This week we learned of at least two brilliant minds which are being taken from the public square by debilitating disease. Of course, Steve Jobs is widely known for his work in the world of computers and electronics, helming the Apple empire, and leading his company to be the first-ever tech stock to be rated as most valuable amongst all others on Wall Street. Unfortunately, Mr. Jobs has now been forced to step down from his position as Apple's CEO due to health concerns related to his ongoing battle with cancer and other difficulties. The other brilliant mind is Pat Summitt, coach of the Lady Vols of Tennessee, who has amassed more wins than any other college basketball coach (men and women) in the history of the sport. Coach Summitt was known for her determined drive and staunchly well-maintained program which seldom saw any type of behavioral issues. Summitt has now been diagnosed with early-onset dementia, a condition which will ultimately and tragically result in the loss of her memories, personality, and cognitive function. It is a heartbreaking diagnosis for anyone to hear.
And so, although both individuals will attempt to continue in their contributions for as long as their health permits, the bottom line is that two exemplary minds will be lost from our collective intellect. Two people who have contributed so much, and would no doubt continue to contribute in wonderous new ways as long as they could, will now be sidelined in the near future. It is not only a loss for them and their families, but it also a loss for the entire world. Without pancreatic cancer and severe liver damage resulting in a transplant, what additions to the technological landscape could Jobs have helped usher in? If he could have remained in his position for decades to come, what more could he have envisioned and then conceptualized into reality? Certainly the past few decades have shown just how influential Mr. Jobs has been and would have continued to be in helping humanity progress towards a brighter, more convenient, and more efficent future. And then there's Pat Summitt, whose influence on women's basketball, her players, and college athletics have been tremendous. We can only assume that not only would she have continued garnering accolades and achievements without this heartbreaking diagnosis, but that Summitt would likely have also risen to even higher positions and projected even greater influence and success.
But the truth is we live in a world that has not yet defeated cancer, Alzheimer's, and many other diseases that bring about an untimely end in the lives of so many important and special people - whether they be well-known by many or well-known by a lucky few. Barring global catastrophe, we can assume that at some point in the future, research and technology will result in cures for these conditions, just as polio and smallpox have been annihilated through like means. But today, we are not yet there. And so the world will lose Steve Jobs... the world will lose Pat Summitt... and today and tomorrow, we will lose so many people who neither you nor I have encountered, but who mean the world to the people around them.
When we arrive at the day in which we can look at Alzheimer's, cancer, heart disease, and so many other diseases, and say they were a thing of the past, we can be sure that there will be ethical issues to be answered. How do we manage a populace that lives into their 100's on a regular basis? How will we prevent super-enhanced longevity from being a right of only the wealthy or well-to-do? And can the earth's resources handle a humanity that lives so long at such high numbers?
But one thing seems to be certain: those are questions that must be answered and will be answered. For it seems to me that if we could keep beloved contributors such as Summitt and Jobs in good health, we would certainly do so. And indeed, what cost is too high to help our loved ones who suffer from these same issues? What cost is too high to keep ourselves and our families together in good spirits and in good physical condition for as long as is possible? In my humble view, the issues of longevity will be solved much easier than the oft-experienced issue of saying goodbye.
Today there are no good answers for Summitt and Jobs. For the many who will pass on in the coming days, weeks, and years, we will have failed to stave off death. Beyond that vale, they will join others who have moved on... and it is we who will have lost. One day then it will also be our turn, if not before. What is beyond that vale is for each individual to explore and speculate - but regardless of the afterlife, we can say that their lives touched so many, and we look forward to a day when we can help people like them touch the lives of even more. Just as their lights have shined here on earth, we hope, pray, and wish that their lights will continue to shine and do not dim for many days. And at some unknown point down the road, perhaps we will be able to keep those lights burning longer. Perhaps there will be a day when the lights do not dim amongst the stars of our lives. I'm looking forward to that day, whether I see it or whether it is beyond my span. We will likely never be immortal in body, but our desire to hold onto people like Mr. Jobs and Ms. Summitt will keep us looking for a way to fellowship with one another longer and longer.
And when that day comes that we arrive upon the end - whether it be after a hundred years, two-hundred years, twenty years, or a thousand - may we be ready for that day. May we finish having done good and done well.
Dedicated to the vigor, drive, and continued contributions of Steve Jobs and Pat Summitt. May their lights shine brightly today, tomorrow, and "for as long as the good Lord permits."
http://www.twitter.com/bluelightningtn
Thursday, August 25, 2011
Monday, August 8, 2011
A Brighter Tomorrow
The past few days for the western world have been a bit depressing as we watch both the European and American economies struggle with debt issues. While I could get into the reasons behind these issues and remedies for them, I'll leave that to the politicians and pundits, most of whom don't have to worry about alienating readers / consumers by delving into political discussion. So... let's stay away from that in this blog. What I would like to do is to take a moment to breath some positive vibes into what has been a tremendously deflating couple of days.
A completely apolitical mean by which we will see the western world, and furthermore the world, rise out of this economic malaise, will be the continued enhancement of technology and global intelligence. Even while the financials of various governments face serious contractions, it's important to pause and remember that regardless of the current situation, progress will continue and it will improve our lives dramatically. Whether democrats or republicans were in power in the eighties, nineties, and the millenial decade, technology continued to strive ahead. Whether we were in bull or bear market, it didn't greatly effect the pace of technological advancements. And indeed, if you'll look at where we came from in the past few decades, and you consider that progress is accelerating, I believe that come hell or high water, the next many years will be breathtaking in human success.
Let's look back for a moment before we look forward. If we look back to the eighties, we're essentially looking at thirty years in the past - certainly not what you would call a generation. In that span of time, how far have we come? Well, since the eighties, we've seen not only the dawn of cellphones, but those phones have now basically become mobile devices that function only in small part as phones. They're basically communicators which keep us in touch with the entire world no matter where we are. Not only that, but in the past thirty years, we've went from thinking it perhaps impossible to completely mapping the human genome. We're now in an era that sees us learning the secrets of all that biological code. And in the past thirty years, we've went from most people having an antenna to grab a couple of fuzzy, below standard defintion channels... to a world in which we can watch almost any show, at any time, in crystal clear clarity, on a multitude of devices. I remarked yesterday to a friend that his phone he complains about is actually more powerful than his desktop computer from ten years ago. That's pretty remarkable.
As we move forward, even in a down economy, even as governments face the facts about spending... we can know that the bumps are only that. No matter what happens, Moore's Law will continue, and we will race forward towards a brighter tomorrow. And although there are policies which may incrementally slow or speed the pace of technological advancement (cough, space program, cough, we NEED it), the truth is that our current age is moving the civilized world into a humanity totally different than what we've seen in the past many thousand years.
So what should we expect? Well, as a science fiction author, I'll just tell you that it's hard to say. The problem lies in the fact that we can never guess what the next big epiphany will be which will create a totally unexpected new device or concept. That's one reason that I try to be very non-descript about future products when I discuss my futuristic, fantasy world. There's just no way to be specific. Who would have predicted Facebook in 1985?
That said, there are a few things we can predict as being very likely. We can say with some assurance that mobile devices will continue to grow in importance, power, and usefulness. There's probably a day ahead in which our phones will somehow be tied into glasses and contacts, if we so choose, which will allow our very vision to be integrated with a user interface. In the next few years, we'll definitely see cars that can drive themselves with better precision than humans, and which will then create a flurry of federal laws to compensate for a car or truck that can be set to autopilot. Comptuers will also continue to be better and better at communicating with people in the language of humans - verbs, nouns, adjectives, articles, and colloquialisms, all set into a sentence structure that blurs the line between human assistance and electronic. As we race to the future, it's simply a matter of time before we unlock the secrets of aging and gain the power to stop it. What the world will do with that, who knows? It will certainly be a great debate as to whether or not mankind should do away with the cold hand of death altogether. Regardless, there will be little debate over the increasing lifespan of the populations - it's just a byproduct of our continuing medical/technological progress. Surely the developed worlds will soon see a day when 100 is the norm, not the rarity for lifespan.
So even in the midst of markets that seem quite dire, let us remember that we're moving toward a future of greater leisure, knowledge, and accomplishments. We'll navigate all those enhancements as we go, and hopefully we'll make good choices.
Here's to a brighter tomorrow =)
- Justin Frazier
http://www.theworldbreaker.com
http://www.twitter.com/bluelightningtn
A completely apolitical mean by which we will see the western world, and furthermore the world, rise out of this economic malaise, will be the continued enhancement of technology and global intelligence. Even while the financials of various governments face serious contractions, it's important to pause and remember that regardless of the current situation, progress will continue and it will improve our lives dramatically. Whether democrats or republicans were in power in the eighties, nineties, and the millenial decade, technology continued to strive ahead. Whether we were in bull or bear market, it didn't greatly effect the pace of technological advancements. And indeed, if you'll look at where we came from in the past few decades, and you consider that progress is accelerating, I believe that come hell or high water, the next many years will be breathtaking in human success.
Let's look back for a moment before we look forward. If we look back to the eighties, we're essentially looking at thirty years in the past - certainly not what you would call a generation. In that span of time, how far have we come? Well, since the eighties, we've seen not only the dawn of cellphones, but those phones have now basically become mobile devices that function only in small part as phones. They're basically communicators which keep us in touch with the entire world no matter where we are. Not only that, but in the past thirty years, we've went from thinking it perhaps impossible to completely mapping the human genome. We're now in an era that sees us learning the secrets of all that biological code. And in the past thirty years, we've went from most people having an antenna to grab a couple of fuzzy, below standard defintion channels... to a world in which we can watch almost any show, at any time, in crystal clear clarity, on a multitude of devices. I remarked yesterday to a friend that his phone he complains about is actually more powerful than his desktop computer from ten years ago. That's pretty remarkable.
As we move forward, even in a down economy, even as governments face the facts about spending... we can know that the bumps are only that. No matter what happens, Moore's Law will continue, and we will race forward towards a brighter tomorrow. And although there are policies which may incrementally slow or speed the pace of technological advancement (cough, space program, cough, we NEED it), the truth is that our current age is moving the civilized world into a humanity totally different than what we've seen in the past many thousand years.
So what should we expect? Well, as a science fiction author, I'll just tell you that it's hard to say. The problem lies in the fact that we can never guess what the next big epiphany will be which will create a totally unexpected new device or concept. That's one reason that I try to be very non-descript about future products when I discuss my futuristic, fantasy world. There's just no way to be specific. Who would have predicted Facebook in 1985?
That said, there are a few things we can predict as being very likely. We can say with some assurance that mobile devices will continue to grow in importance, power, and usefulness. There's probably a day ahead in which our phones will somehow be tied into glasses and contacts, if we so choose, which will allow our very vision to be integrated with a user interface. In the next few years, we'll definitely see cars that can drive themselves with better precision than humans, and which will then create a flurry of federal laws to compensate for a car or truck that can be set to autopilot. Comptuers will also continue to be better and better at communicating with people in the language of humans - verbs, nouns, adjectives, articles, and colloquialisms, all set into a sentence structure that blurs the line between human assistance and electronic. As we race to the future, it's simply a matter of time before we unlock the secrets of aging and gain the power to stop it. What the world will do with that, who knows? It will certainly be a great debate as to whether or not mankind should do away with the cold hand of death altogether. Regardless, there will be little debate over the increasing lifespan of the populations - it's just a byproduct of our continuing medical/technological progress. Surely the developed worlds will soon see a day when 100 is the norm, not the rarity for lifespan.
So even in the midst of markets that seem quite dire, let us remember that we're moving toward a future of greater leisure, knowledge, and accomplishments. We'll navigate all those enhancements as we go, and hopefully we'll make good choices.
Here's to a brighter tomorrow =)
- Justin Frazier
http://www.theworldbreaker.com
http://www.twitter.com/bluelightningtn
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