The why of tech
The why of tech
DESPITE the pomp and circumstance all things hi-tech have generated, there actually is no such thing as digital. That's right; the whole zeros and one thing is merely an idea passed from person to person. In this world, digital does not actually exist. All things that
physically exist must
be analogIf you remember, analog differs from digital in that it requires information to travel across time and space in order for it to be meaningful. Digital, on the other hand is information that can be conveyed without the need of either time or space. Analog and digital watches are perfect examples. Analog watches require the minute hand to travel across space (to the three or the six, for example) at a specific rate (one revolution per hour), in order to be meaningful. A digital watch simply declares the time, without regard for space or time.
Therefore all of the components that make up computers and the networks that connect them must be analog. Like Morse code, all the information is broken down into electronic blips that have to travel across wires in a specific order if the information is to be meaningful.
As it turns out, the simple fact is all things that physically exist MUST be analog.
Digital networks, digital TV, digital computers, digital anything is an oxymoron.
The fantastic twist is that thoughts are the only things that are not restricted to the analog world because they do not have to follow the rules of analog. They exist independent of time and space.
Dreams are a great example. How can it be that if I were to time you dreaming, my clock would read 45 seconds, but in your experience it was several hours?
What computers do is compress the time in which information is conveyed to a period imperceptibly short, they can give the illusion of these processes existing independent of space and time, thus making computers seem thought-like.
The great digital achievement is that by reducing information to the lowest common denominator (zero or one, or on and off) humans have created devices that give the illusion of being thought machines.
That's why speed is so important when describing the usefulness of a computer. How fast a computer can process those zeros and ones is directly proportional to how effectively it can give the illusion of being thought-like, of seemingly breaking down the physical boundaries that constrain all of us.
The trick to achieving the illusion of digital has been to remove as many mechanical processes as possible and replace them with electronic signals instead. Not only is this exponentially faster than mechanical switches, but it greatly reduces both the cost and wear on the hardware.
The next step in speeding things up on the network will be to replace those electronic signals with light signals. That's what fiber optic cables are all about. After that light technology will make its way into the Internet traffic switches and eventually into the computing devices themselves.
Next week, this column will discuss how technology innovators are looking toward light -- the fastest thing in the universe -- to be the analog messenger of the digital age.
Steve Jefferson is a Honolulu-based freelance writer
and section editor for InfoWorld. He can be
reached at: stevej@lava.net