Here are some technologies that have been supposedly replaced by more advanced options, but are still going strong.
Metal Amalgam Fillings
Metal amalgam fillings--silver fillings--are outdated, unattractive, and toxic, you may say. Not so fast, Jack. Unattractive, for sure. Toxic, well, the jury's still out on that one. But as far as outdated goes, that's not true at all.Instead, it's the white fillings that supposedly replaced metal amalgam fillings that are outdated. The problems is that these new materials are not as durable as metal amalgam fillings. They tend to fail earlier than metal amalgams, and that's why there's a major research drive to find new materials.
Dentures
Dentures are a nearly 3000-year-old technology. Surely they've been replaced by now, right? Yeah, by dental implants. But dental implants are unlikely to completely replace dentures. And meanwhile, dentures have advanced, becoming neuromuscular dentures, which utilize your muscles to improve their fit and function, making it easier for people to eat and talk with them. And they're great for people who are not candidates for dental implants.Diesel Engines
Diesel engines are more than a hundred years old. They are noisy, smelly, and have no place on our roads, you may say, but you'd be wrong. Although replacement technologies like gasoline engines and electric motors have been developed to supposedly take the place of diesels have limitations, and now diesel engines are much better than they've ever been: their efficiency puts gasoline engines to shame, and give hybrid and electric vehicles a run for their money in terms of mileage.Were it not for the high price of diesel fuel, you might be saying the gasoline engine is obsolete and expecting diesels to take over.
Eyeglasses
Glasses are a technology that has supposedly been replaced at least twice. First, by contact lenses, and then by laser eye surgery. But here's the joke to people who switched to contacts or got laser eye surgery: they often need glasses anyway. |
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As we age, the lens inside our eye loses the ability to change its focus, so we have trouble seeing things up close, which is why people need reading glasses or bifocals. Meanwhile, glasses have added a new function: they can adjust focal length to make up for the loss of this ability in your eyes.
Laptops
It didn't take long after smartphones appeared on the market for people to start talking about the end of the laptop. Who would want to carry around a four-pound behemoth when a four-ounce smartphone can do it all? The only problem? They really can't do it all. In fact, they're just not as good as laptops for most purposes, and despite the fact that practically everyone has a smartphone, laptops are making a comeback. Sort of.The new laptop is actually a hybrid of laptops and tablets, essentially a tablet with either a detachable or foldable keyboard, but able to do everything a tablet or smartphone can do and more. These new pseudo-laptops weigh a little more than a pound, and though they're a little larger, they meet people's demands for a screen that allows people to really use websites in full size.
Down, But Not Out
So, the next time you're thinking that a particular technology has been put out to pasture, don't count it out. In fact, when everyone is moving on to the next thing, maybe you should invest a little money into the old thing and you may be surprised at the return.
Dr. Matthew BAbout the Author:
Dr. Matthew B. Candelaria (PhD, U of Kansas 2006) is a science fiction writer, freelance speculator, amateur futurist, and winner of the Writers of the Future award.