Interesting times?

ubuysa

The BSOD Doctor
On the 50th anniversary of John F Kennedy's assassination I'm reminded that I've lived through some very interesting times. The Cold War, The Cuban Missile Crisis, JFK's assassination, Ban The Bomb, the Space Race, Man on the Moon, and through all of that the development of personal computing. Interesting times indeed.

I guess there are a lot of contributors on here who remember none of those events because they weren't born then. It seems to me that today's times are less interesting somehow, that may just be me, but barring the odd minor war here and there the times today seem much less interesting than my younger days?

What do you think?
 

Androcles

Rising Star
I guess there are a lot of contributors on here who remember none of those events because they weren't born then. It seems to me that today's times are less interesting somehow, that may just be me, but barring the odd minor war here and there the times today seem much less interesting than my younger days?

What do you think?

I wouldn't say less intersting, more like speeded up and in and out of the public eye pretty quick, combined with a more apathetic world population who seem to care less about the wonder of achievment and more about their day to day needs.

For example new vaccines for flu are being produced on a daily basis and people don't even know, yet when the first flu vaccine was produced it was big news, things are no less interesting but what we once viewed as interesting has become mundane.
 

ubuysa

The BSOD Doctor
I wouldn't say less intersting, more like speeded up and in and out of the public eye pretty quick, combined with a more apathetic world population who seem to care less about the wonder of achievment and more about their day to day needs.

For example new vaccines for flu are being produced on a daily basis and people don't even know, yet when the first flu vaccine was produced it was big news, things are no less interesting but what we once viewed as interesting has become mundane.

Good points. Perhaps I should replace "interesting" with something like "world changing"?
 

PokerFace

Banned
Good points. Perhaps I should replace "interesting" with something like "world changing"?

Ahhh, now that you say "world changing" I guess we have to now include Big Brother and I'm a Celebrity....and my personal favourite, Deal or No Deal.
 

dogbot

Bright Spark
Obviously these youngsters don't know what change is. Born in 1938 but lived in the country so the WW2 did not have much impact and I only have odd glmpses of that time. Main memory is from 1945 on when we moved to a seaside town. Indoors you could only listen to the radio (the one with the 90v HT battery and 6V? accumulator that had to be charged at the radio shop once a week) or play with toys. These were of tin and wood since there were no plastics (except bakalite) or cast such as dinky toys with which I spent many an hour in a dirt patch in the garden. Mostly though it was out to play on bomb sites, beach or the downs or woods out of town. Making camps, catapults and bows and arrows was common. At age 10 I had my first bike and would often go fo long cycle rides. The traffic on the roads then was only a tiny fraction of what it is today.

It was not until 1953 (age 15) that we had our first TV. Not sure whether it was 1 channel or 2 (or3). I think it was about 1968 when we (married with kids by then) had a colour TV. I didn't see or work with a computer until 1975 where for me it was programming in fortran for real time data aquisition. Since then technology has been increasing at an exponential rate. Today, my 5 yr old granddaughter knows more about an ipad than I shall ever know and her fingers flick around the games console so fast they are just a blur.

My granddaughter is too young to go out and play yet on her own. I also live in a rural area and only get glimpses of what youngsters do today. Maybe that is because most of them are indoors playing games. The amount of traffic on the roads is also preventing children from going out to play at an early age. I am not surprised that children today are not getting enough exercise and becoming obese.
 

PokerFace

Banned
The highlight of my school summer holidays would be if the sun was strong enough to melt the tar on the side of the road. I spent many a happy hour sat on the kerb, digging the tar up with an old lollipop stick. I don't know if I would have still done that though, if I had a choice between tar digging and Battlefield 4. :)
 
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