Technology

[Tupac Amaru Shakur]

With the many advances in technology things are much better for everyone. Comunication is so much better because of telephones and computers and the ways we can interact like video tv so you can actually talk with someone miles away as if they were right in your face. Things like cars have succesfully allowed us to expand to far places that would otherwise take days weeks or months by foot to reach. And not to mention space travel. Something very hard to do succesfully but has been done by us and could very well be the reason or chance to advance to outer space to further expand the human race on other planets, if they somehow are habitable or we somehow make them habitable which i wouldnt dount we cant do.

But have we really become too dependent with technology that if one day it is all destroyed or crippled we as a race of living beings go down with it as well? I mean electricity is a critical aspect in the living of us like water is. It heats our foods keeps us warm and prevents forstbite or cold deaths from winter. it heats our water so we can shower and lights our house at night.

Lets say it does somehow fail on us. We wouldbe reduced to cavemen except with a greater amount of intelect because our minds have significantly advanced since those times. So since fire is responsible for a good amount of our technology could we rebuild our citys and invent all of our things again with time?

[Kaison]

I could live without technology..

[Tupac Amaru Shakur]

how so? and would you still be able to keep the same kind of personal hygenic w/o technology?

[Jimbo]

if technology failed us,then we would find means to create other tools to help us with out problems,we cant just "loose" technology,if the power goes out,we still know how to get the power back,so we didin't "loose" our technology

[Venice_native]

We will always have technology, it will just differ on what degree we use it at.

[SouLess]

Cavemen had Technology. Theres no "losing technology" -- It's just not possible

[Snagg]

We can easily re-build our power supply if it ever does fail.

[Firebat]

"As long as the human mind exists there will be technology" - Firebat

[Tupac Amaru Shakur]

I see, i know this is impossible but what if we somehow lost the ability to use manipulate and generate electricity how would that cripple us?

Originally Posted by Anatomy Of Vice

Cavemen had Technology. Theres no "losing technology" -- It's just not possible

this is true and i agree but i mean what if we went to war like WWIII and we lost all of our computers damns electric generators and everything else computerized like our car factories and gas pumps. How long would it take us to recover from the war and loss of so many buildings to the state we are in now. With in mind o f course that the enemy that we were at war were to be enialated.

[Venice_native]

What he means, is there will always be technology. There might not be our current technology if that sort of thing happens, but technology is, as it states:

The application of science, especially to industrial or commercial objectives.

As long as there is life, there will be technology. Even a bird building a house out of mud and straw could be considered technology.

[TheJanitor]

Stop taking him litterally, a bunch of aliens teleport everything, buildings, mobiles phones, guns, computers anything that the cavemen wouldn't have. In my opion: A couple of billion will die, maybe more, the Strongest, the Athletes, special forces, anyone who knows about survival are more prone to survive. We would eventually gain the Technology back, a lot quicker than last time, but I doubt there's many that can make micro chips out of sticks and rocks.

[Vadriel]

I agree for the most part with Thejanitor (welcome back, btw!), however I still have a few differences of opinion. I don't think that so many would die, because while the tech may be gone, we're not stuck in caves in the middle of the forest, being eaten by lions and bears. I can go two ways here, depending on what Tupac meant...

If the buildings we made are still here, just unpowered, then our society would be completely fine. We would still have the shelter of the buildings, and our main struggles would be to get along and not panic...we could easily grow or raise our food, we would maintain the know-how to do that. We would remember how to create our tools, and it wouldn't be long at all until we made it back to the present technology level. Hell, most of the big stuff we've done, we've done since the 20's! Another 100 years and it'd be as if we never lost our tech.

Now, if our buildings, and everything are gone, and we're totally back to the stone age...rocks and sticks, but with our present minds and knowledge, there would be problems, yes...and some of the people who are so spoiled by modern convenience would likely not make it, but personally I think it would be damned good for us as a society. We'd work our ways back through the medieval system, and perhaps may regain some of the honor we lost along the way. The intermediate stages would be much shorter though, and the time of the sword would be passed quite quickly, since we know of guns and how to make them, and would not be satisfied with swords. We'd be making bows almost immediately. Plus, while our buildings may be gone, the landscape will still be tamed by us, and our threats would be much less. It would be divided up into sects, almost a form of communism, where people just do what they are good at, and society keeps on keeping on...such is the way humans are.

[Tupac Amaru Shakur]

Dang well that ends the debate! As it was said, technology will always exist and i agree. And i asked how long it would take us and it was answered, much less time the first time we started developing technology. Also our brains arnt those of neanderthals anymore

[TheJanitor]

J-kar, I agree that the regeneration of the technology would be significantly quicker but we lack the basics. We know how to program machines to make guns, but very few people can build a machine capable from scratch. The men that can build the machines, micro processors ect couldn't make the tools and so on. Yes millions perhaps billions would die, merely from starvation. Again, we lack the fundmentals of how to hunt and survive. The majority of the human race are not self sustainable. Aids, diseases that we can no longer manufacture cures and preventative measures for would spread rapidly.
How many people are there in New York? The Area simply doesn't have enough
wildlife to sustain them, many would starve to death and when winter hits more will freeze to death. Our bodies have evolved to be physically weaker than our caveman ancestors and are less capable to deal with the enviorment. No more aid would go to Africa where they die every second almost, the death rate would increase considerably.
Within the first couple of years the chances are the survival rate of the westernised countries would be even lower than the Arfricans. It is very possible billions of people could die in a relatively short time, and for the first time in thousands of years the population would decrease.

[Ntrik_]

Originally Posted by Snagg

We can easily re-build our power supply if it ever does fail.

Say that to fossil fuels and water supplies.

It's Matrix back and all over again! Machines will rule the world :angry hehe, even though it may seem possible, I doubt machines will ever gain consciousness. Even though it sounds bit offtopic here, but hear me out. (although I may wrong..) Only way for technology to fail on us from my views seem like either computers controlling main source of and main weapons of our society going beserk, hence 'Matrix', that is what sort of happened there.

I mean, if the things right now keeps continuing, I think that is what will happen... not as in humans being enslaved, but more like, 'war' with the machines, because technology becomes so great, it looks upon us as just an inferior beings.

[Icedragon]

Well i dont see it that way. Our technology is kinda a learn and forget kindda thing... Take this for an example. Native Americans making arrow heads some of the sharpest insterments ever made. White men brought guns. No more arrow heads... As something better comes along we foget the old way.

[MC90]

According to how the numan brain works, we are all curious. This causes us to want to learn more, but if we want to do that, we advance ourselves, till we finnaly receive the knowledge and "advancement" we want. In other words, we as humans are just designed to advance in technology. We cant help it, its like a sexual desire in some way.

[Vadriel]

Originally Posted by Thejanitor

J-kar, I agree that the regeneration of the technology would be significantly quicker but we lack the basics. We know how to program machines to make guns, but very few people can build a machine capable from scratch. The men that can build the machines, micro processors ect couldn't make the tools and so on. Yes millions perhaps billions would die, merely from starvation. Again, we lack the fundmentals of how to hunt and survive. The majority of the human race are not self sustainable. Aids, diseases that we can no longer manufacture cures and preventative measures for would spread rapidly.
How many people are there in New York? The Area simply doesn't have enough
wildlife to sustain them, many would starve to death and when winter hits more will freeze to death. Our bodies have evolved to be physically weaker than our caveman ancestors and are less capable to deal with the enviorment. No more aid would go to Africa where they die every second almost, the death rate would increase considerably.
Within the first couple of years the chances are the survival rate of the westernised countries would be even lower than the Arfricans. It is very possible billions of people could die in a relatively short time, and for the first time in thousands of years the population would decrease.

See, I beg to differ. I believe that the intellectual advancements we've made make up for the physical deficiencies of today. We're a hell of a lot more creative now than we were back then when we were figuring out that rock + head = death. Ever read Swiss Family Robinson or Robinson Crusoe? Ingenuity prevails, and we'd be coming up with equivalents to modern items. And the lacking of fundamentals about hunting and surviving? I'm surprised you can even say that with all the murderers out there who stalk and kill their fellow man. The instincts are still here, and in force, or else we wouldn't still hunt, or box, or fight, or anything. Our instincts are fine...and desperation hasa habit of forcing people to get along. Humans are stubborn as hell, and you know we would not just roll over a die. We'd hunt, we'd build stuff, and we'd return to normal in no time. Environmental conditions, yes...could be bad, but we'd be building shelters like mad (we still know how to do that) and be building fires (we still know how to do that) and be just surviving. And by now, most of our diseases are minor, our immune systems have kicked them. There are still some that suck, and can take us down, but there are experts.

[TheJanitor]

I'm surprised you can even say that with all the murderers out there who stalk and kill their fellow man.

That's another thing to take into account, assuming prisoners are realised muderers would run rampant, killing others for fun or for meat. Yes, murderers and boxers will be closer to the way of cavemen, better survival instincts to allow them to survive better.

I believe that the intellectual advancements we've made make up for the physical deficiencies of today. We're a hell of a lot more creative now than we were back then when we were figuring out that rock + head = death.

We're smarter, thats certain, but it doesn't matter so much, Maths, literacy almost everything we learn can't help in a situation like that.

Ingenuity prevails, and we'd be coming up with equivalents to modern items.

Can we make a gun out of sticks and rocks? Probably not, the best people for making use out of the barest materierals would of been the cavemen themselves.

Humans are stubborn as hell, and you know we would not just roll over a die.

It doesn't stop people dieing every second in poverty stricken areas, and losing technology completely would make their poverty look grand.

Our instincts are fine...and desperation hasa habit of forcing people to get along.

Desperation has forced man to do the most terrible things imagainable.

We'd hunt, we'd build stuff, and we'd return to normal in no time.

No time? It'd take hundreds of years, maybe longer maybe less. What chances would Steven Hawking have of surving or bill gates? At first it would be purely a matter of survival, in America about 60% of people are obese (I'm not sure on figure). How long would a fat man or woman survive? Chasing deer would exhaust them, they would be lucky if they could kill any at all.

Environmental conditions, yes...could be bad, but we'd be building shelters like mad (we still know how to do that) and be building fires (we still know how to do that) and be just surviving.

A shelter from twigs and leaves, won't protect you much from the cold, and if we count our clothing as technology... they'd be people freezing to death as the lack of body hair as a effect of evolution. What you need for shelter is a good cave, not likely to be blown away anytime soon. You don't neccessairly have to build a shelter, find someone elses that looks good and murder them for it. When rains try find a good dry rock and some dry wood to burn, its hard.

And by now, most of our diseases are minor, our immune systems have kicked them. There are still some that suck, and can take us down, but there are experts.

Not really, our medicine may have kicked them but thats technology. Our imune system was considerably stronger when we lived in the wild. There was a news article on how kids today live in completely clean houses, enviroments and how there imune system is significantly weaker than those that live in homes that are not spottless, and kids that live with animals (pets) less likely to be allergic than those who don't. Remember how much damage the plauge did? It can be cured today, get people vaccinated, think of the effect it would have on people with a weaker imune system and no medicine to fight it.
The human race would undoubtly survive but how many of us would? Once we start gaining considerable technology back again it will all be uphill from there.

[AZN_FLEA]

since our minds are very sharp compared to our ancestors id say only a few centurys or so before we catch up again