From Model T to Apple

 

I look back at my parents’ generation and marvel at the changes their world went through in their lifetime. I remember being told of my parents’ honeymoon trip from Kingston to Toronto and driving along the dirt road that stretched between the two communities at a blistering top speed of 30 mph and in the words of my Dad, “We were just flying down the road”. They went from early models of automobiles and aircraft to sleek modern cars and jet powered aircraft. From gazing at the moon and stars and the wonders of the unknown to satellites being orbited around the Earth. There were discoveries in science and medicine which took the mystery out of a lot of the unexplained and put them squarely in the place of fact.  

But now I look at the changes that have occurred during my lifetime. When put in perspective, the changes are as mind-blowing as it was for the past generation.  Previously education relied almost entirely on books. Libraries were the go-to place for learning and was really the only source of knowledge outside of teachers or professors. Now, complete world libraires are available at the touch of your fingers through the internet. There have been advancements from the earliest days of room-sized computers to microchips today that have so much more computing power than those room-sized computers. It’s common knowledge that the complete computer power contained in the capsule of the Apollo 11 moon landing mission is exceeded in a $14.00 pocket calculator available today. I was 7 when Yuri Gagarin was launched into space, the first human to have done so. Today here we are with the Curiosity Rover travelling across the surface of Mars and the drone Ingenuity flying through the sky of Mars sending video transmissions back to us. Television went from being able to watch “The Wizard of Oz” once a year at Easter to being available on video tape, then to DVD and now to streaming anytime you want, on demand.

When I compare my parents flying down the road in their car at a blistering 30 mph to the features of my car today, it is equally amazing. I don’t need to even turn the headlights or the wipers on. The car figures out if its dark and adjust the headlights accordingly and if there is any moisture forming on the windscreen, the wipers just come on. If someone asked me how to turn the wipers on, I would be at a loss. With lane assist and adaptive cruise control it is within the realm of possibility that I could lose consciousness just as I got on the 401 and have the car merrily continue along the highway with me totally unaware of my travels. As the old joke goes, I could die peacefully in my sleep unlike my wife, who as the passenger in the car, would die screaming in hysterics.

Simple time pieces have evolved from the ubiquitous Timex watch that kept on ticking through thick and thin to the technology of my wristwatch today which reminds me of among other things, of appointments, emails coming in, text messages, weather warnings and to alert everyone if I have fallen. This is seemingly very important to my loved ones due to my propensity to detach myself from ladders when doing yard work. At night, without prompting, it acts just like a Mom telling me its time for bed. Then 20 minutes later if it hasn’t detected I’m lying prone, it gives my wrist a nudge and tells me that I’m past my bedtime and I better get to bed right away or I won’t get that toy I’ve been wishing for (ok, so my watch doesn’t say that; my wife does). It makes me feel oddly warm that my watch cares so much about my health and well-being.

Thanks to all this technological development, I’ve been living through my second, no wait, my third childhood. It is not what you may expect from a guy venturing into his late 60’s. Even though by my age it is certainly expected that at some point I might start regressing into child’s play, but that is not the case here… yet.

My first childhood was made up of Erector sets, Lincoln logs, wooden blocks and the occasional hand-me-down tricycle. Being the youngest of 5, I always got the hand-me-downs. Closing off my childhood, just before I hit double-digits were G.I. Joe’s and a Man From U.N.C.L.E. briefcase (which fired ‘real’ bullets!).

My second childhood was presumably for my kids, but essentially for myself and could be boiled down to video games, LEGO’s and, “I’m Batman”.  

Now, in my third childhood, it’s the toys presumably for my grandchildren, but essentially for myself that enthrall me. The favourite around here at this time are mini flying UFO drones, complete with side pod sensors and flashing lights that sail around the room sensing when an object is near and then flying off in the opposite direction. When a group of eight are launched simultaneously around here it’s like watching a dogfight from the Second World War, albeit with UFO’s. The only danger being anyone with long hair risks getting tangled in a prop as they swoop in on you (learned the hard way).

I don’t know what the future holds, I barely know what the present holds.  But I’m sure in the same way that my parents couldn’t foresee the changes in their lifetimes, and I couldn’t have foretold you that I would have motion-sensor UFO’s swarming my living room and eating hair, that my kids and grandkids will see unfathomable changes throughout their lives as well.