As we progress down the road of technological advance we must learn to remove from our minds the grasps of time and space. It is in the advancement of technology that both constraints are no longer at the mercy of our lives.
I have had the pleasure of getting to know a young lady in Romania who I have since shown parts of Washington DC this trip via Skype and a webcam. Did I mention this was via a cellphone card while riding back with a coworker? At the most superficial level this seems like an ample use of technology. Yet, we must divulge this moment as did Mr. Bell as he sent the first spurts across the ocean to another part of the world. The mere possibility of knowledge share at this level changed our entire world.
Reviewing these things with that mindset shows just how ground breaking this act was. Dropping down to the packet layer means that my MacBook Pro captured the image of DC and myself smiling, converted it to tiny 1′s and 0′s, and then transfered this from the computer to the cell phone towers we were passing at 80 Mph. It then was routed back to the internet backbone and traversed to Romania where she was greeted with a goofy looking American boy smiling as the Pentagon rushed by. She then was able to hear my voice synchronized explaining what the Pentagon was.
Here is the source of awe. We have always spoke to locations by their distance. “I live 40 minutes from DC” or “3 hours south of Nashville.” How does one relate distance when your voice and image are accessible anywhere in the world? I live one router jump from your country?
The meaning to our society is vast as it removes from even the poorest of the world the incapability to become cultured. Each party knowingly and eagerly comes to the table of knowledge like a potluck. Sharing with the other their native dishes of perspective and knowledge.
This schmorgisboard of world class food excites me beyond reason. Find me at the table, I will bring drinks.
