“Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic,” wrote Arthur C. Clarke, some time before 1962.
The technology in this picture – the Kaypro personal computer, the ubiquitous Epson dot matrix printer, large floppy disks, an acoustic coupler modem – whence he wrote 2001: A Space Odyssey, all came later.
This morning, February 6, 2016, on a continuous line reaching from Clarke’s ape who just discovered how to use a tool to change his environment, to my challenge today to become a fluent Ruby on Rails programmer using a sparkling new Macbook brimming with capacities yet to be discovered, it’s easier to relate to the monkey.
But that’s no reflection on the challenge ahead. It’s always easier to relate to the monkey because the ape is inside of us. Much of our daily lives, in fact some of the most enjoyable parts of our daily lives, remain undiminished, if not unsatisfied by technology – gifts and drives from our monkey past that keep on giving, keep on driving us.
The discomfort of the out of control feeling in the pit of my stomach is, I’m told, the desired mental state for learning and absorbing into long term memory new skills. It is a feeling from the monkey inside of me, looking at the new bone in his hand, trying to imagine what he’ll do with this thing.
Another imagination. I’m on a freeway ramp. Cars practically fly by out on the main road. I am gradually accelerating. Let’s find out how fast this thing can go.
