History is written by the winners. As victors tell their tale, the losing side is painted as dim and in denial, unaware that they would soon be obsolete. In hindsight, their pending demise seems obvious, just as the victory of the winners seems so assured. But anyone knows that in the moment, victory or defeat is anything but sure. Can the fastest man sit out the deciding race, knowing he would win? No, he runs against the other contenders, and his victory is decided by a photo finish as he collapses across the finish line.
History not only tells us the story of heroes in battle and the winning nations in wars, but of winning technologies. A winning technology wins not necessarily because it is better, but because its adaptation makes former technology a faint memory. Here Comes Everybody is a fantastic commentary of this trend in society. My generation grew up with the Internet, but the world is still reeling at its effects. Free information and the ability to for us to share our individual stories is natural to us, but is a novel concept in history. The power of the press has not become obsolete; it has become more powerful, yet resides in the hands of everyone who shares online. Dictatorships are toppled and industries collapse because the human family can finally speak its mind without being told what to do. So speak up mankind. One day our cutting-edge technologies will probably fade into the dust as another piece of history, but let's hope humanity's newfound voice does not.
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