This post in the "Ground Zero..." thread about nuke tests hit at something I've wondered about for some time.
Quote:
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The 1950s must have been very exciting because they were at the cusp of everything modern.
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Y'all can fact check my dates, etc. I want to share these raw observations off the top of my head:
I take advantage of most electronic advances I run across. I'm not a Luddite. However, I can't help think that nothing really breathtaking has been developed since the Apollo Program. Consider the roots of these once ground breaking devices:
- Commercial aviation peaked in 1958 when the Boeing 707 rolled out. It's not better now, just more efficient with turbo fans, digital flight controls and navigation. When the Wright Bros. flew under power in 1903 that was fantastic. 37 years later we had the P-51 Mustang (not yet with RR Merlin motor). It was/is perfection in design. Within four years we had turbojet fighters. Within ten years we had the F-100 that could break the sound barrier in level flight. Beyond that it's been incremental performance improvements at huge costs.
- Then there's satellites. Other than the electronic payloads they're no different from that ground breaking weather satellite series in the mid-60's.
- Our daily drivers...electronics aiding in design, safety, drivetrain control have been great, but incremental. EVs are something completely different but costs and environmental damages are just shifted forward and backward to give the illusion of efficiency.
- My new iPhone is an incremental improvement over my 6G.
Is there anything under development that will be revolutionary on a visceral level; or just incremental improvements on current products due to digital advances?