Progress -- Yes & No

Sometimes You Are Right -- But Wish You Weren't

This is the start of an ongoing series through Substack.

In 2009, I wrote two poems, “The Law of Disruption - I”, and “The Law of Disruption — II” (which appear in my newest book, “Collected Poems 2008-2010”). Unfortunately, my thoughts at that time seem to have come true.

The Law of Disruption - I

Larry Downes, in his book,
“The Laws of Disruption”,
states the law:
“Technology changes exponentially,
but social, economic, and legal
systems change incrementally.”

Wow!|
Think about it!
If true (and it is), this means that
the world, as we know it, can’t keep up.

Borders crumble, copyright laws
change or become meaningless,
retail businesses implode,
sources of taxation disappear,
current job skills become unneeded
while new needed skills are in short supply,
and, for the long range,
Facebook and Twitter
are more important than
Osama and Obama.

And that is scary,
very scary.

Must every new generation
be afraid? I think so.

Copyright 2009 John F. McMullen

And

The Law of Disruption - II

If there is to be constant
exponential change,
who will keep up with it?

Very few of us.
It will constantly be the
young who grow up
with the new technology
who will “get it”
and it is the middle-aged
and the “mature” who
won’t get it
(just as the majority of
my contemporaries don’t
get Twitter or Facebook).

Further, the time slices for
each new technology will
get smaller and smaller --
meaning that, unless we
are able to adapt constantly
(something we don’t do
well now, the useful
work cycle of each generation
will get smaller and smaller.

and it will become more and
more obvious that we are
simply fodder for the evolutionary
process – pieces in a game plan
which we don’t understand.

Copyright 2009 John F. McMullen

This series will focus on my observations as a former technologist, now a poet, on the changing world because of, in part, the hidden impact of technology on our lives. I will write about other things on occasion but we will return to this subject regularly.

I hope that you will join us.