This is 2007, and while that’s not a particularly obvious date to
celebrate an anniversary, I suddenly realized it was indeed an anniversary to note. Ten years ago, within a few weeks of each other, Mickey Mouse and the White House each got their first website. It signals, if anything, the popular emergence of the World Wide Web, along with personal computers and the Internet. Before that, only a relative handful of stalwart techies navigated the Net, but with the point-and-click graphic sensibilities of the World Wide Web design, the Internet was ready for prime time. Of course, it also required the introduction of cheap, affordable personal computers with nifty color screens, mice and touchpads, and the basic of all basic: a connection to the Internet. Now – ten years later – the exception is the adult who isn’t reasonably adept with a full complement of personal technology. I was thinking back to the crossover period– the late 80’s and early 90’s. Computers – and even the personal computer – really made their first inroads in the workplace. PC’s eventually replaced what we called “dumb terminals”, which were hooked up to mammoth mainframe computers in air-conditioned and humidity-controlled computer rooms. Without a doubt this caused a seismic shift in the workplace, and then, as in any period of immense change, human behavior was very telling. One-by-one, entire departments would “computerize”, while their staffs remained the same. A person who had done his or her job competently for years was now asked to do it on the computer, and frankly, this didn’t always go down that well. People would say such things as “I can’t use the computer, because I can’t type.” Or “I can’t read the screen. It hurts my eyes.” Or “I figure I can stay here until retirement and avoid learning all this computer stuff.” But there was no holding back the march of technology, and very shortly, all the objections ceased … along with all the lame excuses. Now as most of you know I’ve gotten into biotech in the last few years, which means I’ve gotten in the life sciences, and I am as surprised as anyone. And now I’m hearing people tell me how they can’t understand science, and that’s it’s way beyond them. Yet when a person in their family becomes seriously ill, they run to the Internet and research the medical condition in excruciating detail. They know which researchers are researching what, and where in the world bleeding edge treatments are available, and they’re asking their doctors extremely detailed and sophisticated questions. When I say to them: “I thought you couldn’t understand science”, they readily admit they just needed a reason. So, here’s what I think. Everywhere I look in our society, from stem cells and medical treatments, to genetically-modified food to ethanol and biofuels, to DNA and privacy concerns, to global warming and pollution – the problems and their solutions require us all to have a much better understanding of the science. I can see a time when we all dig in and learn science wheneve we need it, and anyone who says they can’t will sound as lame as “I can’t use a computer. You see, I can’t type.”
