“Come to Coney Island, take a spin on The Cyclone!”
On June 16th 1884, the first roller coaster of America
opened at Coney Island and thus the concept of “Fantastic Technology” was
materialized in the states. In the highly congested New York City, in the day
and age when there was little other source of technological entertainment, this
quickly became their primary means of amusement on the weekends. After a long
week of work in the city, the New Yorkers would board a train and be immersed
in a world of distraction from the “real world”.
Now, 150 years later and the technology has advanced to the point that
we no longer need to board a train for an hour commute or even leave our home
for that matter to fully immerse ourselves in whatever fantastical world of
distraction we choose. Now, I’m not here to argue the ethics of the situation,
the positives or negatives of its effects on our mental health, or even if it
should be done at all. At the core of the situation, I simply wonder whether or
not 150 years from now, this artificial world we are creating will be
considered in a similar way that we now analyze the origins of Coney Island.
Bing, Bong! Zach, I think this an extremely interesting question you've proposed. Thinking of when Tv was not a thing and now we can whisk ourselves away episode by episode on Netflix and forget about life itself. I think this is an interesting concept because I feel that if we blink, we will already be at 150 years from now. It is the same thought of Disney and the idea of Utopia. What happens when that idea is abandoned because it has become not convenient?
ReplyDeleteZachary, I have always been interested in the impacts of the rapid development of technology. If you look at the World's Fair occurring now in Dubai, these thoughts that you are expressing are coming to realization. Better yet, the isolation that occurs in what "reality" is through movies such as Ready Player One.
ReplyDelete150 years from now physical life as we know it will be a thing of the past. Everyone will be strapped into their metaverse headsets from the moment of birth. Virtual reality IS reality. There is no war, no hunger, no rich, no poor. Just vibes.
ReplyDelete