From Nature for November, 1889, via Wondermark:
"The telephone is the most dangerous of all because it enters into every dwelling. Its interminable network of wires is a perpetual menace to life and property. In its best performance it is only a convenience. It was never a necessity."
RTWT. Y'know, telegrams and e-mail have a lot in common....
Update
5 hours ago
7 comments:
Don't get me wrong, I'd still chip in for postage to contact 911 if your average politician was drowning, but I think the ability to talk to a large fraction of the world's population real-time is pretty amazing.
Jim
It is.
Unfortunately, it comes with the ability for a large fraction of the world's population to get drunk, high and/or confused and make a bell ring in my home at any hour of the night or day, followed by berating me for failing to be "Rudy" or "LaKeesha." Of this aspect, I am not so fond.
There are two things that I will give up only after a large fraction of everything else: Sirius radio and call display. It doesn't stop the phone ringing, but it does generally save me the the villiany on the other end.
Jim
At least with a telegram, you could physically punch out the idiot who delivered it to the wrong house.
Well, at least until they started using the phone to tell you you'd gotten a telegram, I guess.
I stand with Roberta and Nathan. The decline of civilization dates from Alexander Graham Bell's first impulse to fart around with electrons.
an aside for Rx... have you seen this?
If you haven't, don't get lost in there.
God's greatest invention was the answering machine. Turn off the noisemaker and let the machines talk amongst themselves. If/when you feel curious, check the blinking light - or cover it with electrical tape...
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