The replacement generation: In pursuit of new technology

"Productivity not novelty is the motivation for innovation".

Once upon a time

If our population continue to grow at this geometric rate with food production increasing at an arithmetic progression, cannibalism is inevitable. This was the postulation by Reverend Malthus. But for mechanization, humanity would have had to resort to eating ourselves. The rise of machines marked the beginning of a new productivity era known as the Industrial era. By sheer dexterity, man overcame the limitations that threatened to wipe him off the face of the earth. The ability to adapt is what makes man superior to other species. This explains why Dinosaurs don't exist anymore. This is the age that the brightest of minds from centuries past spoke about. This millennium was long prophesied. From Aristotle to Da Vinci and even Einstein, the greatest minds of the past eras saw beyond the limitations of their time and predicted the things that are now upon us. Now that the time is upon us and we are the result of envisages, what have we become and what is the ultimate fate of this generation?

The Gutenberg and us

So what has changed? This is a question worth asking. From the great Egyptian pyramids to the Babylonian rule, Roman domination and beyond, it is true that a lot has changed. As a budding storyteller and a keen student of life, I reckon that humanity has moved from Orality to Textuality. To truly understand the movement, reference will have to be made to such concepts like The Gutenberg Galaxy. One thing is sure and that is the fact that man has evolved. His tools also. The early man sought to increase his productivity by improving his tools. Consider for instance the time when all he had was a stone. This stone was the ultimate tool of weapon and comfort. We know this because while the stone was his pillow by night, it was a tool of survival. He created fire by striking it together. It was a matter of time before he jettisoned it only to explore other materials with which he created new tools. Such is the nature of man. This is the reason why he invents. Necessity is laid upon him to do this. By so doing, he replaces his tools with new ones. There is nothing impulsive about this behavior. Productivity has always been at the heart of what drives us.

Stomach is still king
If we can articulate what has changed, wouldn't it be nice to ask what has not changed? Well, we now have faster planes and very intelligent machines that even more efficient than man that created them but hunger remains the number global problem. According to the United Nations, the need to eradicate hunger ranks as number one Millennium Development Goal (MDG). Inspite of our advancement, food production has remained a key concern. This is a very shocking insight. We are in the post industrial complex era and humanity is pedaling very fast. New technologies are emerging at a very fast rate and across many industries disruption is the new speak. We are not satisfied with today so we invent the future.

The book arrived too late
Behold the words of Alfonso de larmartine; an accomplished French Writer, Port and Physician who lived in the 17th century. 
 

“Before this century shall run out, journalism will be the whole press. Mankind will write their book day by day, hour by hour, page by page. Thought will spread abroad with the rapidity of light, instantly conceived, instantly written, instantly understood at the extremities of the earth, it will spread from pole to pole, suddenly burning with the fervor of soul which made it burst forth; it will be the reign of the human mind in all its plenitude; it will not have time to ripen, to accumulate in the form of a book; the book will arrive too late; the only book possible from day to day is a newspaper”.

 

It goes without saying that not much is fundamentally different about this generation in terms of its penchant to replace things and get better. Like others before us, we won't quit pushing the envelope. Necessity is laid upon us. Our nomadic instinct is the reason why we move and replace things. We won't stop until the end of time. 

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