2025-04-14 - Phlog Questions Challenge: Technology Edition ========================================================== This morning i read Nathan Campos's answers to the Technology Blog Questions Challenge, and followed the backlinks and tags to other answers [1]. Out of all of the answers, i enjoyed reading Stfn's the most. I liked their question about what counts as technology, because i think of technology in a very broad sense. Even so, i will constrain my answers to cyber and electro technology. > When Did You First Get Interested In Technology? Scouring my memory banks dislodges fond memories of using an electronics kit from a yard sale. I supplemented this kit with components scavenged from other electronics, components purchased from RadioShack, etc. Of all the projects, my favorite was building a crystal radio. Later i dabbled in making my own components including diodes, tuning coils, an AC to DC rectifier, etc. Science Fair 150 in 1 Electronics Project Kit Manual I remember checking out a "spy" book from the middle school library. It included plot points where i needed to type in BASIC code as part of the story line. I remember the code worked on the Apple ][ computers in the school lab, but i was limited to using them during lunch time. I could access a DOS PC at home after school. Now and then, the BASIC code needed to be tweaked a little to run correctly on GWBASIC. My first experiences with debugging involved printing the code on tractor feed paper and then scrutinizing it "offline." I no longer remember the title of the book. The Internet Archive has many kids books with BASIC listings to type into a computer. I seem to recall that my library book had more integration between the story and the code. Island of Secrets Computer Spy Games > What's Your Favourite Piece Of Technology All-Time? Unicode. If i weren't restricting myself to electronics, i would say the printing press. Naturally, Project Gutenberg is my favorite Internet site. Thanks to ASCII and Unicode, Project Gutenberg etexts can be expected to be readable anywhen and anywhere. However, the real magic behind Project Gutenberg is social and not technical: the volunteers and their vision are what make it so special. > What's Your Favourite Piece Of Technology Right Now? Lately i have been "nerding out" with retro tech such as the gopher protocol, the AWK programming language, etc. One nice thing about retro tech is that it is NOT practical. It keeps a low profile as a result of its so-called obsolescence. It does not attract investor hype or other external motivations. As a labor of love, it is more likely to be applied in harmless ways. > Name One New Cool Piece Of Technology We'll Have In 25 Years! Once around the beginning of this century, i was describing to my grandfather how amazing computers and technology were. He pointed out that many of those same things could be done "cheaper" by people. All you need to "make" people are potatoes and water. I think he raised an important point. I think that electronic technology stands to be displaced by biological technology. Photosynthesis could outperform solar panels. Carbon could outperform silicon. Once i read a science story that illustrates this point. Tokyo has a world class subway system designed by teams of highly educated professionals. Scientists made a scale model of the subway and placed food sources in it in proportion to demand. Then they placed a slime mold in the model. The slime mold expanded to fill the model, sat there for a while, and then overnight it suddenly transformed itself into an optimal configuration for transporting the food through the model. The slime mold's routes were more efficient than the existing subway system. The best human technicians on the planet were "schooled" by a slime mold. I believe it takes a special humility and spiritual grounding to make this kind of discovery. I envision a human being who is willing to see the beauty in a supposedly "lowly" slime mold, to listen to and learn from our natural cousins. The imminent climate crisis and doomsday clock are only part of the painful process to create this kind of human being. Ones who can be more fully human. The darker and starker the backdrop, the more brilliantly heroic these human beings can shine. In 25 years, hope i am alive to see it happen. Final Thoughts -------------- That was fun! I would like to tag anna and IanJ. anna IanJ p.s. A Word About Photosynthesis --------------------------- I was wrong about photosynthesis being more efficient than photovoltaics. Photosynthesis captures 3 to 6% of solar energy while photovoltaics capture 10%. However, this is only one perspective. It ignores the external costs of photovoltaics, such as conflict minerals, pollution, slavery, etc. At the end of their lifecycle they are legally considered hazardous waste. In contrast, plants are biodegradable and self-repairing. As of 2024, global annual energy capture by photosynthesis is over a billion times more than photovoltaics. Email me if you would like to see my math and references. [1] Nathan Campos Zero Cool Matto Mavica 82MHz BASIC Kyle Cliff Liz John Dom Stfn Steve Lord tags: bencollver,technical Tags ==== bencollver technical