Purists lament that society is fast losing the ability to do "in the head " mathematics or even put together a coherent sentence using a pen or pencil. In today's world, those tasks are taken care of by the new breed of cash registers that handle money transactions and by the keyboard which has replaced old fashioned writing instruments.
Even coin and banknotes are fast being replaced with the electronic chip. The inconvenience of having to put a card into a machine and then tap in a PIN has been replaced by a tap on the terminal with the card completing the transaction, and of course the scanner has replaced collating items by hand.
The first bulky old computers came with a keyboard and this resulted in the entire population developing at least some basic typing skills, but now the development of - first the mobile phone - and now it's replacement by the "Smartphone "have shrunk that keyboard to fit in the palm of ones hand and with that has come cyphers - a single word that conveys what previously took a long sentence to explain to the person receiving that message.
The days when primary schoolkids were meticulously taught "script "writing are long gone. That was a graceful form of calligraphy with thick and thin strokes and arching loops, but the type face alphabet interacted more closely with the printed world - and the development of the ball point pen removed the writing innovations possible with a pen with a nib and ink.
It seems strange that we now have little reason to write on paper. A lot of the communications between people takes place on social media such as Facebook and Twitter and individual messaging between people is usually done by text between their mobile phones or tablets. This is the electronic age. The computer and the tablet first invaded the high school system but now it is fast becoming the mode of learning from the early days in kindergarten.
Long gone are the days of massive cash registers in which pressing on keys threw numbers in the viewing window for all to see - and the cashier was expected to calculate and proffer the correct change between the tender received and the price charged. Transactions in the average coffee shop are mostly by some form of debit or credit card and when there is an occasional cash settlement, the cashier enters the amount of the banknote proffered -- and the machine calculates the change needed. We now allow our mechanical aids to do the thinking for us.
Unfortunately, convenience comes with a price. The principle of "use it - or lose it " applies. Whenever a malfunction results in power loss in a city centre we are completely helpless and unable to cope without the electricity to run our serving machines. Supermarkets and department stores are obliged to usher shoppers into the street and close their doors. Worse - such a power loss leaves petrol outlets unable to pump petrol - and the ATM goes down and will not allow us access to funds to pay for any goods that are available.
Change has always been with us - from the days when the horse was the means of transport - to the day we managed to cross continents using air travel. The difference now is the speed of change.
The time factor that applies to new forms of innovation often is measured in months or even weeks before an upgrade delivers an improved version. The giant strides being made in artificial intelligence will drive this further and as it encompasses new realms the consistent casualty is the jobs of human beings that it replaces.
We face the prospect of eventually making ourselves redundant in the age of the machine !
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