The science of today is the technology of tomorrow.
Interpretation
Today's scientific advancements lay the groundwork for future technological innovations.
This quote by Edward Teller emphasizes the idea that contemporary scientific discoveries and knowledge are the building blocks for the technological advancements that will shape our future. It suggests that what we consider cutting-edge science today will eventually evolve into the tools and technologies that define our lives tomorrow, highlighting the importance of ongoing scientific inquiry and progress.
In practice
In a tech conference discussing future innovations, this quote can inspire conversations about ongoing research.
In the history of physics, there have been three great revolutions in thought that first seemed absurd yet proved to be true. The first proposed that the earth, instead of being stationary, was moving around at a great and variable speed in a universe that is much bigger than it appears to our immediate perception. That proposal, I believe, was first made by Aristarchos two millenia ago ... Remarkably enough, the name Aristarchos in Greek means best beginning.
The scientist is not responsible for the laws of nature. It is his job to find out how these laws operate. It is the scientist's job to find the ways in which these laws can serve the human will. However, it is not the scientist's job to determine whether a hydrogen bomb should be constructed, whether it should be used, or how it should be used. This responsibility rests with the American people and with their chosen representatives.
Today, nothing is unusual about a scientific discovery's being followed soon after by a technical application: The discovery of electrons led to electronics; fission led to nuclear energy. But before the 1880's, science played almost no role in the advances of technology. For example, James Watt developed the first efficient steam engine long before science established the equivalence between mechanical heat and energy.
Secrecy, once accepted, becomes an addiction.
No endeavor that is worthwhile is simple in prospect; if it is right, it will be simple in retrospect.
I tried to contribute to the defeat of the Soviets. If I contributed 1%, it is 1% of something enormous.
There's no magic line between an application and an operating system that some bureaucrat in Washington should draw.
The Internet amplifies power in all respects. It can grossly exaggerate the power of the individual.
Every tech story is different. Every moment in history happens only once. All successful companies are successful in their own unique way. It's your task to figure out what that future history will be.
I find that creative streak I think often leads in programmers to be good predictors of where culture as a whole is going to go. And that is where I think I've tried over the years to in some ways use my customers as a filter or a predictor of where technology as a whole is going to go. Or where the world as a whole is going to go.
I was in Bangalore, India, the Silicon Valley of India, when I realized that the world was flat.
If we want users to like our software we should design it to behave like a likeable person: respectful, generous and helpful.
Subscribe for the occasional hand-picked quote. No noise.