Technology today is advancing at a breakneck speed and it’s really
difficult to keep up with the innovation that we see around us every
single day Devices that you used just a couple of years ago are now
considered obsolete The laws of physics are being challenged But let’s
take a step back While everything is moving ahead, there are some
aspects where we have been inspired heavily by times long gone Let’s
have a look at some of these.
The fingerprint Before
signatures existed, the fingerprint was considered the ultimate
form of identity to approve or ‘sign off’ any legal document All you had
to do was stick your thumb on a stamp pad and place it on a piece of
paper you want to approve or authorize As literacy improved and
people learned to read and write, humans started using their signature
a unique combination of your name and surname or your initials, in your
own handwriting, which would be difficult to replicate by someone else
Then came digital signatures at a click of a button you could sign off
documents directly on your a device, without printing a single piece of
paper.
But a digital signature still had to be obtained with a cumbersome online
application What if we could use something that we already have to
digitally sign documents? Wait, what did you say? Fingerprints? Well,
yeah. Almost every mobile device launched today has a fingerprint scanner in
some shape or form which can be used to unlock your phone, sign in to
your banking apps, order your coffee, make payments and sign off on
documents Your stick your thumb on to your phone, just like the old
days, only with the added advantages of not soiling your fingers with
ink Will signatures be obsolete someday? Maybe
Vinyl records
Remember the good old vinyl records? You may have seen them in the
movies, if not at home Listening to the Beatles or Pink Floyd on a
record player, with a glass of fine whiskey to keep company the stuff of
dreams if you ask someone from that day and age These purists would
later scoff when audio cassettes flooded the market, which were then
replaced by audio CDs and MP 3 s All hell broke loose when Steve Jobs
introduced the iPod in 2001 with the promise of a 1000 songs in your
pocket’. Cut to 2020 and guess what? Vinyl record sales in the US have beaten
CDs sales for the first time in 34 years People have spent more than
200 mn buying music records and that too in just the first half of the
year.
Music streaming still dominates the music industry today Can the
warmth of old school songs challenge the era of digitally compressed
music? We can only wait and watch.
Tattoos
Tattoos have apparently been around since 3000 BC But I’m talking
about the Indian practice of ‘ It was common practice to tattoo
people with a unique symbol or the name of the person for easy
identification Godna is also a common tradition in several communities
and tribes across India, where the tattoos are much larger and more
extravagant than just a name or symbol.
As people moved to cities in search of work and a better standard of
living, customs and traditions took a backseat and the practice of godna
faded away Enter Generation X and the tattoos were back Celebrities
showed off humungous tattoos over their chest, backs and biceps and
their followers soon caught on From English to Sanskrit, animals to
human faces, important dates to hard hitting phrases tattoos took the
world by storm Everyone had one The ones who didn’t, wanted one
There are also talks of digital tattoos that will help track your vital health
stats Will everyone sport a tattoo someday? Maybe