Technology Today
Let’s face it. The pace of technology on this Earth has rocketed skyward
– literally – in this last century. It’s
overpowering to consider the changes we’ve
witnessed. From the horse and wagon, through the age of steam locomotion
and internal combustion engines, and to
actually walking on the surface of the Moon while broadcasting the event live
to over 600 million people. Well, that was in fact a “giant leap for mankind”.
Add to this the electronic communication explosion that most of us have
lived through from black and white text messages and 14,400 bps modems to
“iPhones” and “whatsapp” and you’d have a world almost unrecognizable to those
who still remember the horse and wagon days.
This would all be very fine for people, except for some unpleasant
details. World War II for example, where the human race lost probably over 70
million people. If it had happened because of “natural” forces like asteroids
falling to earth or some other “natural” disaster like a giant flood described
in the Bible that Noah and his family survived, that would be a terrible thing,
but by the dark hand of evil men, well that’s left a stain on all this advance
that makes it much more difficult to heal – to repair. Some people might say
that the last century wasn’t worth even the air and water it cost, let alone
the sunlight, and certainly not the human effort.
I can imagine someone looking at the reports from the planet Earth,
clicking his tongue and saying; “forget it – cancel their budget – not worth
the effort”.
The question becomes, “who pays for the losses here and who is the
rightful benefactor of the advances?” The answer of course is “you and me” –
for both, and that’s exactly where we are right now!
Practicality in the Space Age – New Economic Horizons
So what does any of this really matter?
There’s only so much personal importance one can place on the history of
technology. And, what good is it all
anyhow? After all, there are people in Pennsylvania who have written
off cars altogether and opted for horses and wagons again. What about life and
death? Are we any closer to salvation as a race because of electronic
communication? And so, we have to take a step back and look at all this. Really
look – deep - at what this means to us and our children. I had to review my own
career when I approached my graduation at Florida Atlantic University. I’d been a
chemical engineer. I also worked as a technician for RCA on a NASA contract. We
made one of the cameras they used on the Apollo program to send live pictures
back to half a billion people on the Earth. My dad told me that his science
teacher proved to the class that it was impossible to travel to the Moon. It
just about was! It was a giant leap too! – for mankind – for everyone – and not
everyone was an engineer. I had to look at this, of course, and measure my new
career against a vastly changed technical background. “People did not need more
science and technology”, I thought. It was already coming out of their ears.
They wanted their children to understand how all these things worked, and they
wanted to understand how all these things worked too. It’s not so complicated.
It’s simple actually if you understand it well enough. Yet, it’s certainly not
easy to do either. Try to manufacture a microscopic recording device in your
garage that can hold billions of words and pictures as well. Hey, let’s include
videos and half – if not more – of every movie you ever saw! I know how to do
this! Well, some of it. I actually worked for Univac – now Unisys – way back in
the 60’s on third generation RAM – (random access memories) – little tiny
threads of nickel and iron plated copper wires that held a magnetic charge,
that could be “read” by passing an electrical current through an appropriate
network of other little threadlike wires. These were meant to replace
ferromagnetic cores (tiny donuts of metal that held a magnetic charge). Since
then, such systems have become sub-microscopic and the subject of “nano
technology”. Wouldn’t it be nice if you could do something like this too? You
do! All the time. You’re doing it right now – and without wires! “Look Mom no
wires!” You’re reading and thinking! And
so, I minored in Science Education and adapted my own interests and skills
toward new economic horizons.
One Dream After Another
OK
so I wonder how many of you wanted to be an Astronaut? I know I did! Children
catch on fairly quickly. There’s something that catches the imagination about
riding downhill fast on your bicycle, watching videos of guys jumping off
mountains with flying suits on – Captain Sky! And you grow up and all that’s
left is teaching chemistry to high school students. Don’t laugh, that’s exactly
what happened to me. You know why? Because people needed that more than they
needed another back up Astronaut! There’s a practicality here that you need to
understand. And that’s what this paper is all about. The question is: “What
does the public need and want the most that you are already good at – that you
like to do?” Most anyone can do just about anything, but nothing should ever
get in the way of your dreams, quarterback on a world champion professional
football team – throwing the game winning pass, Olympic gold in the 100 meters –
breaking the world record! Easy to say, easy to dream – very difficult to do!
It’s not impossible for everyone to realize their fondest dreams – not at all.
It starts with knowing yourself and being yourself – exactly yourself. And, who
are you? You’re they guy – or girl – reading this and thinking about it. You’re
what exhilarates when you cross the finish line ahead of everybody else! Most
people forget who they really are. Their closest friends have to keep reminding
them. There is much more to you than you’d believe – you’ve probably forgotten
that much!
…Now – OK – “How much does this cost?” – it
doesn’t cost anything! Except your own commitment to pulling yourself out of
the mountain of mud that most people find themselves practically buried in all
their lives!! It costs helping another person do the same thing! That’s how it’s
done…
It
starts with knowing how to help a person through upsets, problems, things he’s
hiding, from most everybody else, that clog up his communication lines which he
needs open to handle the time he got kicked in the head when he was five years
old on the playground and doesn’t remember a thing except lying on the ground
and wondering what happened. Not one of these things but hundreds of them –
thousands of them – ages gone – worlds gone – but a huge piece of him lies
buried under the mud of a forgotten playground and the best friend he ever had
knocking him silly in front of all his friends. Can you imagine?
How do I know this? Well, I worked in it for years, because my career in
Engineering didn’t do the trick – it was just fun, but it didn’t do what my
friends needed – see? That’s what life in the space age demands!
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