# What technologies deserve to die? **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [September 24, 2003, 5:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-technologies-deserve-to-die/203583 "2003-09-24T17:28:42Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![msmith537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@msmith537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msmith537)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2003, 1:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-technologies-deserve-to-die/203583/41 "2003-09-26T13:22:03Z")
Just because a new technology is developed does not mean we scrap all the old technology. Otherwise you end up with what I call “Star Trek” syndrome - basically using the most advanced technology when a simpler (and cheaper) technology would do (ie - that’s great they invented the force field. I think the old-fashioned “4 walls and a door” might make a more effective brig") A few years ago there was a lot of talk about the “paperless office”. If anything, the computer has made it possible to generate MORE paper, not less. ---
**Author:** ![Isabelle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/b5a626/32.png) [@Isabelle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Isabelle)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2003, 7:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-technologies-deserve-to-die/203583/42 "2003-09-26T19:32:28Z")
Such a list has little meaning unless alternatives are offered…and you can’t irradiate knowledge so in essence you can’t taken any of it back…only improve upon what is. Mr. Sterling might as well belong to the flat earth society for he lacks vision and can only be critical in retrospect…he should be in politics… ---
**Author:** ![Lumpy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lumpy/32/446_2.png) [@Lumpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lumpy)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2003, 1:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-technologies-deserve-to-die/203583/43 "2003-09-27T01:52:18Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by tschild \* > \*\*I believe the world would be a better place without any music-recording technology. When hearing music is not important enought to people to go to the trouble of performing it themselves, or to the expense of paying others to perform it, music at best is not as appreciated as it should be and at worst is an almost unescapable nuisance. \*\* I would agree in one special instance: Christmas carols. I _loooooath_ canned Christmas music. Anyway, I don’t think nuclear weapons are going anywhere soon. They may be effectively “unusable”, but all the nations that have them benefit from the fact that they _could_ use them. Look at North Korea: the capacity to produce a half-dozen fission bombs turns this tiny backward dictatorship into a strategic power. ---
**Author:** ![Una\_Persson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/una_persson/32/346_2.png) [@Una\_Persson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Una_Persson)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2003, 1:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-technologies-deserve-to-die/203583/44 "2003-09-27T13:00:13Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by ElvisL1ves \* > **2. Coal-based power (I can see it coming already) - too polluting, uses nonrenewable resources** I agree with him in a general sense of long-term human life and progress of technology, but why did he single out coal from natural gas and oil and orimulsion and other fossil fuels? I know Bruce Sterling isn’t that Missouri-mule stupid, so he must have been speaking/writing without thinking it over too much. ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2003, 10:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-technologies-deserve-to-die/203583/45 "2003-09-27T22:01:56Z")
I think you can assume that from his listing nuclear weapons on the same level as breast implants. The byline does call him “a humorist and science-fiction writer”. There’s no e-mail link to ask him the question directly, but there’s a message board link at the end of the article. No posts yet, though. Perhaps he was thinking of the greater nonburned material with coal that makes it produce more smoke than oil or gas, at least in the great part of the world with less-stringent pollution controls than we still have in the US. ---
**Author:** ![Una\_Persson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/una_persson/32/346_2.png) [@Una\_Persson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Una_Persson)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2003, 10:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-technologies-deserve-to-die/203583/46 "2003-09-27T22:35:27Z")
Don’t get me wrong, I actually like Bruce Sterling a lot - in fact, I own a copy of everything he’s published, including _The Hacker Crackdown_ (yes, I bought it even though it was PD). That’s why I think he didn’t put a lot of thought into it. Although he does not do nearly as much factual research into his books as, say, Neil Stephenson, he seems to be pretty much on the ball. Maybe I’ll drop him a line. I’ll mention Michael Moorcock referred me. ---
**Author:** ![Hazel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e56c9b/32.png) [@Hazel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hazel)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2003, 8:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-technologies-deserve-to-die/203583/47 "2003-09-28T08:22:41Z")
Cluster bombs. ---
**Author:** ![Nobody](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/94ad74/32.png) [@Nobody](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nobody)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2003, 7:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-technologies-deserve-to-die/203583/48 "2003-09-28T19:11:33Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Lemur866 \* > **Oh, let me add some more bad technologies. Dial-up modems…** One good reason some of us have dial up, as opposed to any kind of Broadband connection, is because of price. My wife and I use AOL for example (And if anybody tells us to switch, I’ve talked about it with my wife, and for various reasons relating to the fact that she has a web site on space that is provided for free since she is an AOL member, she doesn’t want to switch) it would cost us $30 more, on top of what we already pay. And if were forced to go Broadband, we would need to go DSL for the same reason we have satellite TV instead of cable. Our house isn’t set up for cable. Also, for everybody attacking fax machines, did anybody stop and think about the fact, that somtimes documents need to be transmitted to people who have to **sign** them? Like faxing documents to a real estate agent when buying a house, or for loan documents, and so on. Yes, yes, I know that there is such a thing electronic signatures, but as far as I know, this technology isn’t wide spread and only used by a few big firms to conduct business with each other, right? ---
**Author:** ![blasphmer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/6de8d8/32.png) [@blasphmer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blasphmer)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2003, 10:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-technologies-deserve-to-die/203583/49 "2003-09-28T22:55:40Z")
Maybe we should add hacks that write magazine articles. Anyone care to fill me in on WTF this guy is anyways?😕 ---
**Author:** ![Duke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e8c25b/32.png) [@Duke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duke)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2003, 11:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-technologies-deserve-to-die/203583/50 "2003-09-28T23:20:56Z")
> [@](#): > > 1. Land mines - too sloppy to be militarily necessary, kill/maim civilians Unfortunately, that _is_ why many dictatorial regimes use them. As long as they’re “useful” in that regard, they won’t be going away. ---
**Author:** ![Declan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ecae2f/32.png) [@Declan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Declan)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2003, 12:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-technologies-deserve-to-die/203583/51 "2003-09-29T00:08:00Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Hazel \* > \*\*Cluster bombs. \*\* Clusterbombs will not die , if anything they are going to get more and more smarter as time goes on. Right now they are pretty much limited to anti personal and mine layers. But the brilliant weapons in the piple line ,will include anti armor and much much more. Declan ---
**Author:** ![Una\_Persson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/una_persson/32/346_2.png) [@Una\_Persson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Una_Persson)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2003, 2:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-technologies-deserve-to-die/203583/52 "2003-09-29T02:11:59Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by blasphmer \* > \*\*Maybe we should add hacks that write magazine articles. Anyone care to fill me in on WTF this guy is anyways?😕 \*\* Bruce Sterling is a noted cyberpunk and science fiction author. He is one of the “big three” in the genre (by most people’s measures), and is also the author of the very acclaimed public domain (meaning, use Google and find it so you can legally download it) work “The Hacker Crackdown”. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-technologies-deserve-to-die/203583.md?page=2)