Mobile advertising: the war between Google and Apple for your attention

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kamk2k8

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Thanks McGuire! Yeah, I think the part about IQ is the most interesting: it's not just that older people seem slow, aren't what they used to be, or can't learn new technology because they are set in their ways; in actuality the majority of them were borderline retarded from the get go by today's standards
 

TimChgo9

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Thanks McGuire! Yeah, I think the part about IQ is the most interesting: it's not just that older people seem slow, aren't what they used to be, or can't learn new technology because they are set in their ways; in actuality the majority of them were borderline retarded from the get go by today's standards

I agree with you on the bolded part. Case in point is my late father. He was a very smart man, he was our town' Fire Chief, a teacher, and a business owner(as well as a great Dad) but, my dad was one of those "set in his ways" types. After he retired from his chief's job in 1993, he started a consulting firm with several colleagues, since my dad was very good with numbers, and finances, he was the firm's CFO, if you will. My dad was never one for technology, well, at least not computer technology. He would spend hours in his office, heck, make that days, in his office every quarter crunching numbers, and what not. It took some doing to convince him that a computer would make it simpler for him to do all of that, taking the time down from days, to hours. He started the business in 1993, and didn't get a computer for it until about 1997, a decision that he made very reluctantly, I like to say he was dragged "kicking and screaming" into the computer age. Teaching him how to use Windows back then took some patience, because it was all foreign to him, and scary. He viewed computers like anyone else of his age did...complex machines, and the more complex, the more likely it is to break. My dad didn't necessarily reject computers, he just figured using paper and a calculator was safer , because, in his words "paper doesn't break." When he was fire chief, about 2 years before he retired, the village bought an IBM System 36 type system for all of the village departments so everyone was integrated. The Fire Department got 4 terminals one for my dad, one for his secretary, and two for the shift commanders to use for entering fire reports, and other documentation, and for sending those reports to the Office of the State Fire Marshall. Well, the terminals lasted all of a week at the fire station, my dad said they were complicated, hard to use, and he didn't like them. I was working as a dispatcher for another department, and we had, at the time, a System 36 for report entry, and our Computer Aided Dispatch system, I related this to him, and he responded with "My guys can write paper reports, paper doesn't break."
My mom, on the other hand, is pretty good with computers and has enjoyed owning one.. However, when it comes to cell phones, all she wants the phone to do is make calls, she doesn't like the internet on the phone, or texting.... She tells me my Droid is "too much phone" for her. People of that era (my parents were born in 1937 tend to be less flexible, and more inclined toward the simple way of doing things.

I love computers, I am a techie-gadget geek, but, at 44 years old, I still remember the simplicity of things (and the slowness) before the "Computer Age"... yeah, computers were around when I was young, but it wasn't until high school (early 80's) that they started to become prominent, and even then, not everyone had one, and they were not easy to use either.
 
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astronaut

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I think the critical difference between the generations here is the speed of change. In the early 1900s new technologies might get introduced once in your lifetime. You had plenty of time to adjust to it and see how it altered your lifestyle. By the 1950s new technologies were coming out every 10 years or so. You had to adjust a little faster but not significantly so. By the 1980s new technologies (really radical new stuff) was hitting every couple of years. Today that can happen every few months. Think about our Droids: introduced late last year, already updated significantly, and most of us have already modded them in some significant way (like installing Swype, rooting, etc.). Things change FAST now. Older people are simply unable to deal with changes that happen that quickly. By the time they've figured out their VCR we've already moved on to DVDs, DVRs, Netflix, and Hulu.

I am 50 years old and find very few of my peers can keep up with this speed. I work in technology (and of course love it) so I'm always looking for what is happening next. But many of them just give up. I don't really know if it is a difference in IQ or not. I do know that very few seem to be able to adapt to today's pace.
 
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kamk2k8

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It is human nature to fear the unknown; perhaps the nature of life in general (to the degree various beings realize what is or isn't "known").

So logically it may come down to one's ability to assimilate the unknown into the known, whether that come as a result of IQ or otherwise

Additionally, and this is what becomes increasingly difficult as we grow older, one requires the willingness to be wrong and look naive or even stupid when doing the assimilating

If you don't have the courage to be wrong you won't find the wisdom to right

That's just my theory, but what do I know, I'm only 19 (on the outside :p)
 
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