Halfpeace

Computers are so securely implemented into our society that it is difficult to imagine a world without them. We are inundated by technology everywhere we go. What would happen if all the technology we count on so much was gone? Chaos.

At least initially, we would experience an episode of pandemonium. Most of the general population uses computers in one form or another dozens of times each day - digital alarm clocks, cars, and ATM machines. Businesses count on computers to run their daily operations - cash registers, book keeping logs, and communications. Hospitals use advanced computers to perform surgery and tests, not to mention the less complex systems used to keep patient's information organized. All of these functions would be in a suspended state of operation.


Computers are so securely implemented into our society that it is difficult to imagine a world without them. We are inundated by technology everywhere we go. What would happen if all the technology we count on so much was gone? Chaos.

At least initially, we would experience an episode of pandemonium. Most of the general population uses computers in one form or another dozens of times each day - digital alarm clocks, cars, and ATM machines. Businesses count on computers to run their daily operations - cash registers, book keeping logs, and communications. Hospitals use advanced computers to perform surgery and tests, not to mention the less complex systems used to keep patient's information organized. All of these functions would be in a suspended state of operation.

Records are deleted. The stock market crashes. Industries fail - banks, retail stores, grocery stores, entertainment, transportation, etc. Modern vehicles stop dead and will not start again. Riots erupt around the world. Hospitals are overwhelmed by patients. An age of darkness ensues.

The most primitive of instincts, survival, takes over. Food, water, and shelter become first priority. Only after these are supplied can we move on to the next step. People feel the need to protect what assets they have retained. It doesn't matter what achievements we had in the past. The past no longer exists: only the present and future are important.

Crime rates increase to colossal proportions. Past records have been deleted from the computers, and the hard life of law enforcement rises to another level of difficulty. They have to rely on knowledge and experience to discern the innocent from the criminal until each department updates their records by hand. Officers roam the cities and countryside looking for trouble-makers. They ride on horseback and use any older vehicles they can find, cars from a time before computers were implemented into the infrastructure.

Manufacture of the old, gas guzzlers is re-initiated at automotive factories. The automotive transportation industry, cars and large trucks alike, is encouraged to come up with fuel efficient and economically safe vehicles, while the industry's research is pushed back decades. They try and eventually come up with a number of ideas that will work decently. Air travelsuffers greatly, causing railroad terminals and ship yards to amass an unanticipated amount of traffic.


is an increase in the number of unorthodox medical centers across the countries. These replace hospitals for illnesses, minor injuries and emergency services. We experience a shortage of qualified medical professionals, but that doesn't stop these centers from giving out advice. The close proximity to towns and cheaper services offer the alternative many need.



Each family is allotted a set amount of cash per person to be able to take out of the banks, attempting to place everyone on even ground. The sudden outpour of cash forces the banks to close their doors. Many businesses fail overnight. Those that do continue are forced to track transactions in log books. The increase in paper usage destroys forests. Yet, store employees gain essential math skills, counting out change to customers and such. A minimum standard unseen for generations is required now. Priorities revert to a time when intelligence rivaled ambition in the business world, making it more difficult to find work for many of the world's youth.

Communication is an important aspect of life. Humans are social creatures; we need the ability to spend time or, at the very least, talk with other people. Landline telephones are the easiest way at the beginning, but it's not long before inventors come up with something similar to cellular phones or long range walkie-talkies. Old forms of entertainment re-emerge. Card and board game tournaments compete for popularity against "Create Your Own" contests, which supply resourceful ideas on how to deal with a problem. Meanwhile, the youth develops their collective imagination to overcome the hardships and exploit what the world has to offer.

This viewpoint may be a bit drastic, but it is worth mentioning. Overall, society as we know it would have a difficult time adjusting to not having the convenience that computers provide; yet, it could and would be done if the situation presented itself. Human beings as a species are adaptive and will evolve as necessary to survive and thrive. Once society has time to acclimate to a situation, the human race would adjust as it has done in the past. At that point, a new era would be set in motion. It would be the intuitive imaginers, the daring developers, the inventors that would push ahead in the world.