Dreams…

In Computers: The Life Story of a Technology authors Eric Swedin and David Ferro detail how the computer has revolutionized our lives in the last half of the twentieth century. The first four chapters of the book take the reader through some of the history of the computers development. The account is filled with vision, passion, controversy and genius. In other words, the story of the computer is one of dreams. However, the advancement of technology is one that is not always embraced by all members of society. Dating back to 1085 when merchants resisted the development of the Arabic number system and in the mid 1700’s when Frenchmen Joseph Marie Jacquard had his life threatened by professional hand-weavers who saw his looping machine for weaving tapestries as a threat to their livelihood common folk have tried to block growth. Jacquard’s dream won. He was praised by Napoleon and his business flourished. (p.17) The printing press and it’s role in the expansion of trade led to the widespread adoption of the Arabic system. The point is… A powerful dream is an unstoppable force.

Interwoven into this remarkable scientific journey is economics. The desire to do things faster, more efficiently, effectively and conveniently is inevitably driven by economics. Mathematicians desire to speed up the calculation of numbers led to an adding machine which would sit on the corner of a desk. The Brunsviga company in the US sold 20,000 of these machines in the late 1800 and early 1900’s. (p. 13) Charles Babbage authored Economy of Manufactures in 1832 which sought to illuminate the ties between social forces and the Industrial Revolution. Babbage was both a trained economist and an inventor. It’s impossible to separate economics from the technology. When the United States took the census in 1900 it adopted a new technology to aid in the calculations. Some in the newspaper industry were skeptical it would work. (p. 22) The new technology saved $5 billion dollars. As is often the case today, the media usually doesn’t have  entrepreneurial vision. Are we in the year 2010 currently in the middle of an economic crisis or the greatest entrepreneurial opportunity? Turn on the television and hear the gloom and doom about the economy, or read The Next Millionaires and discover where the opportunities exist.

The authors of Computers: The Life Story of a Technology tell us that in 1960 there were less than 7,000 computers built worldwide and by 1970 there were 130,000. (p. 83) In 2010 many people carry hand-held technology which has the capability to run an international business. The computer is allowing anybody the same opportunity to achieve complete financial independence from the comfort of their home. The nature of work is changing because of the computer. Since late 2007, nearly 8 million people have lost jobs. And, amazingly, as reported by the Wall Street journal, 700,000 job losses are from only 25 companies. There is no such thing as a "good job" anymore, but as Computers: The Life Story of a Technology reveals, it is always a good time to dream… and it's impossible to stop the wave of technology... Entrepreneurs always thrive in down economies…Stop trying to fight a tidal wave and start dreaming again!

PS. Dreamers are always ridiculed... until their dreams come true