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September 29, 2005
from airplanes to future technologies
Had a brief talk with Erik this morning on the way in to school about modern trans-continental flight. He's leaving this afternoon for a quick trip to London and will return this weekend. To me this is quite an amazing feat. 50 years ago people would have said that this would be possible only for the richest of the rich. 100 years ago people would have said this would be impossible, despite the fact that some "may" have been able to fly. 150 years ago this wouldn't have been dreamed of at all.
Erik wisely points out that before flight people would have imagined that by 2005 the technological advances on seafaring crafts would allow them to go much faster, moving from New York to London in only 3 days! But this is not how it turned out. In actuality Erik will fly to London, spend time there, and fly back in a 3 day period. Amazing.
This makes me wonder about what we're not even able to imaging today. What will be the status quo for technology in 2155? It's hard to even think about 2155 as a year at all.
Computers have not been around all that long. We've really only touched the surface of their utility. But maybe the computer will not be a key technology in the future...perhaps it will just be a small, ubiquitous part of the picture, as the electric motor is today.
Whatever the case, I'm aching to know what's next.
Posted at September 29, 2005 09:57 AM