Lost skills.

Getting close to 36 now makes me think of the skills lost between my generation and the the kids growing up now. Here are a few I can think of:

Use a command line interface for a computer. I would venture to guess many people would have no idea what to do with a plain screen with nothing more than a blinking cursor asking them what to do. No mouse, no GUI. When I first learned computers, true GUI’s were a few years off, and practical ones quite a way off, or just very expensive.

Use a typewriter. This goes far beyond typing. You have to know how to format and organize a page, along with knowing how to spell, well. You also have to know how to load the paper, change the ink ribbon, and clear jams (on manual versions).

Use a phonograph. CD’s came out when I was young, but I remember a time with nothing more than records and tapes. You have to treat them with respect and not drop the needle like a caveman on the record or scratch it across.

Make a mix tape. In the days before iTunes, computers, etc. you had to dub tapes manually or dub from records (or the radio) to tapes. MP3′s and CD’s killed this off.

Use a VRC. Between programming the time and programs to record (while checking how much tape you have left) it was a black art when it was new. Now, I think it probably a lost art.

Use a rotary phone. They were already getting rare when I was young, but they were still around. Patience is key here.

Read maps/learn how to use spoken directions. Some people have a hard time with maps, but it is still a good skill to know if a solar flare takes out the GPS system for days or weeks, or the battery just plain dies.

How to make soapbox racers. You really don’t see these much anymore. Even when I was a kid, our family was probably the exception.

How to fix things. Things have gotten very disposable or just easier to pay someone to fix it. Be it the kitchen blender or a computer. You used to have to fix it yourself, and you usually had the tools to do it. Now, manufacturers (Apple, I am looking at you) won’t even let you change the darn battery without risking damaging the case of their precious products.

How to read a paper book. Our attention spans have gotten very short and we have the strange need to annotate things as we are reading them. How about we just read them with no distractions.

How to single task. I really enjoy doing one thing at a time, but we are so tuned to multitasking, we forget the simple joy of doing one task and doing it well. Next time you go out for a drive, try doing it alone, with no cell phone or radio or GPS. Just you and the car. It is a very different experience.

How to polish shoes. It is a skill easily regained, but most people never polish their shoes. Trust me Kiwi still makes shoe polish in little tins and sells the hog’s bristle brushes that work as well now as they did 100 years ago.

How to purchase and hide pornographic magazines. Nowadays, it is as easy clearing your browser history or starting a private tab, but in the old days, you had to 1) find a way to obtain them 2) Find a decent hiding spot. Truly a lost art.

How to start a car in winter with a carburetor. Pump twice, turn key, hold throttle at 50% until the automatic choke kicks in. If it floods, take off the air filter cover and hold open the choke plates and try again. Anyone remember using ether to start their cars? I do, winter of 92 and 93.

Feel free to add what has changed between when you were a kid and now.