I admit I don’t understand much about software or how it connects us to the internet though I use my computer daily. That’s why I paused in my day to read an article by Neil Gershenfeld and J P Fasseau in which the authors predict that one day the virtual and the real world will merge. (“As Objects Go Online,” Foreign Affairs, March/April, 2014 pgs. 60-67.)
How that will work, I can’t imagine, though I know software allows 3 D printers to turn computer images into objects and enables appliances to talk to one another. (See blog 12/23/2013)
According to the authors, interconnectivity is possible because of the web’s grid design. Unlike airlines, which operate with central hubs that can become crowded at peak times, the internet functions more like a railway system with switches that allow data to flow around congested areas. What’s more, the information doesn’t pass through the system as a single unit but is broken into packets, like pieces of a Lego set. For greater efficiency, packets can be rerouted separately and reassembled at journey’s end. Best of all, this flow can be increased by stacking packets, one upon the other like an apartment building. The grid is also flexible in that it allows audio and video streams to move concurrently through a variety of means — fiber-optics, wires and satellites, for example. (Ibid pg. 63) This flexibility, the authors predict, is why one day the internet will connect so seamlessly to the real one that the virtual world will “disappear into the woodwork.” (Ibid pg. 67)
I hope these two prognosticators are right. Imagine enjoying a virtual-real hot fudge sundae without gaining a pound. When that feat becomes possible, I’ll be the first to say, “Beam me board Scotty.”
(Courtesy of www.oneiraqiidinar.com)
