What inventions should never have been invented?

[dbrenn]

I'll start the ball rolling:

 

1) Smart phones - they've turned a one friendly population into zombies. Thai's these days are always looking down, glued to a screen. I do it too, I'm ashamed to say. When we are with people, we are not really with them at all, preferring to surf the web or message other people thousands of miles away. People idolise Steve Jobs for inventing these things, but has the net effect on society been positive? I think not.

 

2) Low cost amplifiers - peaceful places in Thailand are always spoiled by an ear-splitting din. Just the other day, I was at a beauty spot and some idiot in a pick up had his doors open and was playing awful music at full volume

[allane]

When I read only the title of your post on the listing of topics, I said "the mobile phone". At least in Thailand, these things are making people even stupider and less-organized, even if it is hard to believe that is possible. Maybe I was just born too early. In the old days, you made an appointment to meet someone. Nothing further was required until the time you met. Telephones were available, and one party could call the other if he had to cancel the appointment for any reason. Now it seems, after an appointment has been made, 3 or 4 phone calls are necessary to ensure that the agreed meeting is still on.

This next part is probably more applicable to Thai's, especially to those in junior employment positions, than it is to foreigners here in Thailand. Employees are at the beck and call of their boss 24 hours per day and 7 days per week. Unlike the landline only days, they don't have the option of pretending they are not home when the phone rings, or of having someone else pick up the phone and say they are not there. They are expected to have their mobile phone with them at all times.

And, it is difficult to start or have a business meeting because someone is always making, or taking, phone calls. Again, it is the bosses and senior employees who are most guilty.

Thank God I am now retired !

[kannot]

Gods

[dbrenn]

34 minutes ago, allane said:

When I read only the title of your post on the listing of topics, I said "the mobile phone". At least in Thailand, these things are making people even stupider and less-organized, even if it is hard to believe that is possible. Maybe I was just born too early. In the old days, you made an appointment to meet someone. Nothing further was required until the time you met. Telephones were available, and one party could call the other if he had to cancel the appointment for any reason. Now it seems, after an appointment has been made, 3 or 4 phone calls are necessary to ensure that the agreed meeting is still on.

This next part is probably more applicable to Thai's, especially to those in junior employment positions, than it is to foreigners here in Thailand. Employees are at the beck and call of their boss 24 hours per day and 7 days per week. Unlike the landline only days, they don't have the option of pretending they are not home when the phone rings, or of having someone else pick up the phone and say they are not there. They are expected to have their mobile phone with them at all times.

And, it is difficult to start or have a business meeting because someone is always making, or taking, phone calls. Again, it is the bosses and senior employees who are most guilty.

Thank God I am now retired !

 

Agreed - mobile phones generally are a curse. As you say, you are at the beck and call of your employer 24 hours a day, but it goes further than that -- there is never a time when you can enjoy being alone. People expect that you'll have your phone on all the time and blame you for not taking their calls or chastise you for being 'hard to reach' if you dare to turn the bloody thing off. Soon, video calling will be the norm, making the problem far worse - it will be impossible to say that you are somewhere you are not, with all that implies.

[dbrenn]

4 minutes ago, kannot said:

Gods

Yes, but did we invent them or did they invent us?

[transam]

24 minutes ago, kannot said:

Gods

[transam]

19 minutes ago, dbrenn said:

Yes, but did we invent them or did they invent us?

Well seeing there can be only one who "may" have created stuff l would suggest man invented godS, that's why folk in this day and age are killing folk cos of their (mans) envisaged god..

[Familyonthemove]

Boney M

[rak sa_ngop]

Those squeaky childrens shoes. They do my nut in!

[Familyonthemove]

22 minutes ago, rak sa_ngop said:

Those squeaky childrens shoes. They do my nut in!

 

Nah - those squeaky shoes still make me smile.  My daughter had some when she first started to walk (about 15 years ago now).

 

I'd rank the mobile phone and cheap karaoke amps over squeaky toddler shoes - at least the toddler will eventually fall asleep.

 

[kannot]

1 hour ago, dbrenn said:

Yes, but did we invent them or did they invent us?

which one  seems more likely as there are several hundred  gods at  least

[lemonjelly]

Capitalism 

[NoshowJones]

2 hours ago, Familyonthemove said:

Boney M

What about Peltin Elton?

[dbrenn]

1 hour ago, lemonjelly said:

Capitalism 

Capitalism does indeed seem to be going wrong, but so did communism. ..

[pgrahmm]

Rap - Hip Hop ?music?

[transam]

Just now, pgrahmm said:

Rap - Hip Hop ?music?

I would question your word..."music"..........

[lagavulin1]

Blister paks.
The guy who invented these should have been buried in one. The plastic is often so thick you can damage your scissors and thumbs

[lemonjelly]

Austin Allegro 

[lemonjelly]

Eastenders

[lemonjelly]

Hydrogenated vegetable fat

[SaintLouisBlues]

Online forums

[lemonjelly]

Popes

[lemonjelly]

Christmas

(Badly timed with January sales)

[pgrahmm]

43 minutes ago, transam said:

I would question your word..."music"..........

That's why it's in italics surrounded by question marks.....

C'mon - keep up with the beat....

[transam]

3 minutes ago, pgrahmm said:

That's why it's in italics surrounded by question marks.....

C'mon - keep up with the beat....

? marks are just that....?.....I prefer "crap" as it sends an instant message........

[daveAustin]

Religion, Thaivisa and the B-52s.

[Gandtee]

The internal combustion engine! It has caused more deaths, wars and destruction than any pestilence I would guess. 

[transam]

Just now, Gandtee said:

The internal combustion engine! It has caused more deaths, wars and destruction than any pestilence I would guess. 

How would you have got to school...?

[GAZZPA]

3 hours ago, transam said:

Well seeing there can be only one who "may" have created stuff l would suggest man invented godS, that's why folk in this day and age are killing folk cos of their (mans) envisaged god..

Thats one way of looking at it. I personally think we are more then capable of finding a thousand different ways to fight and kill each other without resorting to religious beliefs. If religion was suddenly erased from the earth people would still be killing each other.

 

I think that most people who do have some sort of belief are generally peaceful people so on the whole religion does less harm then money for example.

 

So, I say money is the worst invention. It does nothing but put too much in the hands of too few and leaves people starving and vulnerable. It's the source of greed, wars, corruption, heir achy, and a huge %age of all violent crimes,,, in a world of plenty it's totally insane.

[GarryP]

2 minutes ago, transam said:

How would you have got to school...?

Shanks's pony just like I used to. Them were the days.