Comments on: The Times, They’ve Been a Changin’

By: Another Great Week at Steven Landsburg | The Big Questions: Tackling the Problems of Philosophy with Ideas from Mathematics, Economics, and Physics

Tue, 10 Nov 2009 16:33:37 +0000

[...] 19th century eyes; Snorri Godhi checked my math carefully and made a valuable correction. And we got into a debate about whether cellphones really would have resolved the plot tension in a substantial fraction of [...]

By: ryan yin

ryan yin — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 16:23:02 +0000

Buffy the Vampire Slayer definitely qualifies. I admit to being a huge Joss Whedon fan, but the whole time in that show I thought “huh, I wonder how many people have died over the last 6 years because Buffy doesn’t carry a freaking phone?”

By: FresnoDick

FresnoDick — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 19:47:21 +0000

I have to agree with Ron about the movies solved by cell phone issue, but there are certainly lots of problems in old TV shows and movies that could have been averted with one. I especially enjoy the scenes in “Lou Grant” where reporters fight to get to a pay phone in order to be first to call in their stories.

By: Ron

Ron — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 03:47:24 +0000

I’ve tried, but I just don’t get Nathan’s cellphone rule. Either
the odds are way lower than he says, or we’ve watched a very
different set of 20th centrury movies. Here are the 20th century
moveies I recall seeing, list limited to the A-B title range.

Absent Minded Professor; Adam’s Family Reunion; African Queen;
Airplane; Aliens; Apollo 13; Arsenic and Old Lace; Attack of the
Killer Tomatoes; Auntie Mame; Babe; Baby Boom; Back to the
Future; Barbarella; Bell, Book, and Candle; Belles of St
Trinians; Bells Are Ringing; Big; Big Chill; Black Hole; Blade
Runner; Blazing Saddles; Blue Murder at St Trinians; Blue Velvet;
Blues Brothers; Boris and Natasha; Breakfast at Tiffany’s;
Broadcast News; Bruce Almighty; Buckaroo Banzai, Buffy the
Vampire Slayer; Bull Durham; Bye Bye Brazil

For the odds to be “pretty good”, I’d look for many of these
(really, at least 50%) to be cellphone-solvable. I’m not sure
that even one qualifies.

By: Daily Reading… « Truth, Lies and In Between

Daily Reading… « Truth, Lies and In Between — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 02:04:53 +0000

[...] standards haven’t improved in the past couple of decades, I think I’ll hand him a copy of this book.” Possibly related posts: (automatically generated)Daily Reading List:My daily readings [...]

By: Marcia

Marcia — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 01:40:42 +0000

Jeff: These videos of a crash test between a 1959 Chevy Bel Air and a 2009 Chevy Malibu might be a fun addition to the next ‘old cars are so much better’ conversation:

NYTimes blog about it: http://wheels.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/09/17/a-2009-chevy-malibu-destroys-a-1959-bel-air-literally/
More angles: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_xwYBBpHg1I

By: Rowan

Rowan — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 15:34:37 +0000

The Woody Allen film Play It Again, Sam, really illustrates this, too. The high-powered-executive character is constantly calling his office whenever he gets near a phone to tell them what number he can be reached at.

I often think I would have either become a librarian or died a slow death from frustration — or both — if I hadn’t been born when I was. I totally can’t imagine doing business travel without the information I have access to through the internet.

By: Steve Landsburg

Steve Landsburg — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 15:33:54 +0000

Jeff: It was just about 40 years ago that I was riding with my father in his car when it stopped dead on the road and wouldn’t restart. After grumbling for a few minutes, he got philosophical and said, “Well….with 25,000 miles on it you’ve got to expect this kind of thing.”

By: Jeff

Jeff — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 15:29:08 +0000

I agree. I think this runs parallel to another complaint people often express. A phrase I still hear often is, “They don’t make ‘em like they used to”, directed toward automobiles.

My response is always, “True, and thank God they don’t”. Today’s cars are far superior to those of just 20 years ago and are in a different automotive universe to those of 40 years ago.

By: Landsburg: The Times, They’ve Been a Changin’ « Daniel Joseph Smith

Landsburg: The Times, They’ve Been a Changin’ « Daniel Joseph Smith — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 12:43:41 +0000

[...] Landsburg: The Times, They’ve Been a Changin’ By Daniel J. Smith http://www.thebigquestions.com/2009/11/04/the-times-theyve-been-a-changin/ [...]