On 12/5/99, at 2:55 AM, Michael M. Butler wrote:
>Heck, I already appreciate some things in _this future_ more than
>latecomers: LEDs are still magical when I think about them. They're "Yeah,
>so?" to people who grew up in a world that had always had these cold
>crystalline light sources built into practically everything. (<--rhetoric)
There's plenty of magic in the everyday world if you stop to think about the objects around you. The ways technology has made you richer than any king that ever lived. The marvels science has exposed.
As I write this, I have a magical device beside me. With it, I can speak in a normal tone of voice, and talk with someone on the other side of the world. In front of me, I see images of men who died before I was born. If I go outside, I have a carriage that can run faster than a cheetah. I also have another carriage, which can fly faster and higher than any bird ever flew.
It's even more basic and older than that. I can go outside, and see light from stars that has been travelling to reach me for billions of years. If I am cold, I can create a fire, and keep the night at bay.
Don't just marvel at nanotubules. Think about how language and writing enables us to build on the work of our ancestors. How agriculture keeps our bellies full. How fantastic everything you use and know truly is.
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