Cascading effects of technology — Ripples in time
“I once read a book and my whole life changed”
- The New Life, Orhan Pamuk
Avid readers would not disregard the notion that a book can change one’s life. Can a book also change the lives of an entire generation? Similarly, can an original idea, a spark of ingenuity change the future? There are a number of immensely influential books in the history of literature and science. Books that has sent ripples across socio-economical as well as scientific circles and nudged the course of history. Some of the ones that might immediately pop to our minds are: The Communist Manifesto (Karl Marx), Origin of the Species (Charles Darwin), Works of Shakespeare, Wealth of the Nations (Adam Smith), Critique of Pure Reason (Immanuel Kant), Theory of Relativity (Albert Einstein), 1984 (George Orwell), Republic (Plato), Rubaiyat (Ömer Khayyam).
When we imagine what the future holds, we tend to think about the first degree changes; only the direct effects of new technological, socio-economical and scientific breakthroughs. Many people think that the usage of self-driving cars, Cryptocurrencies and artificial intelligence will be widespread in the future. Such technological progress never takes place in a vacuum though. It’s not logical to assume that everything about the society and environment at large will be just about the same, but just the cars will…
