# Mundane consequences of modern or future technology **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [June 30, 2012, 6:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mundane-consequences-of-modern-or-future-technology/626832 "2012-06-30T18:32:18Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![robert\_columbia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e79b87/32.png) [@robert\_columbia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robert_columbia)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2012, 12:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mundane-consequences-of-modern-or-future-technology/626832/41 "2012-07-03T00:04:11Z")
> [@Boyo\_Jim](#): > > Maybe we won’t need dentists anymore because we won’t need teeth if they develop some tasty nutrient paste… Tooth loss is one of the evolutionary trends that happens, iirc, in the SF novel Against the Fall of Night by Arthur C. Clarke But not _all_ of humanity… ---
**Author:** ![emmaliminal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7bcc69/32.png) [@emmaliminal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/emmaliminal)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2012, 12:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mundane-consequences-of-modern-or-future-technology/626832/42 "2012-07-03T00:58:18Z")
> [@Baron\_Greenback](#): > > There’s a mash of UK landline telephone tones underpinning the song. Yeah, sorry, that’s it. I’m even a US American. :o But there’s a quality to the sounds on the recording that makes it just unmistakably from a phone land line, something mechanical and vibratey and I’m not describing it at all well. You can hear it better on a real version of the song, rather than the Youtubian ones. ---
**Author:** ![chappachula](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/d2c977/32.png) [@chappachula](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chappachula)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2012, 6:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mundane-consequences-of-modern-or-future-technology/626832/43 "2012-07-03T18:13:16Z")
> [@Zsofia](#): > > Kids Today don’t know what that “save” icon is supposed to represent? they also don’t know why there is an expression “to roll down” the car window. ---
**Author:** ![LeeshaJoy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/8e8cbc/32.png) [@LeeshaJoy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LeeshaJoy)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2012, 6:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mundane-consequences-of-modern-or-future-technology/626832/44 "2012-07-03T18:21:12Z")
> [@Mr.Me](#): > > I’m imagining the sky is pitch black, except for a large grey rectangle, with the words ‘NO SIGNAL’ inside it. Much more ominous. Is it more or less scary if the rectangle is bouncing around the sky to prevent burn-in? ---
**Author:** ![UncleRojelio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/unclerojelio/32/3160_2.png) [@UncleRojelio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UncleRojelio)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2012, 6:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mundane-consequences-of-modern-or-future-technology/626832/45 "2012-07-03T18:36:47Z")
> [@chappachula](#): > > they also don’t know why there is an expression “to roll down” the car window. Even worse, the twirling gesture you make with your hand to indicate to someone that you would like them to roll down the window. ---
**Author:** ![Hermitian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hermitian/32/470_2.png) [@Hermitian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hermitian)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2012, 7:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mundane-consequences-of-modern-or-future-technology/626832/46 "2012-07-03T19:36:53Z")
> [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](#): > > Newspapers are already of dubious utility for proving that a kidnap victim is still alive; you could always take a photo, kill the victim, and photoshop the latest paper in. Most people that are skilled enough to photoshop in a fake paper without anyone being able to tell the difference probably have decent jobs and don’t tend to kidnap people. ---
**Author:** ![Incubus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/c68b51/32.png) [@Incubus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Incubus)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2012, 7:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mundane-consequences-of-modern-or-future-technology/626832/47 "2012-07-03T19:51:47Z")
What about just reading analog clocks? Digital clocks are everywhere, Id be surprised if they even teach it to kids in a few years. ---
**Author:** ![Sailboat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sailboat/32/461_2.png) [@Sailboat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sailboat)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2012, 7:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mundane-consequences-of-modern-or-future-technology/626832/48 "2012-07-03T19:56:28Z")
A consequence of some concern is the loss of historical data as formats evolve. I still have some 5 1/4 inch floppies and no way to read them, and it will only get worse. ---
**Author:** ![Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/46a35a/32.png) [@Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_T-Bonham.net)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2012, 10:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mundane-consequences-of-modern-or-future-technology/626832/49 "2012-07-03T22:03:13Z")
> [@Sailboat](#): > > A consequence of some concern is the loss of historical data as formats evolve. I still have some 5 1/4 inch floppies and no way to read them, and it will only get worse. You can still buy external 5¼ floppy drives that plug in via USB cable. For now. If the data is valuable, I’d suggest getting one soon, and copying that data onto a hard drive. Then it can be copied to the new hard disk each time you replace your computer. I’ve done that. I have some files on my machine that came originally from a Radio Shack Model II computer – last modified date of January, 1980. (Probably not very useful any more, but I still keep it.) And keep it in the most basic data format. [Project Gutenberg](http://www.gutenberg.org/), which keeps a large library-worth (30,000-40,000) of books online for free, insists that every book on their site has a basic text (.txt format) version included. No fancy formatting, no illustrations, but the basic text. They assert that this format will still be readable years into the future. (And some of their original books are 25+ years old, and still easily readable.) People keep advocating for more ‘advanced’ formats – but the suggested format seems to change every few years! While .txt just goes on and on. ---
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2012, 10:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mundane-consequences-of-modern-or-future-technology/626832/50 "2012-07-03T22:04:40Z")
> [@Hermitian](#): > > Most people that are skilled enough to photoshop in a fake paper without anyone being able to tell the difference probably have decent jobs and don’t tend to kidnap people. That’s sweet. ---
**Author:** ![Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/46a35a/32.png) [@Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_T-Bonham.net)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2012, 10:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mundane-consequences-of-modern-or-future-technology/626832/51 "2012-07-03T22:12:50Z")
> [@Mr.Me](#): > > I’m imagining the sky is pitch black, except for a large grey rectangle, with the words ‘NO SIGNAL’ inside it. Much more ominous. While, something close to that: [the background projection at the 2008 Olympics opening ceremony.](http://mypostimp.files.wordpress.com/2010/07/windows-bsod-fail-microsoft-gates-bill-wythtech_1-scaled500.jpg%3Fw%3D500%26h%3D375) (Windows BSoD behind the hirewire performers. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mundane-consequences-of-modern-or-future-technology/626832.md?page=2)