Staying REAL in a CYBER World

The premise of the excellent book, “Who Moved My Cheese” reveals a simple parable telling the story of two mice in a maze dealing with change. This is a must-read for anyone still stuck in the 20th-century, marketing paradigm. Whether we like it or not, the future is here and change is accelerating at breakneck speed.

I still own a PX-1000, one of Kurzweil’s “amazing” synthesizer modules. According to the inevitability of the principles of change, this coveted $2500 rack-mounted synthesizer was out of date the day I foolishly traded away my beautiful 1989 Gibson ES 335 — now easily worth over $2000 on eBay.

What a dumb thing to do. But I will say my PX-1000, boat anchor still makes beautiful sounds. It sits on my music rack as a reminder of The Law of Accelerated Returns, an article published by Ray Kurzweil at the turn of the century. Here are some excerpts from his article.

“Accelerated change is an analysis of the history of technology that shows that technological change is exponential, contrary to the common-sense “intuitive linear” view. So we won’t experience 100 years of progress in the 21st century — it will be more like 20,000 years of progress (at today’s rate).

The “returns,” such as chip speed and cost-effectiveness, also increase exponentially. There’s even exponential growth in the rate of exponential growth. Within a few decades, machine intelligence will surpass human intelligence, leading to The Singularity — technological change so rapid and profound it represents a rupture in the fabric of human history.” If you want the rest just google it.

Yes, I agree that technology will continue to increase but personal, real humans, and social interaction will always triumph over robots. We have to adapt to change and use the technology tools to stay current, especially in the business world but people still respond to the “human” side of the business.

MySpace, Facebook, and Youtube are great tools and vehicles for social expression that is facilitated by technology. What’s the big deal, people have been social networking for years? The big deal is we can do it faster and more efficiently. Technology is merely the conduit that assists in making the connection.

What’s more valuable, human interaction or technology? I’d vote for human interaction. Regardless of what futurists, Kurzweil, and other transhumanist champions believe, the real human experience will always be more important.

My old Gibson ES-335 is more valuable today than a Kurzweil PX-1000 because of its workmanship and intrinsic value. It’s made out of real wood, not IC chips. It’s probably making someone really happy whereas my Rolland JV1080 and Yamaha Motif are just computer hardware that has already been replaced by more advanced technology.

Don’t get me wrong, I love technology — my A/V studio reflects my love and dependency on it. For me, technology and change is a way to connect with and serve my friends and clients. I’ll I can say I’m going to stay current, embrace change but stay people focused.