When was the turn of the century?

[Marla_Singer]

On the "which century has seen more change", I think we're forgetting how many new machines the 1900s had.

In the 2000s, telecommunications is a big change. Both centuries have seen significant political changes in the first 25 years, though I would argue the demise of absolute monarchies in the 20th was the larger change on the whole.

In the 1900s? Faster rail and air transport - I don't buy the "people would have known what a balloon and airship was, so airplanes weren't a big deal" argument - airplanes changed the game. But once we get into the '20s and early '30s, we have vacuum cleaners, electronic freezers instead of iceboxes, electric irons, automobiles becoming increasingly popular. And the changes kept coming over the 1900s.


If you work for a company with a decent culture, that's still possible. Put the phone on silent mode, turn off the reception, or just let it run out of battery. So long as you still show up at work the next day, it's not a problem. Plus it's easier to block the number of annoying acquaintances these days.

I go off the grid semi-frequently, and always argue for "let's not contact the person who's off work". Ford Motor Co did perfectly fine when Henry Ford took vacations to western Maryland and was off the grid for a week, there's no reason modern companies and teams can't do the same. If they have trouble trying to do so, it's a sign that they have a single point of failure that needs to be addressed, or else they'll have trouble if that person leaves.

We were comparing 1900-1925 to 2000-2025. Sorry but aviation in 1925 is still incredibly limited. It's mostly limited to the military with the Aces of world war 1 on wooden fighters. Civil aviation only started in 1919, but was limited to overpriced short-haul flights from Paris to London or from Paris to Brussels for the super rich. Aéropostale was only created in 1927 which is beyond that period. In the 1950's, the most common way to travel accross the Atlantic is still by ship.

Now there could be a difference of appreciation between the US and Europe when it goes about domestic electric equipment. In Europe mass consumption really happened only in the 1960's. And it's only at the same time that cars became affordable to regular people in Europe. That was definitely sooner in the US, but hardly before the 1930's.

When it goes about intercity rail, it's basically the same steam locomotives from 1900 to 1925. The big revolution is very certainly electric subway/metro, but still limited to a dozen larger cities globally.

Overall, life of the common man in 1900 and 1925 is still essentially the same to me. There's no TV, not even radio, only newspapers to be read. Whereas there was hardly any internet in 2000. The service was still paid at phone connection like a regular phone call and it was super extensive. It's been some years that you had CD-ROMs but you could hardly burn them, still making of floppy disks the most mainsteam material to record computer stuff, and we were still mostly using tapes to record audio and video. Mobile phones arrived a few years earlier I'll grant you that, but they were only limited to audio calls.

 

[PPQ_Purple]

If you work for a company with a decent culture, that's still possible. Put the phone on silent mode, turn off the reception, or just let it run out of battery. So long as you still show up at work the next day, it's not a problem. Plus it's easier to block the number of annoying acquaintances these days.

I go off the grid semi-frequently, and always argue for "let's not contact the person who's off work". Ford Motor Co did perfectly fine when Henry Ford took vacations to western Maryland and was off the grid for a week, there's no reason modern companies and teams can't do the same. If they have trouble trying to do so, it's a sign that they have a single point of failure that needs to be addressed, or else they'll have trouble if that person leaves.

But that's the point. It does not matter if its still possible or not. What matters is that plenty of good things that used to be the default are turning into a luxury that is no longer certain. That is just bad on principal alone.

 

[Birdjaguar]

But that's the point. It does not matter if its still possible or not. What matters is that plenty of good things that used to be the default are turning into a luxury that is no longer certain. That is just bad on principal alone.

Post your list of those things.

 

[Gori the Grey]

You ask when was the turn of the century, OP, but I predict a turn of the century in the future. Several, in fact. I'm not saying exactly when (though I could).

You can tell people you heard it here first.

 

[PPQ_Purple]

Post your list of those things.

Here is a short and non comprehensive list that I'll make quickly.
1. Privacy, both from corporations and the general public. That one is gone.
2. The ability to be unreachable and generally off the grid when ever you chose to but still function in society just fine. Used to be the default. Now, not so much.
3. Freedom of speech and expression. Back in the day you could get drunk and mouth off in public and the most you'd get is weird looks. Now someone whips out a mobile phone and it ends up plastered all over the internet ruining your life. And woe be to him who actually has controversial political views and the stupidity to express them in public.
4. The right and ability to repair the goods you had when they broke. Now a days it's all electronics that you have to throw away or replace at such a high price that it's cheaper to buy a new one.

etc. etc.