PROF: 'Lost generation' can't fix anything...

◼ Young people are 'lost generation' who can no longer fix gadgets, warns professor - Telegraph UK

Young people in Britain have become a lost generation who can no longer mend gadgets and appliances because they have grown up in a disposable world, the professor giving this year’s Royal Institution Christmas lectures has warned.

Danielle George, Professor of Radio Frequency Engineering, at the University of Manchester, claims that the under 40s expect everything to ‘just work’ and have no idea what to do when things go wrong.

Unlike previous generations who would ‘make do and mend’ now young people will just chuck out their faulty appliances and buy new ones.

But Prof George claims that many broken or outdated gadgets could be fixed or repurposed with only a brief knowledge of engineering and electronics.

This year’s Royal Institution Christmas Lectures are entitled ‘Sparks will fly: How to hack your home’ she is hoping it will inspire people to think what else they can do with common household objects....

The Royal Institution Christmas lectures have been taken by many distinguished scientists since they began in 1825, including Sir David Attenborough, Carl Sagan, Lord George Porter and Dame Nancy Rothwell.

They will be broadcast over three days between December 29 and December 31 on BBC four at 8pm.