> From: pdml-boun...@pdml.net [mailto:pdml-boun...@pdml.net] On Behalf Of > John Francis > > That's the nature of exponential growth. > > James Burke had a popular TV series called "The Day the Universe > Changed" > showing how some technologies totally disrupted the society of their > time. >
[...] > Before that there was Gutenberg, who created the first information age. > And so backwards through the ages to the introduction of various > metals, > agriculture, timekeeping, navigation, etc. > Jared Diamond has written some very good books about that sort of thing. In particular, the influence on history of the domestication of the horse, and the much later invention of the stirrup. He discusses these in Guns, Germs and Steel. Well worth a read. > I'm sure every age feels that theirs is the culmination of human > advancement. I seem to recall reading somewhere about a director of the patent office somewhere - New York, I think - towards the end of the 19th century resigning because there was 'nothing left to invent'. Next thing you know, Edison's walking through the door... > I just wonder what our grandchildren (if we have any) will consider to > be the > defining technology of their time. It's probably surfaced by now, but > hasn't > yet progressed much beyond the laboratory. Personal jet-packs B -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List PDML@pdml.net http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net to UNSUBSCRIBE from the PDML, please visit the link directly above and follow the directions.
