Quote:
Originally Posted by glatt
I don't know about that.
I'm pretty amazed at what my cell phone can do.
Video phone calls. Streaming videos to my TV. Asking it questions verbally
and getting the answers spoken back to me. Dictating emails and web posts.
And it's a computer that comes with me wherever I go.
Just how often should we expect a huge new advance? We didn't have any of that in one package two years ago.
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But that is exactly what I mean by "only tinkering around the edges"
What is "creative" among those functions ?
Aren't they just applications of technologies that have been around for a while ?
Smaller and faster are only advances or twisting of existing technologies.
I agree, we should not expect huge new advances on a
regular basis.
But technical areas (fields of endeavor) do grow, mature, and become resistant to further change.
Progress becomes stepwise, and human activities follow along with the current state of technology.
IMO, on the other hand, creativity brings about something new in human activities or understanding, and changes the future.
For example, Pascal's concept leading to a hydraulic circuit to run heavy machinery
was more than just a stepwise technical advance... it was a new concept.
And was an early demonstration of the value of basic research !
Likewise for things such GPS and DNA and even concepts such as "corporations" or "intelligence".
Again in my opinion... creativity in the areas of computers
and smart phones is nearing the status of cement.
All that is left seems to be financial exploitation.