Fifty Years of Devices and Discoveries
I was born in the 1960s – the same decade as the National Association for Gifted Children ( now Potential Plus UK ) was established . Over those 50 years the pace of change in science and technology has been exponential . We live now in a world of smartphones ; entertainment from mobile computers with 24 hour access to contact , fun , information , games , films , music , books and television . My memory of childhood entertainment is of a rented black and white television with a choice of 3 television channels , only one chance to see a programme as there was no video recording or iPlayer and broadcast television shutting down every night around midnight to the sound of the national anthem .
The first camera I owned was a Box Brownie ( yes it was old even then ), with 16 exposures to a roll of film . A roll of film might stay in the camera for weeks or months , brought out for the occasional glorious landscape or posed family photograph because of the cost involved ; purchasing a roll of film and paying for developing and printing was expensive for a teenager . There was no instant access to the images ( unless you owned a polaroid ), no deleting something immediately if it didn ’ t look right , no selfies ( except for the occasional accidental pressing of a shutter ) and no sharing on Snapchat and Instagram .
If you think back hard enough you might remember a time without tablets and smartphones . My access to a computer was via school – four dumb terminals linked to a mainframe at nearby Newcastle e
Black and White Television Set
No . 2 Brownie Camera
BY THE EDITOR
10 IGNIS