How much high tech is in your life?

Common Sense has a number of watches.  Actually, I don't really know how many I have.  One of the watches dates to the late 1800s.  Another, a Timex, is now about 50 years old.  Yet another that was purchased for less than $20 is digital and has more computing power than the first computer I worked on.  But each of these watches perform the same essential function.  They each show the time.  While it is certainly true that the inexpensive digital watch is much more accurate than the others and has additional functions, it still is simply a watch that shows the time.

This got Common Sense to wondering, how much high tech is really part of everyday life?  How much of everyday life is really about manufactured goods?  How much high tech is really high tech or just another way of doing something that was previously being done?

By way of full disclosure, Common Sense is a geek!  I like my gadgets and tech toys.  I've got rather more of them than the average person.  I think they are neat. Fun.

So consider Common Sense's day so far.

I woke up this mourning about 7am.  The bed I sleep in is, well, just a bed.  It was manufactured somewhere as, of course, were the sheets, blankets, pillows, and such.  Doubtless there was some high tech involved in the manufacture.  Perhaps some computer control.  Almost certainly computerized accounting of the manufacture process, shipping, etc.  But all said and done, while there may have been some high tech involved I could have the same bed and bedding without it.  High tech content so far - zero.

Time to shower and get dressed for the day.  I live in a nice house with a nice master bath, shower, etc.  But these things are much like my bed and bedding manufactured goods.  High tech content so far - zero.  I dress.  My cloths are much like everything else so far.  High tech was doubtless involved but the cloths are essentially low tech contemporary renditions of the same cloths my father and grandfather wore.  High content so far - zero.

I wake up hungry and so fix myself a bowl of cereal.  High tech content so far - zero.

I check the mourning news.  I have a rather nice Samsung flat screen TV served by a cable service with recording cable box.  This is definitely high tech.  Count the TV as one and the cable box as another.  High tech content so far - 2.

The news is stunningly repetitive so I decide to read a book.  Are books high tech?  I'm not entirely sure.  On one hand they have been around for a few thousand years.  Printed books from around from somewhere around the 1200 to 1500 depending on who you want to credit.  Doesn't seem like they should be thought of as high tech.  High tech content so far - 2.

My day will continue much along these lines.  Most of my life will involve manufactured things.  Most of those will have involved high tech in their manufacture.  Few are essentially high tech.  Most have existed for many, often hundreds or thousands of years. 

The central common sense point here is that while high tech influences our lives, often dramatically, it is for the most part not a significant day to day part of our lives.

This observation has important implications for jobs.  In a consumer oriented society manufactured goods are at the base of economic activity. While high tech is fun and an essential part of efficient manufacturing, it is manufacturing and manufacturing jobs that should be the focus of government activity to promote job growth.  That's just common sense.