Category Archives: History

General, History, Looking Forward, Technology

Telephone: Extraordinary ordinary things

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In an exuberant song from Lerner and Loewe’s delightful musical comedy “Paint Your Wagon,” the principal character sings: 

Where am I goin'?
I don't know
Where am I headin'?
I ain't certain
All I know
Is I am on my way

When will I be there?
I don't know
When will I get there?
I ain't certain
All that I know
Is I am on my way

If this sounds like a cavalier approach to life, it really isn’t, especially for professionals in computer science, computer programming, and knowledgeable laymen. Virtually any mass-manufactured and globally distributed product today depends on computing and will most likely continue to do so in the near, medium, and long-term future. However, computing itself is changing so rapidly and influencing so many things that, not surprisingly, computing professionals feel much the same way about their future.

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General, History, Looking Forward

Ballpoint Pen: Extraordinary ordinary things

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Has this ever happened to you? Someone says to you, “Make a note of this.” So you whip out your smartphone, open a file, and start your fingers whizzing over the virtual keyboard or start writing on the screen with a stylus to input the information. However, if you are not a millennial, you would more likely grab a piece of paper, whip out your ballpoint pen, and start making notes in dark, indelible blue or black ink.

Even if you are a millennial, chances are you nevertheless walk about with one or more ballpoint pens, simply because they are handy, apparently simple, and cheap.

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Future of Work, History, Technology

Barcode: Extraordinary Ordinary Things

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The barcode, those unreadable patterns of lines on most products we buy, are ubiquitous to the point of being banal. We see them everywhere, and therefore pay little attention to them. However, not so long ago, you wouldn’t have seen them anywhere. Nevertheless, in their short history (approximately 40 years), they have affected daily life in so many ways that if they suddenly disappeared, we wouldn’t know how to live without them. This is why the barcode unquestionably merits a place on the list of what I call “Extraordinary Ordinary Things.”

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General, History

Maps: Extraordinary Ordinary Things

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If you are anything like me, you grew up driving a car with the glove compartment filled with paper maps. When the GPS (global positioning system) came along, I was not quick to adopt it because I felt that getting there was half the fun. However, I then realized that getting lost was no fun at all, so I installed a GPS, and have never looked back.

The map is one of civilization’s most ancient inventions. Ever since mankind ventured more than a few kilometers away from hearth and home, some means of directing people from where they were to where they wanted to go became essential. Maps are still very much part of our travel. Either on paper or electronically, we could hardly go anywhere without one.

The concept of a map also has important applications elsewhere, notably in mathematics and computer science. 

I therefore strongly believe that the map (or maps) very much deserves a place of honor on the list of what I like to call “Extraordinary Ordinary Things.”

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