Charles H. Duell, Commissioner of the U.S. Patent Office, in 1899 spoke the infamously mistaken words “Everything that can be invented has been invented.”
Now those were some silly words. If they were true think about what we wouldn’t have today. There would be no computers, cell phones, jet airplanes, big-screen color TVs, antibiotics, iPods and the list is endless.
No inventions after 1899 would have left us in a completely different world and one that would not be nearly as exciting as the one we have now. The creation of such technological gadgets as mentioned above has been dependent on each other for inspiration. The shining examples of this in my mind are the developments leading up to the internet. The internet has allowed people to discover the world and learn much about different cultures and different lands.
People are now realizing that their passions are not theirs alone. They can find someone a million miles away with the same interests as they have. The internet gives us the means to say anything we want to anyone anywhere.
It seems as if recently, more outlets exist to help people experience the things in life that they love. In a way, everything is becoming more specific. To whom can we thank for this? Rapidly changing technology seems to be the facilitator here.
The internet has given us the ability to discover and deeply explore the things we care about in life. I grew up during the era where the internet skyrocketed and feel that my generation and the internet are one.
People in their 20’s and 30’s have been able to watch the Internet take flight because we were alive before it and now we are alive with it. We have watched how so much that we did offline can be done online. We’ve watched print publications turn to the Web. We’ve seen how we can turn on our computers to do all of our shopping online. We have learned to video chat with friends in different time zones. We can read entire books, buy practically anything, talk to someone across the world, listen to any kind of music, and plan every specific detail of a trip to anywhere we please.
The internet has revolutionized our lives. It makes it possible for everyone to speak their mind on any topic. All of us can be someone and all of us can have an audience. We can make something all our own on the internet. It is nothing short of amazing that you can write what you want to on any subject you choose. You now have a place to write down your thoughts and feelings and let everybody in or not. Free speech has found its domain.
Ultimately, the Internet facilitates discovery. We can view websites made by other people, and we can make our own for others to see. The Internet makes the world feel a little smaller, a little more manageable. Maybe we’re not all so different. Maybe someone in Ireland is listening to music on the same website you are. Maybe someone in South Africa just bought the same pair of shoes online that you did. Since the Internet can be such an effective tool in discovering almost anything there is to be discovered, maybe the Internet can also be the ties (or wires) that bind people together no matter how far apart we actually may be.
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