A bit of history – a paragraph from a letter we received on 12 Oct 1996:-
We believe the world is on the verge of being changed far more by the internet than it was by the invention of printing – moving from monks in monasteries, using “pens,” (quills,) made of feathers writing on “paper,” (parchment) made of animal skins to printing presses
Far more than it was changed by the introduction of mass production by Henry Ford, who’s business, which was started in his garage, went on to employ more than 50,000 people in manufacturing motor cars.
And far more than the introduction of huge tractors, ploughs, harvesters and so on did to replace people who used to walk 16 hours a day behind horses pulling single furrow ploughs, as so many used to do, not much more than 100 years ago. It is said that 50% of the people in the US used to be employed in producing food, and now it’s 3%.
And how will it be changed? By virtue of it’s potential to make all of us better educated in how to manage our work and personal lives better by the fact that there will be more and more ordinary email addresses we can use to ask for and get answers to any questions we may wish to ask – all those questions, (about medical and technology matters in particular,) about which we feel that if we had high quality answers, it would be of benefit to the quality of our work and personal lives, answers which would save us from doing heaps and heaps of research ourselves. This will come about because there will be experts who will earn their livings – yes, we will have to pay them for their answers – who, if we have questions relating to their particular areas of expertise, can provide us with high quality answers. If we have questions, we will have the choice between researching out the answers ourselves or seeking the assistance of these people, who can be anywhere in the world.
