Old Technology Commercials

This article links to several old commercials for then-cutting-edge technology. The AT&T ones are from 1993 and...we're basically there now. It makes me wonder what the iPad and other tech that seems so great today will look like 20 years later. I confess I'm not even sure what I would expect to see 20 years from now. I'll hope for a big shift to solar power and 99.95% accurate computer voice recognition.

Dishonest Weights and Measures (repost)

In walking through technology references in Proverbs, I've come to the first of several on dishonest weights and measures, so I refer you back to that post for thoughts on those.

Tree Design

Why does the total thickness of a tree's branches at any cross-section of a tree approximately equal the cross section of the trunk? To account for wind forces on the leaves. Cool design.

Where's the Bach of the Web?

Go take a look at this short article about the creation of cultural artifacts. While there may be arguable things there, his main concluding point made me pause to think: what is an example of "high culture" on the Internet? Where's the Bach of the Web?

Funny Commentary on Twitter

Short video that pokes fun at our focus on broadcasting our own thoughts rather than focusing on the thing we're currently experiencing.

(HT: Take your Vitamin Z)

Wisdom Rejoices

Today, we'll look at Proverbs 8:22-31 and how it relates to technology. If you back up to verse 12, you'll see that the speaker is the personification of Wisdom and that section speaks to its many blessings. In this passage, Wisdom tells us that it was possessed or created at the beginning - before the earth was made. Starting with v. 27, we see Wisdom was present with God during the creation of the earth. Wisdom was working beside God "like a master workman," was a delight to God, and rejoiced before Him in the work that was done.

What does a technologist take from this? First, that the creation is in many ways like an act of making technology. God chose to specifically design things the way they are. We see the verbs shape, made, drew (a circle), established, and marked out, showing an active construction project. An engineer taking cues from what God did is a good thing.

Second, wisdom is a part of, indeed a prerequisite of, creating something good. In the end, God declared the creation "very good," and we see Wisdom here rejoicing over that creation as well. Much like my previous post on Proverbs 1:7, wisdom is needed to make a good design, "like a master workman."

Third, wisdom delights in the work that is good. We can rejoice in God and take delight in a technology that is new and good.

Review - SimChurch: Being the Church in the Virtual World (Part 2 of 2)

I suggest you start with Part 1.

I should make clear that I have mixed feelings about SimChurch. I think a biblical case can be made that it is not possible to have an online/virtual church, and perhaps I or someone else will do a rigorous job on that someday.  If he's right that these things are growing, it will become more necessary. I'd like to think I made a start by pointing out how it is impossible (or at least very problematic) to meet certain scriptural marks of a particular church, particularly the sacraments.

Wisdom in Engineering

To continue my look through Proverbs for passages dealing with technology, I came next to Proverbs 3:19-20:

The LORD by wisdom founded the earth; by understanding he established the heavens; by his knowledge the deeps broke open, and the clouds drop down the dew.

This is a simple point, but as the first and best engineer, God did His work by wisdom, understanding, and knowledge. Looking at how we train engineers, we certainly get a lot of knowledge from many different fields in our classes. However, only at some times did I gain wisdom. It was the professors that had real industry experience or at least a lot of consulting that gave us most of that; sharing not just textbook knowledge but stories from their own experience. You could tell that they had really been out there and gotten dirty rather than staying in the ivory tower.

My point is, God used both knowledge and wisdom to design and build, so we need to train those who make technology in both. And, we can never have enough of those, so we must keep an attitude of learning both throughout our lives.