Technology & Dependence

Here's another of Ian Lang's excellent answers at Quora, borrowed with his kind (blanket) permission. The question here was:


What are the ramifications of being so dependent on technology?

Ian Lang, Leading Technician, wrote:

Quite soon in the future we are going to find out because we are sleepwalking our way to an energy crisis. I’m probably going to be good and dead before it bites but I’m fairly sure that some people already born are going to suffer it.

We depend on electrical or electronics for everything, from waking us up in the morning to making our breakfasts. Unless it’s a diesel vehicle we even depend upon a battery for our transport, and even if it is a diesel we use an electric starter. It carries on like this all day; hardly anything we do now doesn’t involve severely inconveniencing electrons.

We need nuclear power stations but the organic-carrot-scoffing hippies rear up and say “nope” at that and for some reason that I can’t fathom we listen to them, unless we’re French, in which case we produce seventy-seven per cent of our energy from nukes and say “allez-vous faire foutre, porteur de sandales” for which you’ve got to admire them. (Hey! must be mellowing in my old age - I’ve just said something nice about the French! =| )

Even if the beardy-weirdies do come up with some non-magical way of generating energy that technicians can make, there’s still the possibility of another Carrington Event happening. If you don’t know what that is, look it up and be afraid. Be very afraid.

If we keep on thinking that an app will solve everything then we’re doomed. We’ll lose all the old mechanical and human skills (how many can read a map and compass in the age of Sat-Navs?) and won’t know what to do when the electron-juice dries up. As I said, I’ll probably be good and dead and won’t give a monkey’s. But there’s a good chance that my niece might see the beginnings of it. That’s why I’m teaching her to do things with proper basic tools. You never know.

About that "Carrington Event" - see Solar storm of 1859

Snip:

The solar storm of 1859 (also known as the Carrington Event)[1] was a powerful geomagnetic solar storm during solar cycle 10 (1855–1867). A solar coronal mass ejection (CME) hit Earth's magnetosphere and induced one of the largest geomagnetic storms on record, September 1–2, 1859.......
A solar storm of this magnitude occurring today would cause widespread disruptions and damage due to extended outages of the electrical grid.[2][3] The solar storm of 2012 was of similar magnitude, but it passed Earth's orbit without striking the planet.

Lesson to be learned - As Graham Nash once wrote in song lyrics:
"Teach your children well!"