Harebrained Schemes 6

You thought I'd already listed all my dumb ideas? Wrong. Here's more.

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Science marches on. Kids no longer write with a pen (or pencil) on paper. They text instead. And for schoolwork they use a computer. And more and more schools no longer teach penmanship. The time will come when people forget how to write. They no longer have to write checks, paying their bills on line, and the need to sign any document has decreased significantly. Without practice, people will never learn how to form their own signature. That's the only handwriting they need. The notary, assuming he or she can write, will take care of the rest. And the computer will do for non-notarized transactions.

Biometric tools, like thumbprints, can get us computer access and are usable for most activities since they can be scanned by computers. But there will remain some occasions when it will be necessary to sign your name, and, in order to satisfy this requirement, I suggest that it be mandated that all elementary schools (or secondary schools if necessary) have signature classes. It's too much to expect that all students will learn to write when they have keyboards to do all the work, but, at least for the time being, it's important that they learn to sign their names.

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They're the wave of the future, computers are. If we don't utilize them as often as we can we're missing the boat. Which brings to mind transportation. The most common form of transportation, and one of the most dangerous, is walking. The computer giveth … People have become so involved with their hand-held devices that they sometimes tune everything else out. And that includes the wall in front of them, those dangerous steps (actually they're not dangerous unless people make them so), and the street and its traffic into which they are about to walk. It's illegal to drive while distracted but it's unlikely that the same rules will be provided to pedestrians. After all, what would we do if we had to be bored by paying attention to the world around us.

The same computers that take us astray can also bring us back. Enough technology has been developed to help us locate ourselves, to map routes out, to demonstrate hazards around us, and to warn us of potential problems, and there's no reason why computers can't compensate for the fact that we have no idea what's around us. It does. And even with our heads down we can follow the fastest and safest route to where we're going no matter where that is. And if it's a store we can instruct our computer in advance as to what we want to buy and what our credit card number is (or if there's another payment device). We'd also give delivery instructions unless store employees can strap it to our backs. We'll need to keep our hands free for our computers.

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Computers seem to be the thing, so I'll finish off this helpful guide with another invaluable device which is really an offshoot of what I've already written. If computers can keep us from going off the beaten path when we're distracted, a device can be assembled that “walks” a dog or a child or someone with dementia: the dog walker would go by all the spots that your dog likes to go (in this case it will be necessary to keep your eyes open); the child walker would go by all the store windows of interest; and the walker for adults who tend to wander, it would eventually drag them home. In all cases the same protective tools would guide the computer. And the computer would have a mobile “leading” unit to which the user is attached in a way that prevents escape. It would also contain a timing (and pace measuring) device to limit the length of forays while recording the activity performed. And it should have an automatic camera to record whom the user has interacted., especially molesters.

It's almost like a three-D computer game, but it requires some participation. Does that make it four-D?

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Admit it. That's not dumb. It's the future.