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!
madisoncmatz 