New Ways to Look at Human Education
To educate people for the manual labor jobs of the future we might want to think of how
humans will integrate with inorganic upgrades to the human body.
There are now prototypes of working leg assistance devices. They are called Lower Extremity
Exoskeletons. If a human is wearing these devices, they can lift much more than a normal
person can. Since this device must be fitted to the individual exactly, it only makes sense
that it is not something that would be provided by an employer. The analogy would be that of
a uniform with the person’s name on it or a custom tailored tuxedo that wouldn’t fit the next
maitre d’.
Picture walking down the street in a city and stopping to watch a crane operator, a crane
and two workmen in the process of unloading steel girders from a truck. We stand there and
watch them take a long time to do the unloading. They place wire hoops over each end of the
girder and they guide it as the crane lifts it from the truck and places it in the pile to be lifted
to the top of the building later.
We remember reading about the Lower Extremity Exoskeletons and get fitted for these
manual lifting assistance devices. We would also need exoskeletons for our arms as well.
After practicing with the devices for awhile, we are quite adept at lifting one ton each and we
apply for the job moving girders. We tell them that we can unload the truck in a very short
time and the trucker can be back on the road very quickly. We would be replacing three
people and a crane and would accomplish the job more quickly. If it turned out that a
subcontractor was unloading the trucks and charging $1000.00 per hour for the three
people and the crane, it would be quite reasonable.
We could charge the main contractor the same $1000 per hour and do the job in one-fourth
the time. We merely pick up each end of the beams and walk them over to the other pile as if
they were two by fours. In addition, we could quickly pick up the girders and affix them to
the horizontal crane which is lifting them to the top of the building. I saw an ad for safety
straps that prevent people from falling off of the top of the buildings while working with steel
girders. Picture crawling up the building superstructure like King Kong.
A manual job which paid $500.00 each might make manual labor somewhat attractive to
both of us.
To see the Berkeley Lower Extremity Exoskeleton (BLEEX) go to:
http://bleex.me.berkeley.edu/bleex.htm
My point is that the integration of machines with people is starting to actually happen.
Picture the following:
A. Machine outside, knowledge of how to use it inside:
You might learn to use a new software program which makes you more efficient as a project
manager. The software and computer are external to you.
B. Machine inside, knowledge of how to use it inside as well:
A microchip that is embedded in your skull to give you proficiency in doing a job. Since the
hardware and software are internal to you, you become much more efficient as in the
example of the exoskeleton. It might make your opinions worth $500 per hour in the right
environment.
Simple example:
A chip has been devised that fits into a person’s retina and provides sight to some blind
people. It is powered by the light that comes into the eye. Let us say that I have a chip
embedded in my eye that makes me (after some practice) be able to proofread a book at 20
pages per minute? What does a proofreader make that can proofread at that rate? Before
hiring me, they could test me and verify my ability.
Donbot
To educate people for the manual labor jobs of the future we might want to think of how
humans will integrate with inorganic upgrades to the human body.
There are now prototypes of working leg assistance devices. They are called Lower Extremity
Exoskeletons. If a human is wearing these devices, they can lift much more than a normal
person can. Since this device must be fitted to the individual exactly, it only makes sense
that it is not something that would be provided by an employer. The analogy would be that of
a uniform with the person’s name on it or a custom tailored tuxedo that wouldn’t fit the next
maitre d’.
Picture walking down the street in a city and stopping to watch a crane operator, a crane
and two workmen in the process of unloading steel girders from a truck. We stand there and
watch them take a long time to do the unloading. They place wire hoops over each end of the
girder and they guide it as the crane lifts it from the truck and places it in the pile to be lifted
to the top of the building later.
We remember reading about the Lower Extremity Exoskeletons and get fitted for these
manual lifting assistance devices. We would also need exoskeletons for our arms as well.
After practicing with the devices for awhile, we are quite adept at lifting one ton each and we
apply for the job moving girders. We tell them that we can unload the truck in a very short
time and the trucker can be back on the road very quickly. We would be replacing three
people and a crane and would accomplish the job more quickly. If it turned out that a
subcontractor was unloading the trucks and charging $1000.00 per hour for the three
people and the crane, it would be quite reasonable.
We could charge the main contractor the same $1000 per hour and do the job in one-fourth
the time. We merely pick up each end of the beams and walk them over to the other pile as if
they were two by fours. In addition, we could quickly pick up the girders and affix them to
the horizontal crane which is lifting them to the top of the building. I saw an ad for safety
straps that prevent people from falling off of the top of the buildings while working with steel
girders. Picture crawling up the building superstructure like King Kong.
A manual job which paid $500.00 each might make manual labor somewhat attractive to
both of us.
To see the Berkeley Lower Extremity Exoskeleton (BLEEX) go to:
http://bleex.me.berkeley.edu/bleex.htm
My point is that the integration of machines with people is starting to actually happen.
Picture the following:
A. Machine outside, knowledge of how to use it inside:
You might learn to use a new software program which makes you more efficient as a project
manager. The software and computer are external to you.
B. Machine inside, knowledge of how to use it inside as well:
A microchip that is embedded in your skull to give you proficiency in doing a job. Since the
hardware and software are internal to you, you become much more efficient as in the
example of the exoskeleton. It might make your opinions worth $500 per hour in the right
environment.
Simple example:
A chip has been devised that fits into a person’s retina and provides sight to some blind
people. It is powered by the light that comes into the eye. Let us say that I have a chip
embedded in my eye that makes me (after some practice) be able to proofread a book at 20
pages per minute? What does a proofreader make that can proofread at that rate? Before
hiring me, they could test me and verify my ability.
Donbot
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