Just Think

3200 BCE - Humans Learn how to write

Humans first learned how to write around 3200 BCE in Mesopotamia (modern-day Iraq), where the Sumerians developed one of the earliest known writing systems called cuneiform. Around the same period, writing systems also appeared in ancient Egypt (hieroglyphics) and the Indus Valley.

Improvements

• Allowed humans to document events, transactions, laws, and cultural stories, which were crucial for the development of civilizations.
• Enabled the storage and transmission of knowledge across generations, contributing to education, literature, and science.
• Provided a foundation for legal contracts, government records, and administrative systems, facilitating organized societies.

Issues

• Writing systems were often complex and required education, limiting access to knowledge for the general population.
• Written records can be misinterpreted or mistranslated over time, leading to misinformation or loss of original meanings.
• Early writing materials like clay tablets, papyrus, and parchment were susceptible to wear, decay, or destruction, risking the loss of information.

1874 - The Typewriter

The first commercially successful typewriter was introduced in 1874 by E. Remington and Sons, based on a design by Christopher Latham Sholes. It became more widely used in offices and homes in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

Improvements

• Significantly increased the speed and uniformity of writing compared to handwriting, which enhanced productivity in offices.
• Provided a standardized and more legible text format, reducing errors in reading and interpretation.
• Enabled the creation of multiple copies of a document simultaneously using carbon paper, which was useful for record-keeping and distribution.

Issues

• Mistakes required correction fluid or retyping the entire document, making editing cumbersome and time-consuming.
• Typewriters were mechanical devices that required regular maintenance, repairs, and replacement of ribbons and ink.
• Though smaller portable models existed, typewriters were generally bulky and heavy, limiting mobility and use in different environments.

1980s - Personal Computers

Early computers, like the ENIAC, were developed in the 1940s and were primarily used for military and scientific purposes. The first personal computers, such as the Altair 8800 and Apple I, appeared in the mid-1970s. The adoption of personal computers began to accelerate in the 1980s with the release of the IBM PC and Macintosh.

Improvements

• Enabled rapid data processing and complex calculations that were impossible or impractical with manual methods.
• Combined multiple functions (word processing, spreadsheets, communication, entertainment) in a single device, transforming both professional and personal environments.
• Revolutionized communication and collaboration through the internet, email, and networking capabilities, facilitating global information sharing.

Issues

• Data entry and input was tied to the location of the computer
• Information was limited to the user of the computer
• Still very expensive for the average person

2007 - Smartphones

The concept of a "smartphone" began to take shape with the release of the IBM Simon Personal Communicator in 1994, which combined mobile phone capabilities with a PDA (Personal Digital Assistant). However, smartphones became more popular with the release of devices like the BlackBerry in the early 2000s and achieved mass-market adoption with the release of the iPhone in 2007 and Android devices soon after.

Improvements

• Portability allowed information to be entered and received from anywhere
• Connectivity allowed information to spread between people and devices in real-time changing the political landscape, education, industry and commerce
• Computing becomes ubiquitious with incredible global adoption

Issues

• Humans still type and speak to enter information into computers, which is far slower than machines can talk to each other
• Voice communication is limited with signal loss
• Humans are forced to build custom user interfaces for every different application

Today

Today computers have exceeded the ability of humans to enter and process information. Computers, smart phones, IoT devices, and robotics can now communicate with one another at incredible speeds; almost 100,000,000 or billions of times faster than how humans can enter and process information through typing or voice. As the dawn of AI, humans are left behind unable to control the technology that is leaving them behind.

Nora is a vision of the future where people can be free of the mechanical data entry of keyboards and microphones by simply thinking to interact with computer agents.