History (and future) of computing

(Trillions from MAYAnMAYA on Vimeo.)

The essence of the video is: recently we had very few computers. Now we have a lot. In very near future, we will have so many that what we have right now will feel like a kindergarten child’s mid-afternoon fantasy.

So, how are we going to handle this? Trillion(s) of sources of information connected and communicating in a complex, chaotic way? Right now we have no tools to handle this and no idea how to get those tools. But we can ask for advice from Hashem. Or from Nature, whatever view you prefer.

Because if you look at our body, it has trillions of cells (each designed in a much more complicated way and handling much more information than a single computer) communicating with each other and doing so successfully to allow our bodies to live (in fact, so successfully that you go through your day not giving it much thought how much information exchange needs to happen in order for you to do your basic tasks for a minute — forget something as complicated as playing a violin, or giving a lecture, or... I don’t know... fencing).

I mean, we don’t think about it much, and we take it for granted, but that thing between our ears, the human brain, is the most complicated structure in the whole known Universe. And female human brain is probably the most complicated structure in both known and unknown Universe. Think about it... Next time you want to ride a motorcycle, think twice. If not out of respect to yourself, then at least out of respect to your Creator.

P.S. Although, there is something I am probably not getting. How will we have trillions of computers? Right now we have, what, seven, eight billion people on this planet? Let’s say, in the nearest future we will have 10 billion people. So, if we have a trillion computers, that’s 100 computers per person?

If so, kinda cool…