Quicksand Fans

According to various news reports, a woman in Italy, aged 116, is now the last living person to have been born in the 19th century.

Wow. I hadn't even thought about that until I read about the last US Citizen born before 1900 passing away. I was about to say the last World War 1 vet would pass away soon, but then I remembered that that happened in four years ago.

My Granddad made it to 99; Born in 1905, he passed away in 2004. He said to me once that he'd seen Halley's Comet twice (the second time with me), seen the dawn of the Automobile Age, the Aircraft Age, the Space Age, the Electronics age, and the Information Age- and he was "Just hanging around to see what happens next."

I plan to be here to watch Halley's Comet with my daughter, and maybe some grandchildren, in 2061. I'd love it if my Lady Wife could be there with us, but if she is, she'll be 108.

Fred588 wrote:According to various news reports, a woman in Italy, aged 116, is now the last living person to have been born in the 19th century.

The past isn't quite, yet. I hope she hangs around a few years more.

Me, I hope to hang around at least until I see a good interstellar probe launched. I won't dare hope I live to see it reach its destination, but I can dream.

Failing that, I hope to see practical fusion fusion power.

SmileyMcDeath wrote:

Fred588 wrote:According to various news reports, a woman in Italy, aged 116, is now the last living person to have been born in the 19th century.

The past isn't quite, yet. I hope she hangs around a few years more.

Me, I hope to hang around at least until I see a good interstellar probe launched. I won't dare hope I live to see it reach its destination, but I can dream.

Failing that, I hope to see practical fusion fusion power.

I hope you are under twelve years old.

The place I work is almost 100 years old and that's a very rare thing in the USA. It's difficult to imagine what life must be like for one who has outlasted even that. My great-grandfather was born on Feb. 29 so he only had a birthday every four years. Before he died at age 99 he joked he was really 396 years old.

Technological advancement is exponential, not linear. It took 8,000 years to advance from stone tools to metal tools, but it only took us 400 years to go from sails to steam engines. Two hundred years after that we were flying. 70 years after that we were landing on the moon and today modern computers are doubling capacity every year.

As far as lifespans go who knows........nano tech and bio printing cloned tissues/organs are both going to solve a lot of modern day ills. Heart transplants are going to be looked at the same we we see getting your tonsils out now. Oh you have cancer? Here let me inject you with these microscopic robots that will seek out and kill every cancer cell in your body......mind blowing but fully plausible.

All that's not even touching on the cybernetic, which is rolling right along too. Prosthetic limbs controlled by your brain are a real thing right now, which means we're coming up with USB (Universal Serial Brain) ports. Do you want your robot body to have jet thrusters or laser cannons?

Mynock wrote:Technological advancement is exponential, not linear. It took 8,000 years to advance from stone tools to metal tools, but it only took us 400 years to go from sails to steam engines. Two hundred years after that we were flying. 70 years after that we were landing on the moon and today modern computers are doubling capacity every year.

As far as lifespans go who knows........nano tech and bio printing cloned tissues/organs are both going to solve a lot of modern day ills. Heart transplants are going to be looked at the same we we see getting your tonsils out now. Oh you have cancer? Here let me inject you with these microscopic robots that will seek out and kill every cancer cell in your body......mind blowing but fully plausible.

All that's not even touching on the cybernetic, which is rolling right along too. Prosthetic limbs controlled by your brain are a real thing right now, which means we're coming up with USB (Universal Serial Brain) ports. Do you want your robot body to have jet thrusters or laser cannons?

Your point is well taken but your arithmetic is a bit faulty. The steam engine came along about 1800 and flying in, I think, 1902, so that's really just 100 years.

Fred588 wrote:

Mynock wrote:Technological advancement is exponential, not linear. It took 8,000 years to advance from stone tools to metal tools, but it only took us 400 years to go from sails to steam engines. Two hundred years after that we were flying. 70 years after that we were landing on the moon and today modern computers are doubling capacity every year.

As far as lifespans go who knows........nano tech and bio printing cloned tissues/organs are both going to solve a lot of modern day ills. Heart transplants are going to be looked at the same we we see getting your tonsils out now. Oh you have cancer? Here let me inject you with these microscopic robots that will seek out and kill every cancer cell in your body......mind blowing but fully plausible.

All that's not even touching on the cybernetic, which is rolling right along too. Prosthetic limbs controlled by your brain are a real thing right now, which means we're coming up with USB (Universal Serial Brain) ports. Do you want your robot body to have jet thrusters or laser cannons?

Your point is well taken but your arithmetic is a bit faulty. The steam engine came along about 1800 and flying in, I think, 1902, so that's really just 100 years.

Modifying my own comment, the first patent for a sort of steam engine was 1606 (that's 300 years before aviation) and the first practical application was patented in 1712, so Mynock was correct. I was thinking of the steam locomotive.

Duncan Edwards wrote:

SmileyMcDeath wrote:

Fred588 wrote:According to various news reports, a woman in Italy, aged 116, is now the last living person to have been born in the 19th century.

The past isn't quite, yet. I hope she hangs around a few years more.

Me, I hope to hang around at least until I see a good interstellar probe launched. I won't dare hope I live to see it reach its destination, but I can dream.

Failing that, I hope to see practical fusion fusion power.

I hope you are under twelve years old.

The place I work is almost 100 years old and that's a very rare thing in the USA. It's difficult to imagine what life must be like for one who has outlasted even that. My great-grandfather was born on Feb. 29 so he only had a birthday every four years. Before he died at age 99 he joked he was really 396 years old.

'Fraid not/

I'm more hopeful than pragmatic.

Fred588 wrote:

Fred588 wrote:

Mynock wrote:Technological advancement is exponential, not linear. It took 8,000 years to advance from stone tools to metal tools, but it only took us 400 years to go from sails to steam engines. ...

Your point is well taken but your arithmetic is a bit faulty. The steam engine came along about 1800 and flying in, I think, 1902, so that's really just 100 years.

Modifying my own comment, the first patent for a sort of steam engine was 1606 (that's 300 years before aviation) and the first practical application was patented in 1712, so Mynock was correct. I was thinking of the steam locomotive.

Still, the statement about 400 years remains questionable. Weren't the sails known before XIII century?

I was generalizing from the hip so feel free to correct my numbers. What I was thinking of was what's referred to as the "Age of Sail".

Basic point is, technology in general has and will continue to snowball.