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Has the Rate of Technical Progress Slowed?

Posted by timothy on from the now-we're-just-building-better-coffins dept.

Amiga Trombone writes "An article in the IEEE Spectrum argues that the rate of technological progress has slowed in the last 50 years. While there have been advances in areas such as computers, communications and medicine, etc., the author points out that these advances have largely been incremental rather than revolutionary. He contrasts the progress made within the life-span of his grandmother (1880-1960) with that in his own (1956-present). Having been born the year after the author, I've noticed this, too. While certainly we've produced some useful refinements, little of the technology available today would have surprised me much had I been able to encounter it in 1969. While some of it has been implemented in surprising ways, the technology itself had largely been anticipated."

6 of 712 comments (clear)

  1. Re:How could this be? by zach_the_lizard · · Score: 3, Funny

    Of course! The granting of legal monopolies in the production of something is just bound to lead to an explosion in innovation. No one would ever invent one obvious thing and sit on it forever, never producing anything ever again.

    --
    SSC
  2. Re:Yes by tpgp · · Score: 4, Funny

    In 1999 I was on slashdot from a computer not much different from this one.

    Yes, but in 1999 did you have twitter? Facebook? Now that's progress.

    Why - just think, by 2029, you might be able to let everyone know the consistency of your latest shit, just by thinking about it!

    --
    My pics.
  3. Re:Flying Car by CarpetShark · · Score: 5, Funny

    An airplane can use climb or dive quickly, or bank, and that's pretty much it. And none of those operations can really be done on a dime.

    You're flying in the wrong mode. Switch to arcade.

  4. Re:Twenty-first century arrives after slight delay by paiute · · Score: 5, Funny

    It turns out that the Galactic Brotherhood is here to get compensation for our theft of their IP. Seems that SETI@home wasn't recording noise but the encoded libraries of several thousand civilizations, and we at home were processing a lot of copyrighted material. With damages and interest, we owe them everything from the center of the Sun out to about Saturn. And we get disconnected from the electromagnetic spectrum.

    --
    If Slashdot were chemistry it would look like this:Cadaverine
  5. Re:Flying Car by wstrucke · · Score: 4, Funny

    Well, this is all linked to economy...

    • Supersonic flight costs a lot more than subsonic
    • Flights to the moon cost a lot of money and you don't make a penny out of it

    This is obvious that progress alone does not drive decisions. Money does.

    So what you're saying is... in reality we are the Ferengi.

  6. Re:Yes by baKanale · · Score: 4, Funny

    I owe my practically flawless English (I'm French) to chatting with Americans on AIM ever since I was 15

    On AIM? That, sir, is what we call a miracle.