# Mental Floss recently asked "What Everyday Behaviors Will Seem Crazy in 50 Years?" **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [December 6, 2013, 6:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mental-floss-recently-asked-what-everyday-behaviors-will-seem-crazy-in-50-years/675692 "2013-12-06T18:01:41Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Kenm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/bc79bd/32.png) [@Kenm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kenm)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2013, 4:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mental-floss-recently-asked-what-everyday-behaviors-will-seem-crazy-in-50-years/675692/21 "2013-12-07T04:54:31Z")
Drinking clean water from the tap. ---
**Author:** ![AncientHumanoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ancienthumanoid/32/278_2.png) [@AncientHumanoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AncientHumanoid)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2013, 5:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mental-floss-recently-asked-what-everyday-behaviors-will-seem-crazy-in-50-years/675692/22 "2013-12-07T05:01:24Z")
Keyboards. How quaint. ---
**Author:** ![msmith537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@msmith537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msmith537)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2013, 6:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mental-floss-recently-asked-what-everyday-behaviors-will-seem-crazy-in-50-years/675692/23 "2013-12-07T06:22:44Z")
Going out at night without your plasma-gun and personal quantum force field. Are you looking to get eaten by radiation mutants left over from the nano-tech wars? > [@Lasciel](#): > > Mailing ordinary paperwork like bills or business info through the postal system. > > Stamped mail will be the purview of mass mailings and personal “important” missives from stuck-up people announcing their weddings or kids’ major life events. > [@Meatros](#): > > I’d say something similar. The amount of paperwork, documents, and such that corporations require is going to be drastically reduced in favor of digital copies. It’s already starting at my company. We digitally upload everything, but we still have mountains of copies at a physical storage site. > > In 50 years, this is going to appear absurdly wasteful. > [@DrCube](#): > > Oh my god yes, stores! I can’t wait for them all to be demolished and replaced with useful things like empty lots. > > Also, associated with stores, physical media for any kind of information. CDs, DVDs, Blurays, tapes, floppies, whatever. They’ll all be quainter than snuffboxes one day. Is this a zombie thread from 10-15 years ago? I can’t remember the last time I sent a bill through the mail, filled out a paper form at work or purchased any sort of physical media. > [@Kiyoshi](#): > > Originally Posted by Dewey Finn View Post > Small kid fifty years hence to grandfather who was born in the 1900s: “Is it true that you didn’t have household robots when you were growing up, Granddad?” > > Followed up with, “Gee Granddad, how did you live to 160?” You know there was a time before people transferred their consciousness to bio-engineered cyber-synthetic bodies. ---
**Author:** ![astro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9dc877/32.png) [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2013, 6:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mental-floss-recently-asked-what-everyday-behaviors-will-seem-crazy-in-50-years/675692/24 "2013-12-07T06:54:28Z")
Paper books and paper newspapers Buying health insurance Using publishing houses to sell books Running coal fired power plants Smoking Using mood altering drugs - Direct brain stimulation will be available Using eyeglasses Buying insanely expensive diamond rings as engagement promise ---
**Author:** ![PlainJain](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/5daacb/32.png) [@PlainJain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PlainJain)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2013, 7:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mental-floss-recently-asked-what-everyday-behaviors-will-seem-crazy-in-50-years/675692/25 "2013-12-07T07:16:24Z")
> [@lost4life](#): > > No offense, but I don’t think most of those things will seem “crazy,” just outdated or obsolete. > > No slam on religion, but I think 50 years from now people will think we were nuts for allowing religion to influence government policy making. Hopefully they will also think we were crazy for allowing groups to give large amounts of cash to politicians who create policies that directly affect said groups. Not a chance religion will go away, sadly. ---
**Author:** ![Leaper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/4bbf92/32.png) [@Leaper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaper)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2013, 9:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mental-floss-recently-asked-what-everyday-behaviors-will-seem-crazy-in-50-years/675692/26 "2013-12-07T09:48:13Z")
> [@DrCube](#): > > Also, associated with stores, physical media for any kind of information. CDs, DVDs, Blurays, tapes, floppies, whatever. They’ll all be quainter than snuffboxes one day. Frankly, I fear the day when we willingly entrust the sum total of human knowledge and history to the corporations who control the Internet/cloud, and have to trust them to keep, not share, and not censor/alter any of it. You think the NSA has too much power? That would be a thousand times worse. But back to the topic at hand… I have to agree with previous posters that “quaint/outdated” != “crazy.” To connect to my above sentiment as an example, I don’t think 50 years is nearly enough to make paper books look like stone tablets. Same with physical stores (which I also think serves a purpose — I know some people hate just browsing and being surprised by something outside of his/her usual interests, but I like that it’s possible. Anyway, I’d love to hear how the Internet deals with women’s clothing sizes — which I’m told by said Internet is… not standardized). ---
**Author:** ![AK84](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/85e7bf/32.png) [@AK84](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AK84)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2013, 10:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mental-floss-recently-asked-what-everyday-behaviors-will-seem-crazy-in-50-years/675692/27 "2013-12-07T10:12:10Z")
**My grandson look at this page on December 6th 2063**. _you all got the future wrong G’Dad_. ---
**Author:** ![Ranchoth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ranchoth/32/1066_2.png) [@Ranchoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ranchoth)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2013, 10:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mental-floss-recently-asked-what-everyday-behaviors-will-seem-crazy-in-50-years/675692/28 "2013-12-07T10:15:42Z")
-Human air traffic controllers, doctors, lawyers, and judges. “What, you _don’t_ prefer a machine doing things _that_ complicated and important? You want to try planning a space mission all by hand, next? Just so you can preserve the dignity of your homo sapiens magic monkey brain powers? F’n hippie…” (I’m exaggerating, slightly…computerized ATC and “paralegals,” I can see in fifty years, but I’m not certain about the rest.) ---
**Author:** ![Leaper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/4bbf92/32.png) [@Leaper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaper)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2013, 10:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mental-floss-recently-asked-what-everyday-behaviors-will-seem-crazy-in-50-years/675692/29 "2013-12-07T10:37:24Z")
Depends whether you believe that emotional considerations should ever be a part of criminal justice. ---
**Author:** ![Ken001](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/43a26b/32.png) [@Ken001](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ken001)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2013, 10:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mental-floss-recently-asked-what-everyday-behaviors-will-seem-crazy-in-50-years/675692/30 "2013-12-07T10:54:56Z")
An instructive way to consider the OP’s question is to think of circa 1900 things which still persist despite our whizz bang world. The bicycle. The pencil. Paper - for writing on, printing on, wrapping stuff, and coating walls. No electricity needed, sneers at magnetic fields, it simply works. The pen. Granted, the quill and the fountain pen have died but the ubiquitous biro requires no battery or backlight. ---
**Author:** ![Ken001](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/43a26b/32.png) [@Ken001](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ken001)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2013, 11:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mental-floss-recently-asked-what-everyday-behaviors-will-seem-crazy-in-50-years/675692/31 "2013-12-07T11:09:00Z")
> [@msmith537](#): > > Is this a zombie thread from 10-15 years ago? I can’t remember the last time I sent a bill through the mail, filled out a paper form at work or purchased any sort of physical media. Really? I still write a few cheques for individual people who aren’t into internet banking including my local astronomical society. As a lawyer I still fill out tons of forms by hand to assist clients because there is a never-ending variety of them - which often require original signatures. A scanned signature is easy to forge. My teenagers still burn the odd CD to play on my car stereo and we all buy USB drives when old ones are lost. I carry a notebook in my back pocket and use it every day. It never needs recharging. ---
**Author:** ![Justin\_Bailey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/justin_bailey/32/8792_2.png) [@Justin\_Bailey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Justin_Bailey)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2013, 11:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mental-floss-recently-asked-what-everyday-behaviors-will-seem-crazy-in-50-years/675692/32 "2013-12-07T11:38:10Z")
> [@msmith537](#): > > Is this a zombie thread from 10-15 years ago? I can’t remember the last time I sent a bill through the mail, filled out a paper form at work or purchased any sort of physical media. Streaming/downloading media only works as well as it does because most people still buy physical media. As you add more people to the streaming pile and file sizes go up (look at the size of a video game today versus even 10 years ago), streaming/downloading becomes more time consuming. Unless the US gets its bandwidth problems sorted out, physical media will never completely go away. ---
**Author:** ![Valued](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/58f4c7/32.png) [@Valued](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Valued)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2013, 11:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mental-floss-recently-asked-what-everyday-behaviors-will-seem-crazy-in-50-years/675692/33 "2013-12-07T11:42:38Z")
Smoking. ---
**Author:** ![Wesley\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wesley_clark/32/20581_2.png) [@Wesley\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wesley_Clark)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2013, 2:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mental-floss-recently-asked-what-everyday-behaviors-will-seem-crazy-in-50-years/675692/34 "2013-12-07T14:29:35Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > Small kid fifty years hence to grandfather who was born in the 1900s: “Is it true that you didn’t have household robots when you were growing up, Granddad?” > > Because based on current research and product development, it seems safe to predict that autonomous robots will be common in the future. True, but we already have some household robots. I think right now there are only 3 real household robot options. A vacuum, a hardwood floor cleaner and a pool cleaner. But I’m sure robotic devices to wash dishes, do laundry, clean the bathroom are only a couple decades away. All you’d need (I assume) is manual dexterity, mobility and the ability to understand what the robot is trying to do (also the ability to know to wear gloves when washing the bathroom, because thats disgusting if not). In 50 years I think violent sports will be a lot more controversial. We are already seeing people who engage in boxing or football in their teens and 20s end up with serious neurological problems by middle age. The idea that we used to let children play those games will seem crazy. I’m also assuming some of the chemicals we take for granted in processing or products we buy will eventually be found to be far more toxic than we currently realize. That’ll seem crazy. I have no idea which ones that’ll be but I’m sure we will find a few that are much more dangerous than we realize. The mentality that humans are better than machines and robots. Self driving cars have, in the space of about 9 years of computer evolution, gone from being so terrible they had wrecks within 10 miles to being able to drive hundreds of thousands of miles with no accidents, and are now statistically safer than human drivers. When run of the mill robots are far and away better drivers, doctors, cooks, etc. than even the best humans people will look at our robo-phobia as idiotic. ---
**Author:** ![Chimera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Chimera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chimera)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2013, 3:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mental-floss-recently-asked-what-everyday-behaviors-will-seem-crazy-in-50-years/675692/35 "2013-12-07T15:05:57Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > Small kid fifty years hence to grandfather who was born in the 1900s: “Is it true that you didn’t have household robots when you were growing up, Granddad?” Then by the year 2100. “What was it like when the War with China started, grandpa? I want to hear about how they programmed all the robots to kill people on the same day.” ---
**Author:** ![DrCube](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a3d4f5/32.png) [@DrCube](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrCube)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2013, 3:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mental-floss-recently-asked-what-everyday-behaviors-will-seem-crazy-in-50-years/675692/36 "2013-12-07T15:14:52Z")
> [@Leaper](#): > > Frankly, I fear the day when we willingly entrust the sum total of human knowledge and history to the corporations who control the Internet/cloud, and have to trust them to keep, not share, and not censor/alter any of it. > > You think the NSA has too much power? That would be a thousand times worse. Me too. I’m not talking about switching to “the cloud”, unless maybe it’s a personally controlled one. I’m talking about hard drives, flash drives, phones, mp3 players, etc. There’s no reason to drive to a store to pick up your favorite bands’ new album on a piece of plastic when you can just download it. ---
**Author:** ![Justin\_Bailey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/justin_bailey/32/8792_2.png) [@Justin\_Bailey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Justin_Bailey)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2013, 3:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mental-floss-recently-asked-what-everyday-behaviors-will-seem-crazy-in-50-years/675692/37 "2013-12-07T15:17:30Z")
> [@DrCube](#): > > Me too. I’m not talking about switching to “the cloud”, unless maybe it’s a personally controlled one. I’m talking about hard drives, flash drives, phones, mp3 players, etc. There’s no reason to drive to a store to pick up your favorite bands’ new album on a piece of plastic when you can just download it. Music and books will easily switch to downloading/streaming because the file sizes are too small. But it will take a long time (perhaps even longer than 50 years) for movies and video games to go digital only. Physical media will still exist within the living memory of everyone in 50 years, so it won’t be seen as “crazy” at all. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2013, 4:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mental-floss-recently-asked-what-everyday-behaviors-will-seem-crazy-in-50-years/675692/38 "2013-12-07T16:46:32Z")
> [@Wesley\_Clark](#): > > True, but we already have some household robots. I think right now there are only 3 real household robot options. A vacuum, a hardwood floor cleaner and a pool cleaner. [Window cleaning robots](https://www.winbot7.com/) are also available. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2013, 4:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mental-floss-recently-asked-what-everyday-behaviors-will-seem-crazy-in-50-years/675692/39 "2013-12-07T16:52:03Z")
> [@Justin\_Bailey](#): > > Music and books will easily switch to downloading/streaming because the file sizes are too small. But it will take a long time (perhaps even longer than 50 years) for movies and video games to go digital only. Physical media will still exist within the living memory of everyone in 50 years, so it won’t be seen as “crazy” at all. As for this, I don’t agree. Bandwidth will be _much_ faster. Even today, one-gigabit or ten-gigabit Ethernet is available. So I expect it or even a faster technology will be available to home soon. (Perhaps very fast wireless networking will be available.) ---
**Author:** ![Kenm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/bc79bd/32.png) [@Kenm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kenm)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2013, 4:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mental-floss-recently-asked-what-everyday-behaviors-will-seem-crazy-in-50-years/675692/40 "2013-12-07T16:53:51Z")
“Granddad, were there _really_ no robot prosties in the olden days?” “Well, we had a vacuum, a hardwood floor cleaner and a pool cleaner.” [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mental-floss-recently-asked-what-everyday-behaviors-will-seem-crazy-in-50-years/675692.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mental-floss-recently-asked-what-everyday-behaviors-will-seem-crazy-in-50-years/675692.md?page=3)