Technology isn't waiting for us

[d b]

(05-17-2016 04:49 PM)Ken Shaw Wrote:  This might not surprise some here. Is there any point learning calculus any more?
http://motherboard.vice.com/en_ca/read/mathpix

I'm glad to have come up when people still knew / know something and ability is sometimes rewarded, or at least rewarding to one's self.

The business pukes laughed when they could replace skilled tradesmen such as welders by simply overlapping metal and having a robot "drive by" a thousand spot welds. GPS could supposedly replace surveyors, but the low priced Jethros they often get to run it can't recognize the inevitable office-worker mistakes.

Now I see articles about internet diagnosis sites replacing doctors and DIY law programs replacing lawyers (not all bad there). There were jokes when drum machines started being used in place of human drummers ("but can it drink till it passes out?"). Now there are computerized soloists. There are programs to render photographs as pen and ink, watercolor, or oils.

"They" have been replacing the capable with relatives, fraternity brothers, secret handshake buddies, and machines for centuries. WE all remember "Black Monday" and the 1987 stock market crash caused by program trading. Now it's iphone apps. There will always be a place for truly gifted people to do the real thinking for the owners, but fewer each year.

Or: http://www.smbc-comics.com/index.php?id=4112