In 1969, mankind affirmed its supremacy over the solar system as the first man step foot on the moon. In 2006, we launched our first probe towards the distant Pluto, no longer a planet, but still significant on scale of the distance between us and that tiny little glob far far away. And just last month, we landed a sophisticated robot on the red planet to further probe Mars' surface , using technology never seen before and risks never being higher. But really, how fast is the humankind progressing on the blue planet we call home? All these missions gave impetus for technological advancement and out-of-the-box thinking during their conception, and yet we still don't see the next big leap into the future happening anytime soon!
That we have come far from the day Alexander Bell called across a headset to his friend Thomas Watson would be an understatement. We have shrunk a computer from a resource-guzzling Goliath to a palm-fitting screen. You can even trace your lineage these days at the click of a button. And yet, some of the problems threatening our advancement remain unperturbed. The so-called megacities of the world are overburdened. The developing world remains at the mercy of the monsoons to feed its people and keep inflation low. The Arctic ice sheet just shrunk to a record minimum, and may keep shrinking for the next two weeks. And we are increasingly alarmed at the prospect of our energy dependence on coal and gasoline.
Is this to say that science & technology has put global upliftment in hindsight as it marches on towards novel frontiers of innovation? Hardly so, but there are certainly more startups focused on improving your social life than those on improving your actual life. So while I was sitting 10,000 feet in air, thinking about those little rivulets down below you glance at once in a while, I came across an incredible IT tool in the back pages of the mundane airlines magazine. Streetline, a startup that lets you find parking space in a bustling metropolitan city and then navigates you towards it, is one of the most ingenious technological innovations I have seen in a while. We have all been frustrated at the lack of easily available parking at some point during our lives. Well, hook up a smart sensor to the parking spot and transmit that data to paying customers. Sounds easy, right? Similarly, technological innovations in the field of medicine have made it possible for a doctor to calculate risks associated with a patient's present condition 10 years down the lines. All basic ideas carefully crafted into profitable and humane technological tools. Apps like these amaze and puzzle me at the same time? Facebook and Zynga still dominate the front pages of any leading business journal, while few care to mention these fantastic small companies that are making a huge difference in the quality of life of numerous individuals. A difference of perception indeed!
PS: Everybody has heard about TED talks. Here's a personal favorite, and in my opinion, a must-see.
