Welcome to the next industrial age - the third industrial
revolution, to be precise. And where are we at with this transition, you may
very well ask? Apparently in the doldrums as far as the Western world is
concerned. Well, at least on the larger scale things do not look very good.
But, yes, of course there are few here and there who are doing quite well for
themselves; That is, until the hordes of zombies come battering down the glass
doors where you work, and before you know it the place is shoulder-to-shoulder
with the stench of the restless, stretching from the lobby to the elevator
corridor. As you peer down from your bird’s eye view of the city streets below,
you feel a trembling in the foundations of your once tranquil executive suite.
Think that’s too far off from the truth? Take a better look at the major cities
in the U.S.A.,
and think again.
Where are we really headed?
As far as the technology buffs are concerned, we are headed
toward a new world order backed by a superior and technologically savvy
generation. But, is this really true? And if it is true, can you quantify for
us the division between those who are with the technocracy and those who are
left behind? While you are at it, factor in those who simply will not and
cannot merge with such fast changing powers.
Now, all negatives aside there are certainly some serious
benefits from the emerging new industrial revolution which will bring back (or
at least have the potential to return key assets to the United States
infrastructure) the business of building products in the homeland. For one, we
know that the costs of storage and shipping will disappear over time with new
methods of practice, such as the growing technology of additive manufacturing
or three-dimensional printing (Similarly to the paperless office concept, and
the transition from paperbacks to e-books, the additive manufacturing process
will evolve the way we do business, and the way we live our lives in general).
As a technical writer (Or at least when I was actively
working as a technical writer) the emerging additive manufacturing technology
is a golden opportunity to sink my teeth into. I love the prospects and the
potential for such power! The very notion that robotics will drive our freight
and cargo ships remotely one day as a standard practice, coupled with the
onboard fabrication laboratory, is outstanding in the area of engineering. I
believe these kinds of technology will save lives as much as they will destroy
them. While an island somewhere has just been devastated by a super typhoon or
high category hurricane, these robotic cargo ships will one day dock alongside
the island in distress, and begin drawing in washed up materials from the
devastated island, and go to work remaking the post offices, the houses, the cars,
the food, the medicines, and everything else needed by use of onboard
fabrication laboratories.
However, the darker side to this transition from the old
industrial methods to the new digitally delivered manufacturing technology will
ensure many layoffs. Perhaps, this is even an understatement. Consider how
terribly destroyed Detroit, Michigan
is today. Some buildings are rumored to have been up for sale for literally a
dollar. That’s one dollar, folks! Shear devastation.
But, now, go ahead and ask yourself why anyone who wasn’t
directly disturbed by this disaster in economics should be bothered by the
losses of others. I have an answer, which is rather simple. Those people who
cannot move forward with the new process/ procedures of a technological advancement
will turn to crime if not only despair. This is the zombie apocalypse
television has so glorified for many Americans still able to afford cable or
satellite television. As for the others who cannot afford to enjoy the same
entertainment, they’re struggling in tent cities, and they’re very hungry, and
very, very angry.
So, what can be done about these issues in a transition of
such magnitude?
For one, we can start by reestablishing our structure of
education in the United States.
My concept of refurbishing the old system for a newer one began when I was a
little boy. Of course, those in the industry at the time were not interested in
my experiences at the time. However, today’s software and I.T. techs are
listening to what I’ve been writing about for the past eight years. And it goes
something like this… I didn’t like to read when I was a six year old. I
couldn’t stand reading little words without the pictures. Yet, when I
encountered my first role-playing game, and later my Commodore 64 computer’s
text-based games, I began to take on reading and looking up new words as a
serious hobby of interest.
What I’d propose is that we get rid of the outrageous
tuition fees and overpriced textbooks (Thank you, Bernie Sanders!), and then
establish an as-needed or need-to-know learning based system. Such a system can
be implemented by the genius computer geeks today! Not tomorrow! Today!!! It
can be done. It should be done.
Let us look at the areas where such a system would save
lives.
Well, we already know that the prerequisite classes in a
typical community college require the reading of much unneeded or irrelevant
information. True as well, that while some teachers provide a certain gift of
insight, there others who do not offer very good practice in the profession.
For example, I had a history teacher who told me that Henry David Thoreau was a
vile man, and then she went on to say that we would instead study America’s
most fashionable woman in the White House for a better understanding of
American History. Ugh. Agenda,
agenda, agenda. And you know that even some of the best intentions can go awry.
For instance, the entire white guilt trip was said to be necessary to create a
program for minorities. The truth is, there are many minorities who have done
just fine without the social engineering or political tinkering. Computers, my
dear friends, can do it all for us. We don’t need the old and outdated
educational system.
So, here’s what we’d do if someone who was once a dice
cutter operator or a mill worker… We’d give these people access to zero money
down classes through a series of highly interactive computer programs, which
would teach the new job trade to the former industrial worker.
While this idea for reforming education might not apply to
all people who have been made poor and unemployed, it does answer for many more
than what we are currently doing about the problem—which is ‘nothing’. As
yourself this… If we are gifted with intelligence, an ounce of guts, a pinch of
intuition, then are we not somehow in demand to fix some of the worst issues
our society is facing? So, why are we not getting this done? You tell me. I can
understand that there are certain factors which bar a society from taking
action. For instance, in the East there is the factor of tradition. Tradition
does indeed slow down change. In the West, however, the factors are money and
greed, and a general insincerity to make actual change.
We need people looking at these problems from all angles.
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