We live in an interesting age. This era of technology and ultra connection is one that seemed to develop out of nowhere, or at least quite rapidly from a time of much more primitive mechanisms. Our species has been building upon our collective knowledge and inventions since the discovery of the ability to manipulate and control fire, or the development and application of the wheel. Once electricity and industry came about, the progress began to speed up, and it hasn’t slowed down since.
Growing as a society, growing in technology
There are people alive today who remember what life was like before computers. And there are people whose entire lifespans so far have occurred during the time period after people stopped listening to CDs. There is so much technology and development in between, and only a few decades separating them. But the beautiful thing is that so many people can work together to teach each other about those times that are so foreign to each other simply because of time and age. Young people could learn a lot about how the world worked before smart phones and social media. And older generations can begin to reconnect with people they never thought they’d see again, and all through the power of the Internet. Technological advancements can be a good thing. But we do need to be careful to keep ourselves in check.
Finding the right balance
There are plenty of science fiction books and films that predict the demise of man in the future, often as a result of technology having gone awry. Or the fact that humanity could not keep up with our own brilliance. Unfortunately, we can see elements of truth to that in our societies today, and evidence that those “fiction” books may have some truth to share means it is time to turn things around. By all means, we should continue to explore the earth, our minds, the universe. But only as long as we can continue to sustain all of those things in a healthy way, including the other species that we share this planet with. The technology that we have created up to this point is brilliant and marvelous. And it can be used to ensure our survival, if applied correctly. Applied incorrectly, and it will lend itself more readily to our demise.
Understanding some basics of technology
So just where are we on the timeline? Well past rotary telephones and steam engines, yes. But not quite to the laser guns of interplanetary wars, thankfully. We are currently snuggled in a comfortable little cloud. Yes, we are living in a time where we have figured out how to manage storage for all of that information and data that winds up in our computers, on our devices, and online. It has been estimated that users could be spending over $180 billion just on cloud services. And further projections for the physical cloud equipment alone could reach almost $80 billion soon. That’s not including any of the services or labor that factors in. It does often boil down to a numbers game, though, and about 82% of businesses reported that they had ended up saving money by transitioning their company’s activities and organization to the cloud.
Where does all the data go?
Contrary to the image that is conjured in your head when you hear the word, the cloud is not actually a fluffy floating presence that magically stores all of your data. But there are many different types of data racks that help to keep track of all of that important information. Different types of electronics racks are used for different types of data or different kinds of companies. These days, especially for much larger companies, some server racks or electronics racks can be quite large. Think rows and rows of electronics racks filling a large room. And then think of all of the information that it would take to even need that many electronics racks. That’s quite a bit.
Brilliant human minds should always push forward. But those minds should also be caring for the planet that we call home.
