My workplace has recently changed our blackberries to the latest model. You know the one I mean. It has GPS, so that I can never use ‘I lost my way’ as an excuse to come late to meetings; it has a built-in camera, so they can always ask me for an on-the-spot proof of my whereabouts; it also has voice recording, which I can’t think of how it may be used. It’s a wonderful (though mostly useless) gadget, but with one major drawback: the keys are so small that I cannot use them.
Things started falling into place once I realized that the blackberry was issued by Virgin, whose airplanes’ economy class has the smallest leg room. Is it possible that the smallness of Virgin different offerings is not a coincidence, but rather a part in a bigger plan? After all, virgin is one of the most ambitious companies, whose current challenge is to create the first commercial space travel service – a service that will greatly benefit from miniaturization. In other words, is it possible that the picture above is not of a model, but of an actual spacecraft?
You see, the problem with miniaturization nowadays is not of technology, but of usability. It’s the human interface, rather than technology, that restricts the size of our tools. Just imagine how profitable an airline carrier, a car manufacturer or a cell phone provider could be if we, human, were half our current size or smaller.
I am sure that for someone like Sir Richard, who does not believe that anything is impossible, shrinking human to support the development of space technology is a worthwhile challenge. Small telephones and airplanes seats are just a step in this direction.
So when on an airplane, beware of mushrooms and bottles that say ‘drink me’. It may be a trick.
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