Many objects relate to a similar format or type, like media devices. Cassette tapes, DVDs, CDs, CD-ROMs, Floppy Discs, and Flash Drives all made the list in various locations. Similarly, phonographs, radios, transistor radios, Walkmans, and MP3 players are all in there as well. And that is all great and good; different formats are innovative and world changing for a myriad of reasons. The jump from a 3.5" diskette to a CD-ROM was a huge one that had gigantic implications for the way we store and exchange data. And likewise the jump to Flash Drives led to the dawn of even greater abilities to store, move, and retrieve.. sometimes even for nefarious purposes ala Stuxnet.
But... like any massive countdown list I have some issues with a few of their choices. A tagline of the program is that these are technologies that we can't imagine living without. Yet the light bulb, and invention that literally changed the way we work and live, was only #10. The dry cell battery, an object that powers more devices than I can even fathom to count? #11. Or what about the hypodermic needle? A medical gadget that is repoinsible for saving millions of lives? #4.
And what, pray tell, could possibly be more important than those three things?
A smart phone. Really.
Now, their rationale is that this gadget combines at least 12 other gadgets, including the MP3 player, alarm clock, GPS navigator, and television. Maybe my entire perception of this list is completely off, but if every smartphone on the planet magically evaporated, we'd still have all of those individual gadgets. Yes, it would be more inconvenient to have separate alarm clocks and MP3 players... oh wait. Most people do anyway.
Don't get me wrong, I adore my HTC Evo, I use it constantly. But if I had to chose between no phone, or having no light bulbs, batteries, or hypodermic needles, it wouldn't even be a question. The smartphone has definitely been a life altering device, but to me it's certainly not the greatest or most important gadget ever made.
But no one ever 100% agrees with these lists anyway. Like "Welcome to the Jungle" as VH1s greatest hard rock song of all time? Pssh.
Anyway, it appears that History will be replaying the special this Saturday (June 18th). Check out their show site at http://www.history.com/shows/101-gadgets-that-changed-the-world, or Popular Mechanics page at http://www.popularmechanics.com/technology/gadgets/reviews/101-gadgets-that-changed-the-world#fbIndex1
No comments:
Post a Comment