Charlie Stross
Stuff unavailable at any price in 1965:
* Home computers (the Honeywell Kitchen Computer debuted in 1969)
* Handheld mobile phones (1973)
* Videocassette recorder (1972)
* Wheeled suitcases (1970s)
* Countertop microwave oven (1967)
* Mountain bikes (1970s)
* Internet (1969-)
… There's a lot more!
https://canada.masto.host/@graydon/113589800861986394
Charlie Stross
@uncleslacky Not a home computer: a programmable calculator that cost the equivalent of $30,000 in today's money.
Uncle Slacky
@cstross The Olivetti Programma 101 came out in 1965: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Programma_101
Charlie Stross
Yup.
Ulcers: no H2 blockers/PPIs/H. pylori antibiotics, "cure" was surgery
No SSRI antidepressants
Only 1st generation neuroleptics (antipsychotic meds) with horrible side-effects
No ACE inhibitors/ACE2 blockers (hypertension was a killer)
No Type II diabetes treatments except diet and insulin
And so on.
... I have a copy of the British National Formulary from 1988, and one from 2018. The 2018 edition is literally twice as thick.
1965 was in the pharmacology dark ages.
Landa :graz:
@cstross the list of drugs and medical procedures alone that simply didn’t exist back then is staggering. @graydon
Charlie Stross
@maxwainwright Gears would have been a bit shit too. Also brakes. And don't start on the frames!
Yes, there were bicycle infantry in the 1890s who rode cross-country. They expected a certain amount of down time for repairs every day …
Max Wainwright
@cstross but mountain bikes could’ve been made with ‘65 technology. Even 1865, probably? Tyres would’ve been a bit shit i suppose.
Charlie Stross
@maxwainwright No, derailleur gears go back to 1905-1930; the problem is reliability/metallurgy/machining precision (and a few tweaks like handlebar-mounted shifters) and also tires. I had an MTB-ish bicycle-thing in 1985. It was utter shit when compared to even the cheapest janky supermarket toy MTB you can get today.
Max Wainwright
@cstross yeah, i mean it wouldn’t make sense, the expenses would be huge, but the technology was there more or less? If they had [checks Wikipedia] typerwiters and rotary printing presses basic gears wouldn’t be too difficult.
And in 1965 they just need the idea really 🙃
Charlie Stross
@maxwainwright MTBs are not low tech if you look at the metallurgy and composite materials in a modern one. (You could build one in 1965, but it'd weigh 50-100% more than a modern one *or* be much more breakable.)
If you want low tech from that list, wheeled suitcases are the stand out! Those were delayed not by technology but by social conditioning.
Max Wainwright
@cstross the point of my stupid nitpicking is just that MTBs stuck out as very low tech in that list :-)
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