sets humans apart from robots. Having only limited knowledge on the subject, I would venture to say it will take many years before scientists are able to create something that can not only think for itself, but is unpredictable in its thoughts.

Who’s to say that I will or won’t see the singularity? As previously mentioned, science is moving at a rapid pace – exponentially, even. Over the past few years, robots have become more prevalent, which means we can only go up from here. As the years fly by, machines will start to take over different tasks previously done by humans. At least in the next few years, these tasks will include heavy lifting, such as assembly line arms, or extreme precision, like working in a medicinal environment. Humans will still be the largest part of the workforce, but will have to come to terms with working alongside robots.

It’s hard to say how drastically the world will change over the next few decades, but thankfully there is a pretty good chance that Skynet will not be deploying any time soon.

Going Up?

Stairs are so old fashioned. Not to mention you can only go as fast as your legs will carry you. Something we might not consider on our daily commute is the elevator (or the lift if you're from Britain or Canada). This great feat of technology that lets us travel vertically at our leisure, not to mention it takes a load off of moving heavy or large objects. The first reference of the elevator comes from Vitruvius who reported that Archimedes built the first elevator in approximately 236 BC. Other elevator-type lifts were seen throughout history, sometimes powered by hand or animals. By the 18^th century prototypes of the modern elevator were located in the palace buildings of England and France. Elevators soon became multipurpose, moving into the Industrial era. While still serving the purpose of work, transporting necessary resources and materials between locations, elevators soon became used for leisure. In 1823, Burton and Hormer built and operated the “ascending room”, a tourist attraction that raised to a considerable height in the center of London, providing a panoramic view of the city.

Some say that elevators began as simple hoist systems pulled by ropes or chains. Having built upon the idea, modern elevators operate on a pulley system. Ropes are pulled over a grooved pulley, while the oncoming car is balanced by a counterweight. The interesting thing about the elevator design and classification is that it is subject to customization. Not only do elevators serve multiple purposes, but can be designed in a variety of ways, whether this be a simple two door elevator used to move happy residents of a hotel, or a grain elevator moving grain for storage.

The quality of life without the elevator is subject to interpretation. Of course on one hand, people might be more in shape. Without a giant pulley to lift everyone, it would require more labor to get things done. On the other hand, many things can be accomplished with an elevator system. Moving heavy objects becomes easier, as well as moving things in mass quantities. The use of a grain elevator enables mass movement of grain, something that would take an exponential amount of time more to accomplish the same task.

While we might not get to take that elevator up to the penthouse suite, we certainly have many practical uses for these machines known as elevators. Or are they lifts? Something so simple can do so much work, what are the chances?

Sources: wikipedia.org