Another poster compared 1890 to 1950 - jumping from one to the other would be obviously shocking, from 1960 - 2020 perhaps less-so, physically.
Still, I find it amazing that in 2022, I:
- Work from home via the internet with people I've never met
- Visit places I've never been in simulated 3D to build familiarity
- Receive exact routes to virtually anywhere from a computer in my pocket
- Video call with my family in real-time literally from one side of the planet to another.
- Have Copilot autocompleting repetitive lines of code for me with (ok, 60% - 70% of the time..) incredible prescience
- Get real-time translation of foreign text from a printed page
Those are just some of the the most common examples from my daily life. The productivity gains are real, at least for me personally.
I'm still inclined to mostly agree with OP who said that a visitor from 1880 to 1950 would be far more in awe than a visitor from 1950 to 2020, but it is funny sometimes how incredulous my kids are when I tell them that, for example, there was literally no way to open up a device that told you where you were when I was growing up.
Not a device but maps were a thing. I recall riding a motorbike with a backpack half filled with a book of maps. Heavy to have in a backpack for hours on end.
Also, before mobile phones at all, just meeting up with people required more time and you had to be specific. Now, get in the area and if you don't see them, message or call.
Still, I find it amazing that in 2022, I:
- Work from home via the internet with people I've never met - Visit places I've never been in simulated 3D to build familiarity - Receive exact routes to virtually anywhere from a computer in my pocket - Video call with my family in real-time literally from one side of the planet to another. - Have Copilot autocompleting repetitive lines of code for me with (ok, 60% - 70% of the time..) incredible prescience - Get real-time translation of foreign text from a printed page
Those are just some of the the most common examples from my daily life. The productivity gains are real, at least for me personally.