Big Picture Science Show | 4-7-14

 

Happy Birthday, World Wide Web! The 25-year-old Web, along with the Internet and the personal computer, are among mankind’s greatest inventions. But back then, who knew?

A techno-writer reminisces about the early days of the WWW and says he didn’t think it would ever catch on.

Also, meet an inventor who claims his innovation will leave your laptop in the dust. Has quantum computing finally arrived?

Plus, why these inventions are not as transformative as other creative biggies of history: The plow. The printing press. And… the knot?

And, why scientific discoveries may beat out technology as the most revolutionary developments of all. A new result about the Big Bang may prove as important as germ theory and the double helix.

Guests:

• Kevin Kelly – Senior maverick, Wired, author of What Technology Wants
• Eric Ladizinsky – Physicist, co-founder and the chief scientist of D-Wave Systems Palo Alto, California
• Aaron Gardner – Bakery manager, Hy-Vee Store, Chillicothe, Missouri
• George Dyson – Historian of technology, author ofTuring’s Cathedral: The Origins of the Digital Universe andDarwin Among The Machines: The Evolution Of Global Intelligence
• Rob Shostak – Brother and founder of Vocera Communications, San Jose, California
• Jamie Bock – Physicist at the California Institute of Technology

Descripción en español

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Big Picture Science Show