There was a cute item on Facebook recently. It asked the question: ‘What would be the most difficult thing about today to explain to somebody in 1950?’
The favored Facebook answer was: We have a small palm-sized device that can access all of the knowledge and information in the world, many times greater than the encyclopedia, and yet the most common use of this device is to watch videos of cats and dogs.
I like the question. I like the answer. Not necessarily together.
The question is really about identifying the parts of contemporary society that have actually changed our perception of the world around us. The answer reminds us that technology and potential change in perception is irrelevant to our day-to-day interests.
I was around when the first Dynabook was being conceived at Xerox Parc. I failed to ask myself how would this futuristic device be used (it was going to be large but portable). The answer is that the only way we get answers today is to use Google (I mean generically). Only a tiny fraction of a percent of all inquiries go to someplace other than our Google database, using a book or other reference. An encyclopedia is pretty much meaningless in its relevance to ‘inquiries’.
We have dramatically changed our global reference points. But not because of technology.
In the 1950's in our confrontation with communism we came to understand our own religious background and the importance of our market economics.
With the end of communism we came to understand the values of a liberal society and our expansive religious freedoms. Except for our smartphones and the speed of almost every other form of technology most things would be comprehensible to somebody from the 1950s.
The one change that would not be comprehensible is the combined impact of smartphones, e-mails and rapid delivery from FedEx. We now have a part of our society, maybe a third of the workforce, that works harder than anyone ever imagined. Working 60 hours or more a week. That would be very hard for anybody in 1950 understand much less conceive.
Nor would someone in the 1950s be able to understand how big the United States is. It was significantly greater than the rest of the world on 1950 and is still greater than the rest of the world in 2015.
Lastly a 1950’s person could not have conceived that millions of Americans would be able to earn a living doing whatever they want, following their dreams and loving their work. That job titles would be almost nonexistent and work would include vast numbers, millions, of self-employed people working at home and in coffee shops who are self-motivated.