Can you imagine a time before the iPhone? Freshmen Ryan Brede, Liam Morgan and Kara Mcsweeney put their knowledge of technology to the test. For this challenge, Morgan, Brede and Mcsweeney were asked to look at pictures of old technology and try to name them and guess the year each piece of equipment was built.
Round one: GameCube (2001)
The first round was a Gamecube which was created in 2001. Both Brede and Morgan were able to name this, but Mcsweeney had no idea what it was. She thought that it was a CD player. They were within the the right decade but none of them were able to guess the exact year.
Round Two: Atari (1977)
The second round was an Atari which was created in 1977. Brede and Morgan were able to guess the name but couldn’t guess the year. Mcsweeney once again was unable to guess what the piece of equipment was.
Round Three: Dreamcast (1999)
For the third round, a picture of the Dreamcast was shown. This was created in 1999. Both of the boys thought that the console was a Nintendo 64. At this point it was obvious that Mcsweeney has never played a single video game growing up. She had absolutely no idea about what this was.
Round Four: Fax Machine (1843)
The fourth round was a fax machine. The very first fax machine was created in 1843. Not one of the participants were able to name it or guess the year in which it was made.
Round Five: Floppy Disk (1981)
The final round was a floppy disk. Only Morgan was able to guess the name. It was clear that both Brede and Mcsweeney had never seen a floppy disk in their lives.
What was the one thing to take away from this experience? That newer generations will never understand how far technology has come or how to use a floppy disk. For them, this technology was made “ages ago.”
