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ProfessorFalken Profile
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Registered: 12-2017
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My 1990 to 2018 experience of exponential growth.


It was sept 1st 1990 when i was aged 18 i started work at a council processing the tax information of bucks county council in the uk. The computer we used was an ICL level 49 mainframe computer. It filled a room with the floor space of a medium sized house. The air conditioning was loud - a constant bŕrrrrrrhhhhhuuuuuu. We used magnetic tape to store information - id estimate about 300 tapes of the kind you will have seen in old footage. For safety of data presivation we had to store these tapes at a different location from the mainframe in case of a fire. This meant filling a crate about 3 times the size of a shopping trolley to the brim with tapes and lugging them 300 meters to the safe site.

Throughout the day hundreds of staff gathered the client data and it was all processed in the evening. This took about 8 hours.

My point is this. All this data crunching could be achieved on the phone im typing this on in a few seconds. Maybe even a fraction of a second.

This thought stays with me. Exponential growth is real and it's not going away.

Last edited by ProfessorFalken, 1/5/2019, 11:03 am
1/5/2019, 11:00 am Link to this post PM ProfessorFalken Blog
 
luciddream00 Profile
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Registered: 04-2018
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Re: My 1990 to 2018 experience of exponential growth.


I think this example also illustrates the shortfalls of exponential technological progress - We've seen exponential progress in information technology, but has it really made our lives dramatically better? We have much more and better sources of entertainment, but people are still working just as many hours and most people don't have any more disposable income when you adjust for inflation.

---
Account closed permanently. I won't stand for abuse of authority by forum administration to censor criticism of a conservative radio host that celebrated the death of AIDS patients on his show. Maybe some day we'll speak again elsewhere.
1/5/2019, 6:00 pm Link to this post PM luciddream00 Blog
 
RedQ Profile
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Registered: 11-2017
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Re: My 1990 to 2018 experience of exponential growth.


I started reading the latest book by Jonah Goldberg. He says we're tribal. It's hard to deal with the modern world if you're tribal.
1/5/2019, 8:14 pm Link to this post PM RedQ Blog
 
spud100 Profile
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Registered: 12-2017
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Re: My 1990 to 2018 experience of exponential growth.


This is why nationalism tends to work better.

Also, technical progress needs big pushes to succeed. Could be more capitalism (A Prize?) or some Command Economy Comrades. I am not a True Conservative, but a nationalist.

So how ya liking all your Fusion Power folks??
1/5/2019, 8:32 pm Link to this post PM spud100 Blog
 


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