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Is anyone else bothered by how little tech history and nostalgia is actually taught or preserved, especially for younger generations? We learn about art history, musical eras, and even the history of fashion, but the crazy evolution of personal computing, gaming, and the internet often gets skipped over. I'm not talking about formal education, but even in media and popular discussion, it feels like there's a huge gap.
Kids growing up with smartphones can't even fathom the clunkiness of dial-up modems or the joy of figuring out how to program a VCR (or why you even needed to!). Its not just about romanticizing the past; understanding the limitations and innovations of older tech gives valuable context to the advancements we have today.For example, explaining the limitations of early operating systems makes the sophistication of modern mobile OSes that much more impressive.
Maybe it's as tech evolves so rapidly it feels irrelevant, but I think understanding where these things came from is critically important. Has anyone else noticed this, or have ideas on how to better share this history? I'm constantly trying to explain the magic of MS-DOS games to my niece, and I'm not sure I'm doing a good job!