Half-Century Backward
Popular Science asked geek/writer Larry Smith to
spend ten days in the city avoiding technologies invented in the last fifty years. No cellphones, no laptops, no ATM machines.
Mornings are the worst.
The coffee is too weak. The windup alarm clock is too loud. The phone rings, and it might or might not be my mom. There are no new e-mails. There is no hope for a Krispy Kreme. And man, oh man, I miss my Ambien.
Why have I subjected myself to life without a PDA? Why did I agree to a plan that forced me to spend New Year's Day watching the Gators in black and white, while the rest of the civilized world rings in the new year with Hoppin' John and the Orange Bowl in glorious Technicolor (or better yet, on TiVo with full control over instant replay and super slo-mo)? Why, oh why, am I spending the first 10 days of 2004 attempting to work, play and party like it's 1954?
Extensive footnotes on the history of various technologies--remote controls, Ibuprofen, TV Guide, ZIP codes.
Posted by johndan at August 8, 2004 05:34 PM
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