As we go through the past we see a lot of technological advancements (not inventions) that have changed our lifestyle and surroundings.
The gadget of the current decade is the Mobile Phone.
requirements. Its handiness, ease of use, a variety of features and ability to provide us information available on the internet in our hands play the major role in its appeal to the masses rather than its ability to help us communicate.
Just before that, it was the Computers that changed the way people worked. From pen and paper soluting of problems to simulation aided by computers or from typewriters to word processors, hand written records to electronic files.
However, if we look at it, the technological advancement is Wireless Technology and not the gadget itself that we're talking about. Similarly computer technology was introduced to ease the accounting, calculations etc. which was the area that needed advancement.
Even though the technology exists in the past and continues to improve in the future, it is always the changing requirement of users that decides the technology. For example after the discovery of the steam engine, automobiles were born to meet the requirement of a new means of transportation that wasn't dependent on domesticated animals.
Some technological advancements from the past based on needs are listed here:
Publishing News --- Printing Press
Work without human tiredness --- Engine
Transportation --- Automobile
Energy Demand --- Power
Currency / Utensils / Ornaments --- Metallurgy
Security --- Weapons
Communication ---Telephone and Radio
Entertainment --- Television
Increased Food Demand --- Agriculture Mechanization
Comfort Living --- Air Conditioning and Refrigeration
Capturing visual records --- Camera
Data Analysis / Accounting / Calculations --- Computers
Understanding the Universe --- Spacecraft / Satellites
Portable Transport of day to day stuff --- Plastic
Connecting the World --- Internet
Wireless Communication --- Mobile Phones
So what will be the next generation technological advancement?
Will it be food pills?
...Inter-Planetary transport?
...Communicating with Aliens?
...Living Underwater?
...Time Travel?
...Telepathy?
...Wireless power transmission?
Currently:
ReplyDeleteWearable technology which for now is severely restricted by the battery technology should bring about a change in the same. Batteries will give way to more long lasting and cleaner options like fuel cells.
10 Years down the line:
Longevity will be the next trend with medicines, supplements, food administered in the right dosage starting from early childhood so as to achieve a longer life span.
20 Years down the line:
Advancement in Prosthetic surgery and science will allow us to go in for surgery to enhance our sight, hearing, agility, stamina, strength ... you name it. For now prosthetics are used to bring the differently abled at par with the rest in terms of physical abilities but in the future they will be able to enhance the functions of a physically fit human being.
30 Years Down the Line:
I believe it will be the age of Virtual Identities, in the sense that every human being right from his birth will be identified primarily by his virtual ID rather than as a living human being. This will help in identifying him on a global scale. Then comes the mapping part, wherein enormous databases will be maintained for each person by their country's governments which would have everything they can maintain about him, his whereabouts (from cellphones), sleeping pattern (through wearable technology), medical treatment taken (medical insurance company data), lifestyle (credit card bills) etc. ultimately leading to a world of no privacy.