ROBOTS AND THE THREE-DAY WEEKEND

More toothbrush thoughts today. I was wondering whether we could classify the 'Digital Age' in the same way we talk about the Stone, Bronze and Iron Ages. If so, I've already lived through a momentous epoch-shift and I've barely realised.

Also, I don't know whether I dreamed it, but I remember a while ago someone on the news, seriously suggesting that we should move to a three-day weekend.

Oh sure, says the ad from the 1950s. And we'll have robots that float around the house and do all our housework while we play shiny golf and go to the drive-in movie.

It's probably not going to happen is it? Western society, capitalism and the massive greed of multinational corporations won't allow it.

Nice thought though. But, would you give yourself Friday or Monday off? Which way would you go?

Friday would be the new Saturday I guess, especially if all those futuristic automatons cover the dusting and the washing up. It would be a bit like having two (what we currently call) Saturdays in a row...

Yes, I don't like Saturdays, remember.

Me, I think I'd prefer Monday for that extra boost. Sundays are invariably packed with church stuff so a day to recover would be so excellent I'd barely be able to contain myself.

My suspicion is though that people would soon get bored and would start doing work on that extra day. Oh, and economies would slide around all over the place, giving people a wistful look back at the old days when they all earned five days' wages and things were slightly cheaper.

Before long we'd be back where we were.

I guess I'm only thinking about it today because I'm in the middle of a four-day week and I'm already feeling like it should be over. I'm really tired, for some reason.

By the way, isn't it interesting how we talk about 'robots' in the future but when we actually invent them we stop calling them robots? Traffic lights, sat-navs, Siri, remote-control vacuum cleaners, thermostats, hey, even dishwashers... but never 'robots' once they're integrated into our daily life. We personalise and we adapt and we evolve ever further into the Digital Age... while the robots develop AI and plot to take over... er, or hopefully not.

Actually I think I'd really like one of those remote-controlled vacuum cleaners. It might cheer me up on Saturdays.