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HI-TECH
Very few young people today can remember the latest technology of my childhood. How about rotary dial phones, that you could not walk around the house with, roll up windows in a car that you actually had to hand crank, television with only a few channels that went to black after 11 pm. How about buggy whips (ok..so I’m exaggerating a little), Not to mention calculators the size of a shoe box, early computers the size of large rooms, and cars (ok, I have to admit the cars were better built back then).
You get my point, the advances we have made in technology within the last 50 years, are nothing short of amazing. What’s more astounding is our technology is evolving geometric multiples with every passing year. We are (I’m not really sure who the “we” is), compounding the growth by building the new advances on every more powerful recent technology.(it’s similar to the double the penny every day, kinda math) Have you ever stopped to consider where this progression will bring us in the next 20 years. An even more important question might be, is that where we want to go. Do we aspire to the God complex ? Are we on the verge of making or discovering frightening new advances. Will we have the wisdom to use or in some cases not use, what we may discover.
Don’t forget, many of today’s advances are a result of research in the space and military fields. The race to split the atom and the ensuing use of that technology was not driven by peaceful motives. Many countries are working on newer and more destructive weapons, not to mention chemical and biological variants. Bigger bombs, smaller booms, more effective weapons, satellite and space based weapons. Weapons that look and work like video games, that make killing as easy as pushing a button. (while some guy is probably sitting in a recliner having a nice hot cup of coffee…)
Researchers are working on stem cells, generic alterations, cloning, and more. These new fields can potentially do much good, in medicine, health care, and feeding the world. Will we have the wisdom to use the knowledge we gain. And possibly more important, will we know where to draw the line and where not to go with our research. ( I could use a clone of myself…one of us could work and the other sit out by the pool )
Today’s computers are driving much of our new advances. Powerful machines that can perform millions of calculations in an instant. As researchers continue to double the speed and capacity of these marvels, how long will it be before they mimic, or easily exceed, the capacities and perhaps even the logic of the human brain. What implication will that have on our society. The guys at Intel are miniaturizing and adding increasingly more transistors and processing power on each chip. As evidenced by Moore’s law, which, in its modern interpretation, states that the number of transistors in an integrated circuit doubles every two years. I heard just the other day that research is being done to implant human brain tissue right on to silicone chips and have it interact with the circuitry of the computer chip.(I hope we can always pull the plug, when we need to).
With all that being said, I embrace all the new technology. I’m happy that my loved ones, can live longer, eat better, and have healthier lives. I know my life is far better because of the Ipod, T.V. channel flipper, duct tape, and the Poppel pocket fisherman. I’d find it hard to live without my microwave, cell phone, and garage door opener. I only hope that the inventors and keepers of our new technology have the wisdom and foresight to use it wisely, and to possibly realize that there are some things better left alone.
Hey what do I know…I’m still trying to figure out how to use my VCR and what that funny flag key on my keyboard really does.
Until Latter
P.I.B
Very few young people today can remember the latest technology of my childhood. How about rotary dial phones, that you could not walk around the house with, roll up windows in a car that you actually had to hand crank, television with only a few channels that went to black after 11 pm. How about buggy whips (ok..so I’m exaggerating a little), Not to mention calculators the size of a shoe box, early computers the size of large rooms, and cars (ok, I have to admit the cars were better built back then).
You get my point, the advances we have made in technology within the last 50 years, are nothing short of amazing. What’s more astounding is our technology is evolving geometric multiples with every passing year. We are (I’m not really sure who the “we” is), compounding the growth by building the new advances on every more powerful recent technology.(it’s similar to the double the penny every day, kinda math) Have you ever stopped to consider where this progression will bring us in the next 20 years. An even more important question might be, is that where we want to go. Do we aspire to the God complex ? Are we on the verge of making or discovering frightening new advances. Will we have the wisdom to use or in some cases not use, what we may discover.
Don’t forget, many of today’s advances are a result of research in the space and military fields. The race to split the atom and the ensuing use of that technology was not driven by peaceful motives. Many countries are working on newer and more destructive weapons, not to mention chemical and biological variants. Bigger bombs, smaller booms, more effective weapons, satellite and space based weapons. Weapons that look and work like video games, that make killing as easy as pushing a button. (while some guy is probably sitting in a recliner having a nice hot cup of coffee…)
Researchers are working on stem cells, generic alterations, cloning, and more. These new fields can potentially do much good, in medicine, health care, and feeding the world. Will we have the wisdom to use the knowledge we gain. And possibly more important, will we know where to draw the line and where not to go with our research. ( I could use a clone of myself…one of us could work and the other sit out by the pool )
Today’s computers are driving much of our new advances. Powerful machines that can perform millions of calculations in an instant. As researchers continue to double the speed and capacity of these marvels, how long will it be before they mimic, or easily exceed, the capacities and perhaps even the logic of the human brain. What implication will that have on our society. The guys at Intel are miniaturizing and adding increasingly more transistors and processing power on each chip. As evidenced by Moore’s law, which, in its modern interpretation, states that the number of transistors in an integrated circuit doubles every two years. I heard just the other day that research is being done to implant human brain tissue right on to silicone chips and have it interact with the circuitry of the computer chip.(I hope we can always pull the plug, when we need to).
With all that being said, I embrace all the new technology. I’m happy that my loved ones, can live longer, eat better, and have healthier lives. I know my life is far better because of the Ipod, T.V. channel flipper, duct tape, and the Poppel pocket fisherman. I’d find it hard to live without my microwave, cell phone, and garage door opener. I only hope that the inventors and keepers of our new technology have the wisdom and foresight to use it wisely, and to possibly realize that there are some things better left alone.
Hey what do I know…I’m still trying to figure out how to use my VCR and what that funny flag key on my keyboard really does.
Until Latter
P.I.B
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