Over It

Technological change, weve been told, is constantly accelerating. Yet it seems like weve been stuck in the smart bulb era of modern gadgetry for a while. Has technologys exponential advancement finally slowed? Or is something else happening?Smart light bulbs have been mainstream for, what, 3 or 4 years now? That might seem like a long time. But consider that between 130,000 and 60,000 years ago, humans used almost the exact same tools with little technological advancement. So for 70,000 years nothing much happened.Then between 60,000 and 10,000 years ago, humans started improving stuff. We made more complex tools, wove clothing, and painted caves. That might sound like a lot, but keep in mind that it took 40,000 years. The 4 years smart bulbs have been popular is only 1/10,000th of that span.Then the agricultural revolution happened, which sped things up, as did the scientific and industrial revolutions. Then we had incandescent light bulbs starting about 140 years ago. Then fluorescent light bulbs came about 85 years ago. Then LED lights when mainstream about 10 years ago. And then we got smart bulbs. See the acceleration?If you told somebody 50 years ago that we could turn our living room lights off from an airplane, theyd be amazed. If you told them we were getting a little bored with this technology, theyd laugh.Weve become so accustomed to the accelerating pace of technological change that our expectations have accelerated even faster. 2 years ago it was amazing that Google Photos could organize your photos by facial recognition. Today were annoyed that it doesnt always get it right.So dont worry were not going to get stuck in the smart bulb era for 700,000 years. The fact that Meh is selling off-brand smart bulbs for cheap is itself a harbinger of change. And in 2025 when youre hovering in outer space on board your flying light-cocoon, remember to stop and appreciate it.