Pete Machnik
Big Thinkers is a former ZDTV (later TechTV) television program. It featured a half-hour interview with a “big thinker” in science, technology, and other fields. Interviews were filmed in a 16:9 format and intercut with public domain material from the Prelinger Archives. This archival footage (mostly film clips from the 1940’s and 50’s) was used to create visual metaphors highlighting the speaker’s points.
This episode features Alvin Toffler. He is an American writer and futurist, known for his works discussing the digital revolution, communications revolution, corporate revolution and technological singularity. A former associate editor of Fortune magazine, his early work focused on technology and its impact (through effects like information overload). Then he moved to examining the reaction of and changes in society. His later focus has been on the increasing power of 21st century military hardware, weapons and technology proliferation, and capitalism.
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Auto pankcake maker 😮
And the 3rd wave is to be consumed as quickly as it appeared by a 4th wave, a 4th industrial revolution being touted by the likes of the WEF.
I'm reading Future Shock at the moment.
And recording and uploading a chunk at a time to my channel so you can listen along too if you want to.
I wanted to listen to an audio book version but couldn't find one on here, so i thought I'd add one.
It's an incredible book. He truly did see in to the future by looking at the reality of human nature.
Technology has changed but we haven't.
Our biology is still that of stone age humanity, let's face it.
No wonder anxiety, stress and depression is at an all time high. It's no wonder.
All of the madness is causing mass neurosis in western societies who are at the end of their lifespans.Read The decline of the West by Spengler.
Future Shock is a term that I'm going to invent technologies so advanced and world shattering that they can't fall into the hands of fractious children! Point your ships due North or go down!
I never knew that Alvin Toffler was a major influence to the changes and progress of South Korea. I'm a fan of Mr. Toffler. I read both books, Future Shock and Third Wave. RIP Alvin Toffler.
They sure got it right in Future Shock
When was this filmed 1995 or so?
I miss TechTV. Great channel. Of course I have youtube now, which I wouldn't trade for anything.
this video aged like fine wine
Alvin Toffler, like many futurologists, was an irrational view of the future of technology and society.
Toffler has been a huge influencer to the president Kim Dae-Jung in Korea. Kim has read the 3rd wave when he was in prison for democracy work by dictatorship in the 80s(he was a big reader and his wife has brought the book after reading to him in prison). He was shocked with what the future would be and read it more carefully several times then he wanted Korea to lead the 3rd industry in the future. Finally he was elected to be the president in 1998 and invited Masayoshi Son(CEO Softbank) and Bill Gates then took their advice for broadband in nationwide.He also used to meet Alvin Toffler a few times. Korea had spent tons of money for Toffler's report for future Korea which was finshed for 6 months and finally Toffler submitted it to Kim in 2001.( Unbelievably Kim was in 70s and even didn't know how to use a computer. He also received 2000 Nobel Peace prize) Then Kim set up broadband internet network in Korea to make over 80% of Korean use the internet and he has invested the business and people on ICT, nano and bio technolgy . (In late 90s, the book, the 3rd wave has been hit in Korea and it has been regarded as an the essential book to read especially among universities.) That was the base for Korea to be one of the world ICT leasders now.
My mum says I should read his books.
I try to listen and to keep my focus but I get no real information from what he is sayig.. Can somebody tell me what is this exactly about?
He gives the recipe for the destruction of humanity that we’re following…
fuckin j boys obsessed with technocratic bullshit
I have a signed first edition of Future Shock for sale. Just saying.
I don't think he was wrong on foreseeing people wearing paper clothes!
There are clothes being made of recycled materials today ..
Hi Pete, thanks for sharing. It's still hard to listen to Alvin today and not be persuaded by his arguments. However, I remain sceptical of his apparent benign intentions. He barely mentions the word democracy, which is revealing.
I recently learned of an interview he did with Ayn Rand for Playboy magazine before he become a futurist, which helped to boost her to a wide audience.
I was curious to hear of his deep disapointment about missing an opportunity to go to war by 6 months; and how he and his wife spend five years with as blue collar workers on asssembly lines in order to have something to write about!
For me, his statement, "I believe we are living in a dying civilisation" certainly seems to be increasingly true and perhaps reveals why he believed we're in agreement about needing to move into space!
I never met Alvin, but he was my second or third cousin. It is ironic that I have become a Food Scientist that tells people the future of food.
Very relevant to what’s going on right now!
I read futureshock a lot
I would enjoy listening to this if the music wasn't drowning out Mr Toddlers narration. narration.
We dress psychiatric inpatient in paper clothing. In a small way, Toffler was correct, and in that limited environment, it caught on.
I never took toffler seriously on the 80s.
He is bang on.
My mistake
When this happened?
He had discovered the Internet Economy long before Don Tapscott wrote the Digital Economy book in 1998
We haven't advanced to any level where the option to leave society should be almost gone, if not, near impossible. I think there is an increase in mental illness due to this scenario. Sagan always said "we are naturally explorers, from hunter gatherers to travelers…" and there's nothing left.
Mituag ing sabo! Juice ko,.. Tage! Mang Alvin Toffler. Luid
About three years ago I was able to visit Mr. Toffler in his beautiful home in Los Angeles. Sadly by this time, his dementia was at an advanced age and he was only able to communicate with short sentences that were mostly incoherent. His mind returned almost to a childlike state. It was sad. But his books were on the bookshelves, some of which were very special editions. It was a pleasure to be in his presence in his last days. RIP Mr. Toffler. You lived a long meaningful life.
Alvin Toffler predicted the future and its happening at a fast rate. His books prove it. I agree that like it or not, we do belong to a subculture that exists or we create our own.
thanks for sharing this!
I read Future Shock as a young man. It stimulated me into becoming a psychology major when I first started college, until I realized just how disturbed most psychiatrist and psychologist actually were themselves and switched to medical studies instead, but this book continued to effect my thinking about what was happening in our society as a result of technology. Now, more than ever, we see what Toffler and his wife refered to as Future Shock.
I read this book back in 1974 , my father had read it and referred it to me to read. I did ,glad I did. The key to life is learn and live , not live and learn. A personal spiritual relationship with GOD himself.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jHUL-AQiJ8Y&t=17s
my name is alvin toffler…and im a scam artist.
What he forgot to tell us is that we are the same slaves as long ago but now we are masked by some type of freedom "to choose" certain things, but we cannot really choose to leave the society as it is, we have to live in for survival, we, slaves, are still in the same big trouble as 5,000 years ago.
Peasants in 20th century were the blue collar workers, at least their environment improved to some degree –
Without them – progress would cease
I can recognize an aerial photograph of Philadelphia at 21:01 even at that fast turnover
drawing future drawing future map design future city think about future write future then take it now
Thanks to his books , I was able to have following idea here :
( http://ameblo.jp/lovelucifer/entry-12266020322.html?frm_id=v.mypage-checklist–article-history–blog–1–lovelucifer_12266020322 )
MST3K made fun of Century 21 Calling.
Claudel est beau