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Jan. 14, 2005 Reading an article in the New Scientist recently made me take a few moments to think about humanity's exponential growth in the various technology fields during the past 50 years. I remember chatting to my grandmother some 20 years ago (quite a feat that turned out to be: she was half deaf but very alert) and it shocked me to find out that she had never heard of Neil Armstrong walking on the moon. I do recall that the next time I saw her looking up at the moon, there was a different expression on her face somehow, as if she suddenly knew something no-one else did! Today as I scan the teckie briefs I receive daily, my head spins. We are on the verge of commercial nano engineering. Just imagine having miniture repair factories being injected into your bloodstream to unblock a vein or build a new heart valve or gobble up those big blobs of excess fat. I still remember when scientists, government officials and religious leaders stated unequivically that they would never allow cloning of human beings. Well, that event passed us by almost unnoticed a few years back! Ten years ago, computer engineering advanced another level every 12 months. Today, we are scrambling up to new levels of speed, storage capacity and memory chips every few months. I bought a personal computer in February 2002. By January 2003, it was obsolete! Soon the first memory hybrid of organic and inorganic materials will be released. We seem to have found a way to grow human brain cells outside the brain and use them to build a revelutionary new computer brain. Last month the first commercial ion engine for deep space exploration passed its specification trials. In the near future huge loads will be hauled up by reusable space vehicles to geo- stationary space stations, where the they will be loaded into massive deep space vehicles powered by ion motors. These have no real load-lift ability, but they can propel any spacecraft to speeds up to 20 times those we see now. That means speeds approaching 300 000 kph! Let's not mention digital storage media, self- healing minefields, military exoskeletons, holographic projection, the Moller skycar, axial- gravity spheres etc. The list is almost endless! Yet one question I would like to ask is this: whenever a new technology was postulated, critics from all sides reminded us the public that we had nothing to fear as they would never allow these technologies to become reality. Looking at genetically modified foods, human cloning, artificial intelligence etc, I can only wonder. Reminds me of the story I heard many years ago about a small man facing off against a bully. He drew a line in the sand and challenged the bully to cross it, which he duly did. The man hesitated a bit and then stepped back and drew another line in the sand! ------------ About the author: Ian Campbell is the author of the novel "The Fifth Cylinder." Ian tells us: "I love writing about issues that we as people wrestle with, both the big and small issues that can affect our lives. Looming just over the horizon are technologies that will utterly transform our communities and our lives. I love writing about how we as a society will live, love and war in that timeframe." Ian lives in Kuala Lumpur with his wife Kaz and is busy working on his second novel. Email: ianc28258@yahoo.com Tell a friend about this site! ------------ All articles are EXCLUSIVE to Useless-Knowledge.com and are not allowed to be posted on other websites. ARTICLE THIEVES WILL BE PROSECUTED! |
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