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Where Are The Edges Of Today's Technology World?

Posted by timothy on from the cold-fusion dept.

Veeru writes "As mentioned on Nova, my great-great-grandfather Amos Ives Root published the first eye witness account of the Wright Brothers flight almost 100 years ago. Scientific American had rejected his article as 'unbelievable' and 'having no practical application'. The secretive Wright Brothers allowed Amos to publish the article in his own Gleanings Bee magazine instead. Because of his objective account, other experimenters may not have received the credit they deserved. I recently realized that Amos was intent on investigating the highest tech advances of the day and that the airplane was the most advanced phenomenon he could find. If Amos were alive today, what obscure technology would he be pursuing?"

1 of 509 comments (clear)

  1. Heh... by herrvinny · · Score: 1, Flamebait

    "As mentioned on Nova, my great-great-grandfather Amos Ives Root published the first eye witness account of the Wright Brothers flight almost 100 years ago.

    And now you're a techie too, huh? Like father, like son, like grandson... Good for you.

    Scientific American had rejected his article as 'unbelievable' and 'having no practical application'.

    Too bad. Scientific American would have benefited hugely today if it just had printed the article... Imagine the commercials they could make...

    The secretive Wright Brothers allowed Amos to publish the article in his own Gleanings Bee magazine instead.

    Good. Did your grandfather get a lot of good publicity because of this?

    Because of his objective account, other experimenters may not have received the credit they deserved.I wouldn't worry about it. It's in the past. Let it go.

    I recently realized that Amos was intent on investigating the highest tech advances of the day and that the airplane was the most advanced phenomenon he could find. If Amos were alive today, what obscure technology would he be pursuing?"

    Well, since it would be obscure, by definition, not a whole lot of people, including slashdotters, would know about it anyway. If I had to suggest something, perhaps biometric systems, nuclear systems, and any space tech.

    With China the newest country to hurl a guy into space, and with NASA and Europe firing probes at Mars, space is definitely due for a resurgence. Just wait until Christmas, when the Beagle 2 is scheduled to touch down on Mars. If Iraq would just get off the news for a while, the media will definitely pick up on Mars and space coverage. The NASA probes (Spirit and Opportunity, or something close to them) are due to reach Mars soon after that, too. We're going to be deluged with data for the techies to drool over and lots of nice pictures for the masses. Definitely space tech.