Fifteen hundred years ago everybody knew the Earth was the center of the universe. Five hundred years ago, everybody knew the Earth was flat, and fifteen minutes ago, you knew that humans were alone on this planet. Imagine what you’ll know tomorrow. -Agent K, Men In Black
When I was six years old, I had my first taste of the future. It came in a beige, boxy, loud hulking machine that sat in a room with its siblings. As I pressed a button on its back, it hummed to life, a bright flash appearing before my eyes. Moments later, it righted itself and together, we entered a new world. I left my corporeal self behind and traveled to the past as someone else.
Of course, I’m referring to the Apple II and the original Oregon Trail.
Up until that point, I had no idea what a computer could really do. I had mucked around on the Tandy 286 in my dad’s store, futzing with prehistoric spreadsheet programs and playing the most advanced games I could find for it, like Pac-Man and Space Invaders. To me, the computer was a simple tool that had a long way to go.
I was seeing a new world of possibility – characters and scenes came to life as I found myself engrossed with the possibilities of the new digital world. Word Munchers and Mario Teaches Typing soon followed, discreetly educating me as I played happily. Of course, I had no idea that less than five years later, I would be able to play music or watch movies on a computer.
Once that came to pass, I didn’t think I would be able to join communities, find old friends or carve my own niche in the world with nothing more than a laptop and an Internet connection. Then again, this kind of thought is nothing new.
Charles H. Duell, the U.S. Patent Office Commissioner famously said, “Everything that can be invented has been invented” – in 1899. Keep in mind that Twinkies weren’t invented till 1930! 1930, people!
Can you imagine what the world would be like if we ran out of innovation in 1899? We’d have lousy cars, wood roller coasters, coal stoves, really lousy light bulbs, and silent movies. Can you possibly comprehend the horrible ridiculousness of Avatar as a black and white silent film?
“We are all interested in the future, for that is where you and I will spend the rest of our lives.” -Criswell, Plan 9 From Outer Space
People are innovating and creating more and more every day, allowing us to do things that we might have never believed possible even a few weeks ago. Our culture is becoming more advanced and creative at an alarming rate. With ideas and concepts as the new currency, the wildest dreams of the turn of the century have already been surpassed.
For a six-year-old playing Oregon Trail on a top-of-the-line desktop box, I never imagined that less than two decades later, I would be playing the game on a small, portable computer that could fit in my pocket that comes with an exponentially larger memory, better music and nicer graphics. The old game seemed like the end-all, be-all.
But we know that there’s plenty more where that came from, with unknown worlds and developments just waiting to be explored. Imagine what we’ll know tomorrow.
