N2NH
12-29-2014, 10:37 AM
In 1970, Alvin Toffler's Future Shock was revolutionary. But did he get it right? Looking back over nearly 45 years, was this Futurists vision clear or just a sign of the times he lived in?
In the three short decades between now and the twenty-first century, millions of ordinary, psychologically normal people will face an abrupt collision with the future. Citizens of the world's richest and most technologically advanced nations, many of them will find it increasingly painful to keep up with the incessant demand for change that characterizes our time. For them, the future will have arrived too soon. This book is about change and how we adapt to it. It is about those who seem to thrive on change, who crest its waves joyfully, as well as those multitudes of others who resist it or seek flight from it. It is about our capacity to adapt. It is about the future and the shock that its arrival brings...
(From the Introduction to the book)
Just in recording, we see a quantum change in the way technology has adapted. Many here can remember records (vinyl discs), Reel-to-Reel, 8-Tracks, Cassettes, CDs, DVDs and now WMAs, MP3s and AACs. And that's just in one lifetime.
The concept of Future Shock was definitely sound. We see a lot of the turmoil today that was similar to what was happening in the '60s and '70s. Can we adapt? Or will we be left behind?
LINK: "Too much change in too short a period of time." (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Future_Shock)
In the three short decades between now and the twenty-first century, millions of ordinary, psychologically normal people will face an abrupt collision with the future. Citizens of the world's richest and most technologically advanced nations, many of them will find it increasingly painful to keep up with the incessant demand for change that characterizes our time. For them, the future will have arrived too soon. This book is about change and how we adapt to it. It is about those who seem to thrive on change, who crest its waves joyfully, as well as those multitudes of others who resist it or seek flight from it. It is about our capacity to adapt. It is about the future and the shock that its arrival brings...
(From the Introduction to the book)
Just in recording, we see a quantum change in the way technology has adapted. Many here can remember records (vinyl discs), Reel-to-Reel, 8-Tracks, Cassettes, CDs, DVDs and now WMAs, MP3s and AACs. And that's just in one lifetime.
The concept of Future Shock was definitely sound. We see a lot of the turmoil today that was similar to what was happening in the '60s and '70s. Can we adapt? Or will we be left behind?
LINK: "Too much change in too short a period of time." (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Future_Shock)