Garry Kasparov: The Last Revolutionary Technology Was The Apple II
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Re: Garry Kasparov: The Last Revolutionary Technology Was The Apple II
#2It's rare I want to call someone with conservative technological estimates unrealistic. Usually I see the opposite. But I don't think Kasparov is on the mark here.
The cellphone was invented after that and has forever changed the way we reach people and fundamentally how they are reachable.
Do you remember life pre-cellphones? When you left your house you literally dropped off the map. There was no way of anyone knowing where you were or where you were going. Unless you let them know beforehand, there was no way for people to catch-up with you when you got there. All sorts of tiny events required massive planning.
Now when you leave the house, should you so please (and the vast majority do) you can be reached. Climbing a mountain? In another country? Nobody knows this? They can still contact you! You can be at a place you've never been before and your friend can contact you and meet you there!
I actually think this disrupts my zen a little bit; I'd rather not be reachable at all times. I rarely pick up my phone - maybe for my father, my brother, or my girlfriend. Everyone else can leave a message.
Re: Garry Kasparov: The Last Revolutionary Technology Was The Apple II
#3Well said! I agree with all of it. I'd only add that the U.S. isn't the only country that can innovate, and that innovation needs purpose beyond energy production. I feel that purpose should be:
- Colonizing space.
- Making better use of our land for sustainable agriculture to feed the hungry and the children of our future.
Re: Garry Kasparov: The Last Revolutionary Technology Was The Apple II
#4It's rare I want to call someone with conservative technological estimates unrealistic. Usually I see the opposite. But I don't think Kasparov is on the mark here. The cellphone was invented after that and has forever changed the way we reach people and fundamentally how they are reachable. Do you remember life pre-cellphones? When you left your house you literally dropped off the map. There was no way of anyone know…
You have a point, although I feel you talk more about social disruption rather than technological. Switched communication and voice transmission over electromagnetic signal were genuine technology breakthroughs, and both are over a century old now. Cellphone is a combination of both, and while it was out of technical reach in 1900s, the concept still would've not sounded alien to the engineers of the time.
Re: Garry Kasparov: The Last Revolutionary Technology Was The Apple II
#5It's rare I want to call someone with conservative technological estimates unrealistic. Usually I see the opposite. But I don't think Kasparov is on the mark here. The cellphone was invented after that and has forever changed the way we reach people and fundamentally how they are reachable. Do you remember life pre-cellphones? When you left your house you literally dropped off the map. There was no way of anyone know…
Ubiquitous cell phones are definitely a revolutionary development. This becomes obvious when you read or watch fiction of any sort. How many story lines would be completely disrupted by the presence of a cell phone? As it turns out, a great many, even for stories being written today, as many writers haven't fully absorbed the way things have changed.
Re: Garry Kasparov: The Last Revolutionary Technology Was The Apple II
#6The only industry left that might fit Mr. Kasparov's prescription is the aerospace industry. There are still cowboys with calculators if not slide-rules and things moving from cad space to real space that are more than revolutionary and a damn site more than an incremental improvement...
Re: Garry Kasparov: The Last Revolutionary Technology Was The Apple II
#7It's rare I want to call someone with conservative technological estimates unrealistic. Usually I see the opposite. But I don't think Kasparov is on the mark here. The cellphone was invented after that and has forever changed the way we reach people and fundamentally how they are reachable. Do you remember life pre-cellphones? When you left your house you literally dropped off the map. There was no way of anyone know…
Ubiquitous cell phones are definitely a revolutionary development. This becomes obvious when you read or watch fiction of any sort. How many story lines would be completely disrupted by the presence of a cell phone? As it turns out, a great many, even for stories being written today, as many writers haven't fully absorbed the way things have changed.
We have a long running series of phone ads in the UK which make fun of exactly this:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YlX9G7s2AnQ
Re: Garry Kasparov: The Last Revolutionary Technology Was The Apple II
#8Well said! I agree with all of it. I'd only add that the U.S. isn't the only country that can innovate, and that innovation needs purpose beyond energy production. I feel that purpose should be: - Colonizing space. - Making better use of our land for sustainable agriculture to feed the hungry and the children of our future.
While I understand dream aspect of it, in practical terms, why and how would you colonize space?
Re: Garry Kasparov: The Last Revolutionary Technology Was The Apple II
#9I’m not sure that Kasparov (or anybody) has a right to criticize the rate of progress for the last few decades or centuries. Since the Renaissance, human progress has grown leaps and bounds at such an astonishing rate, compared with before, that we may have outpaced the ability for the human animal to adapt without negative repercussions. (Some might argue that this already happened all the way back to agriculture.)
Even if things have slowed down for the last few years, so what? Humanity may naturally have occasional refractory periods to catch its collective breath. Complaints like this make me think that such people regard light speed as too slow and try to push humanity to “ludicrous speed,” right past “ridiculous speed.”
Re: Garry Kasparov: The Last Revolutionary Technology Was The Apple II
#10Rubbish. Everyone knows the last revolutionary technology was the MITS Altair 8800.