Necessity is the mother of all inventions. Everyday, one reads of a new discovery. Thinking minds across the world seem to be in over-drive. Knowledge leads to discovery and technology leads to a newer way of life. I want to talk about the three things that I was lucky to witness in my lifetime so far.
Changes that happened in front of my eyes that changed the world forever. I remember the day; a BOX came into my house. It was placed on a table like a deity (who knew eventually it would be worshipped like one) and the moment it was switched on, I saw a million black and white ants crawl onto each other. I kept touching the ants and could never catch them.
Every evening, at 6pm, those ants magically transformed themselves into moving and talking images.At the age of three, I was awestruck and am sure my mom at 24 and grandma at 55 felt the same looking at the first Dyanora B&W television set. Two years later, in 1982, during the Asiad Games, I witnessed the introduction of colour TVs in India.
And since then there was no looking back. In decades to come, every household was going to worship this deity, which would be popularly known as the Idiot Box.(I do consider the change from B&W to colour TV more impactful than big TV sets slimming down to plasma and LCDs). Transformation of the bulky rotator dial-up telephone to push button was seen as a big leap.
{{/usCountry}}And since then there was no looking back. In decades to come, every household was going to worship this deity, which would be popularly known as the Idiot Box.(I do consider the change from B&W to colour TV more impactful than big TV sets slimming down to plasma and LCDs). Transformation of the bulky rotator dial-up telephone to push button was seen as a big leap.
{{/usCountry}}I’m sure later the cordless telephone must have been the bigger stride in technology (at that time, I could never fathom how one could make a call without any wires being attached).Fax was a step ahead but by far, the giant leap in telephonic technology, is the invention of the mobile phone. Who knew (apart from the owners of Nokia, Motorola etc) one day, these gadgets would be an extension of our palm and a part of our body.
The greatest invention that I have witnessed in my lifetime has to be the birth of the Internet. How does one conceive an idea of a wireless communication system that connects the world? Today, hundreds of millions of users across the globe patronise this system, with a growing rate of million users every year. Governments to companies and individuals can communicate through this system for anything and everything under the sun.
Cyberspace has made the world a smaller place and a few buttons away.Basic e-mails have made letters obsolete. In time to come, pens and inkpots will be part of a museum. According to me, the Internet is the greatest invention since the discovery of light and electricity. Coming soon- these three technologies integrated onto a palm near you.