Blog 4: Technology and Psychology (1970-present)

Technology and Psychology

“Technology… is a queer thing. It brings you great gifts with one hand, and it stabs you in the back with the other.”

–Carrie Snow

Over the past hundreds of years, technology as we see it today was nothing compared to how it use to be. We’ve come so far from these technological advances, that the world we live in today is dependent on them. We take these advances for granted and don’t realize just how much we need them to live or how far they’ve shaped the world. Take a moment and truly think just how amazing technology and our advancements are. It’s one thing that should never be taken for granted because without these amazing creations, the world we know today would be nothing like it is without them.

“People want to talk to each other – not a house, or an office, or a car. Given a choice, people will demand the freedom to communicate wherever they are, unfettered by the famous copper wire.”

-Martin Cooper

The Cell Phone (1973)

Created in 1973 but not sold till 1983, the first portable cell phone was made by Martin Cooper. Although the first car phone was invented years prior, Cooper wanted people to have freedom to talk on the phone away from their cars. So, he and Motorola worked on a project to create a more portable device thus the first portable cell phone was born! It was known as the Motorola DynaTAC 8000X. The handset offered 30 minutes of talk-time, six hours standby, and could store 30 phone numbers. (Could you imagine that in today’s world?) As the years went on, more and more was added to this phone including more storage, usage time, battery life, etc. It was a very simple and to the point device. Back then, that was a lot but for today’s standards, we would max out in the first 10 minutes!! Without this basic layout and idea, the phones that we know and use today wouldn’t be around. http://www.cnn.com/2010/TECH/mobile/07/09/cooper.cell.phone.inventor/

Fun Fact:

• Today, Cooper uses a cell phone but refuses to update to an Iphone.

“A lot of people have ideas, but there are few who decide to do something about them now. Not tomorrow. Not next week. But today. The true entrepreneur is a doer, not a dreamer.” 

-Nolan Buchnell

Atari (1977)

The Atari 2600, (or Atari VCS before 1982) was a home video game console created in 1977 by Nolan Bushnell and Steve Bristow, influenced by the 1972 Atari arcade game Pong.  Although Atari wasn’t the first video game ever created, it defiantly was the most popular. Before Atari, The Magnavox Odyssey was the first commercial home video game console, but it also lagged a lot of things compared to the Atari.  With a retail price of $199-$229, the system is a multiprocessor based, programmable game console. From there, the video game system just blew up! Every year new additions, games, improvements, etc were coming out and making Atari one of the best late 70’s-80’s inventions! Today, we have come such a far way from graphics, memory, extras, etc. It all started from these simple flat 2D video games into today’s HD 3D graphics! Video games are easily one of the best inventions of technology during this time period. It really changed the idea of fun for kids and adults growing up. Thank you video game creators for making my childhood memorable! http://www.informit.com/articles/article.aspx?p=378141

Fun Fact:

• In today’s dollars, you could find the Atari for the price of a Mac Book Pro! 

“The most important thing about spaceship earth – an instruction book didn’t come with it.”

–R. Buckminster Fuller 

The Space Shuttle (1981)

A new era in space flight began on April 12, 1981, when Space Shuttle Columbia, (or STS-1), soared into orbit from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Talk about developing a reusable spacecraft began in  1966 and was tested, worked on, and perfected for it;s first flight in 1981. The mission had a two-person crew: the commander, John Young, and the pilot, Bob Crippen. The goal was to make sure that Columbia worked well in space and that it could carry out its duties.Columbia carried dozens of astronauts into space during the next two decades, reaching several milestones! Sadly, one day Columbia had seen enough space and was no longer allowed to travel. Columbia flew 28 missions in its lifetime, logging more than 300 days in space. Space travel was becoming more and more possible and realistic for people. Today, we’re able to do so much in space and the technology has only ever became more advanced. We can thank this spaceship launch as was of the main reasons we’ve become so advanced today. http://www.space.com/18008-space-shuttle-columbia.html

Fun Fact:

• The space ship got its name Columbia from the name of an explorer ship, Columbia Rediviva, which made the first American circumnavigation of the globe in 1790.

 

“Design is not just what it looks like and feels like. Design is how it works.”

-Steve Jobs

The Ipod (2001)

The Ipod, created in 2001 by Steve Jobs was just one of his many techno-logic advances. By 2004, the iPod became a wildly successful product for Apple. The portable MP3 player had been around since the mid 1990s, but Apple found that every one on the market offered a “lame” user experience. Steve Jobs had a strong term for gadgets like that: “crap”. Jobs decided that Apple should try and create its own MP3 player, one that played well with iTunes and could potentially get Apple more customers. The very first iPod launched with “1,000 songs in your pocket.” It had 5GB of storage space, weighed 6.5 ounces, featured a 160 x 128 pixel display and FireWire and cost $399. Personally this is one of my top favorite inventions of all time! I benefit from this invention everyday! Thankfully Steve Jobs created the Ipod and went on to create many more amazing apple products. (Iphone, Ipad, etc.) Everyone loves music, and this was a genius product that is used by millions every single day! http://www.macworld.com/article/1163181/ipods/the-birth-of-the-ipod.html

Fun Fact:

• The touch screen on the iPod is considered as the most expensive part.

 

 

Conclusion:

Between 1970-present, we experienced some of the GREATEST inventions that the world has ever seen. Today, we still benefit from each and every single one of them. I think that these advances are brilliant and amazing. We’ve come so far from these, yet they are the base and reasons behind what we have today. Many of the inventions listed above have been worked on and made even better! But we always have to remember what we started from and how they’ve benefited us today. From cellphones, Ipods, video games, and space travel, we have come farther than ever before. Just look at our phones, video games, space ships today! I think everyone should appreciate these inventions and be so thankful for them. Because of them, our world functions better!

 

 

Blog 3: Technology and Psychology (1945-1970)

Technology and Psychology

“The greatest achievement of humanity is not its works of art, science, or technology, but the recognition of its own dysfunction.”

-Eckhart Tolle

Over the past hundreds of years, technology as we see it today was nothing compared to how it use to be. We’ve come so far from these technological advances, that the world we live in today is dependent on them, or heavily affected by them. We take these advances for granted and don’t realize just how much we need them to live or how far they’ve shaped the world. Take a moment and truly think just how amazing technology and our advancements are. It’s one thing that should never be taken for granted and should always bring motivation for our future.

“The atomic bomb was no “great decision”. It was merely another powerful weapon in the arsenal of righteousness.”

– Harry S. Truman

The Atomic Bomb (1945)

Directed by the Army’s chief engineer, Brigadier General Leslie R. Groves, the Manhattan Project was the most secret wartime project in history. It was nick named the Manhattan Project so people wouldn’t know what the true meaning behind it was. The reason the Atomic bomb was even mentioned for creation was because if we didn’t do something now, worse things were bound to happen for us. It needed to be brought to the attention of the president. Other countries were beginning to discover their own types of bombs and explosive creations that would be used against us if we didn’t act first. It wasn’t just one person creating this bomb either. The efforts of thousands of people at dozens of sites nationwide were able to help produce the atomic bomb. Since 1942, more than 100,000 scientists of the Manhattan Project had been working on the bomb’s development.The two bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki were called Little Boy and Fat Man. Approximately 80,000 people were killed as a direct result of the blast, and another 35,000 were injured. At least another 60,000 would die by the end of the year from the effects of the bomb. This bomb was a source of mass destruction and the capability of them were insane! Looking back, this was such a HUGE part of technology and advancement for us. It’s very sad that there was so much destruction and lives lost, but for our country, it was a victory and something that needed to be done not only for us, but for the allied nations.

 http://www.history.co.uk/study-topics/history-of-ww2/atomic-bomb

Fun Fact:

• The B-29 bomber that dropped the A-Bomb on Hiroshima was christened the “Enola Gay” by its pilot Paul Tibbets in honor of his mother’s name.

 

“Procrastination is like a credit card: it’s a lot of fun until you get the bill.”

-Christopher Parker 

The Credit Card (1946)

The first credit card was introduced in 1946 by a man named John Biggins. He decided to try an experiment in providing credit to the local community around his bank. He promoted his credit card and named it a “Charg-It” card. Biggins’ card came with a lot of restrictions and regulations. It could only be used at certain times, purchases could only be made locally, and Charg-It cardholders had to have an account at Biggins’ bank. But it wasn’t long before this idea of credit had spread like wildfire and everyone was creating their own form. The Diners Club Card was the next step in credit cards. This along with MANY others evolved throughout the years. Master Card, American Express, etc. During this time period, charging for products and services had become a way of life for almost everyone in America. By the early 1960s, more companies offered credit cards, advertising them as a “time-saving device” rather than a form of credit. Today, if not all, majority of America owns some time of credit card/payment system. Many people depend on these forms of payment for big purchases including cars, homes, TV’s, etc. This method of payment is a huge relief on people because it allows us to buy things we need now that we’re able to pay off later. It’s amazing!

http://www.creditcards.com/credit-card-news/credit-cards-history-1264.php

Fun Fact:

• The first general credit cards were made from paper and had a limit of $300.

“The Microwave Oven is the consolation prize in our struggle to understand physics.”

-Jason love

The Microwave Oven (1955)

First discovered in 1945 by Percy Spencer while working near the magnetrons that produced microwaves, Spencer noticed a peanut butter candy bar in his pocket had begun to melt. This really interested Spencer and furthered his curiosity for science. The microwave has evolved into one of the most popular household appliances in the world. By 1947, the first ever microwave was for sale named the Radarange. With years of research, tinkering, and perfecting, the first produced microwave oven was about 6 feet tall and weighed around 750 pounds. Later, the mass monster of an appliance was shrunk down to a counter top size that was made for homes by 1955. It cost just under $500 and was smaller, safer and more reliable than previous models.This was HUGE in the 1950’s because now people were able to have a decent size microwave that fit into their homes and would prepare food with in minutes! This invention not only made life easier for families in the 1950’s but also raised fears. Many people worried about the cautions and dangers of the “radar ranges” but as time went on, people saw more pros then cons. Pre-packaged  foods blew up, making food more convenient and affordable for families all over the country. Today, almost everyone owns some form of a microwave oven. For me personally,  I use the microwave almost everyday and benefit the most from it. This piece of technology has benefited millions of people across the world and makes preparing meals easier.

http://www.microtechfactoryservice.com/history.html

Fun Fact:

• The Microwave was never meant to be made for food. It was invented entirely by accident.

Conclusion:

Between 1945-1970 we experienced some of the GREATEST inventions that the world has ever seen. Today, we still benefit from each and every single one of them. I think that these advances are brilliant and amazing. We’ve come so far from these, yet they are the base and reasons behind what we have today. Many of the inventions listed above have been worked on and made even better! But we always have to remember what we started from and how they’ve benefited us today. We are capable of so much destruction in nuclear weapons along with other weapons. We also have many types of credit cards that benefit everyone differently. And of course, the microwave. We’ve come so far from the once massice machinery. I think everyone should appreciate these inventions and be so thankful for them. Because of them, our world functions smoothly.