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We're not innovating, we're just forgetting slower

(www.elektormagazine.com)
139 points obscurette | 1 comments | 04 Jul 25 14:13 UTC | HN request time: 0.231s | source
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floppyd ◴[04 Jul 25 15:17 UTC] No.44465285[source]▶
"Old man yells at cloud", but in so-so-so many words
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worldsayshi ◴[04 Jul 25 15:26 UTC] No.44465346[source]▶
> we’ve traded reliability and understanding for the illusion of progress.

I wish there was a somewhat rigorous way to quantify reliability of tech products so that we could conclude if tech on average was about as buggy in the past.

I mean I also feel that things are more buggy and unreliable, but I don't know if there's any good way to measure it.

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1. ipcress_file ◴[04 Jul 25 15:44 UTC] No.44465520[source]▶
I'm conflicted. I remember when I bought my first vehicle with electronic ignition. It wasn't as good as the electronic ignition today and I had to replace a few black box components that I didn't understand (what is a "thick film module" anyways???). So I was irritated and wished that my truck still had points and a regular distributor.

Flash forward to today. I can't remember the last time I replaced an ignition system component. I still don't know how they work. I can guarantee that the techs who do occasionally replace them at the dealer don't know how they work. But the whole system is so much more reliable.

That said, I do wonder how young people are supposed to learn and gain understanding in a world where they cannot possibly understand the components in complex systems. Back in the day (I know, yelling at a cloud), I could actually understand how a set of points and a distributor -- or a even a three-transistor radio -- worked.