I came across this whilst reading Physics of the Impossible, by Michio Kaku, an excellent Physicist and author. He writes that the day when computers are embedded in our very being is not far off, something you mentioned.This would be made possible by Moore's Law.
The subject is only touched lightly in the book, but I remembered it. And since you seem interested in how technology affects us (like that book you mentioned, The Shallows) I thought you might find interesting what makes it work. What makes it possible for you to have a phone and a computer in the palm of your hand.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moore%27s_law
Never heard of it -- unfortunately, I do not do much reading in physics, and I say unfortunately because I am interested. Because I do not understand physics from a mathematical standpoint, I need writers who can take the complex insights from that field and make them accessible to interested outsiders, like me.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the title and the link. I'll look into it. As far as reading the book...my dance card is pretty full this summer. Do you own it? I wonder if I could find any published essays by this guy?
Is anyone taking AP Computer Science this year? It's a new class, and I'm curious about the curriculum.
ReplyDeleteRaul, one of my daughter's friends gave her dad Carlos a digital keychain sort of as a joke. First of all, his key ring has about a million keys on it, and no, he doesn't know what they are all for, but he won't weed them out, and he plunks this wad of metal in his front pants pocket. Honestly, if he ever falls into a river, he will sink like a stone right to the bottom. Tragic.
ReplyDeleteAlso, Carlos is a bonafide Luddite. He does not have a computer. His voice mail message says, "Hello. Thank you for calling. I don't know how to pick up messages from voice mail, so please don't say anything important."
So when his digital keychain runs out of battery, he has to give it to me to recharge. I also continue to add photos of our daughter, our family, and things that will make Carlos happy.
So today, when we were hanging out (we're divorced, and do not live together), he asked me to charge up his keychain. I said, "Oh, yeah, and I'll add some photos from graduation." So then Carlos said, Gosh, how many photos does that thing hold? I said I thought maybe it would hold nearly 100. He said, Gee whiz, I hope Cindy (the girl who gave it to him) didn't spend too much on that thing! And I said, But Carlos, haven't you ever heard of Moore's Law? He was quiet for about 15 seconds and then he sort of blurted it all out to me -- how components get smaller, faster and cheaper at an exponential rate.
That Wikipedia article really came in handy today.
Well I'm glad it helped. I knew you would find it interesting. I just knew it. Now you'll be able to impress your friends and colleagues with your newfound knowledge of computers.
ReplyDeletePretty shallow understanding, but yeah, I guess. The only people I'll impress are the ones who don't know what I'm talking about. Anyone who really understands Moore's Law will see me as the poser I am.
ReplyDelete