Morse Code and Earthquakes
I had intended to publish this entry last week, but I delayed posting it until today as we at EarthLink were absorbed in the passing of our CEO Garry Betty. And while it is not the happiest of times for me, I would like to wish everyone a Happy New Year.
Last month, two items caught my eye that I think deserve a comment. It is customary in the new year to put aside the old and embrace the new. In the world of technology, this mindset is particularly prevalent with our inexorable drive toward new devices, new applications and new media.
Item One: In what may be the final blow to 19th century technology advocates, the FCC will no longer require that amateurs master Morse code as a condition for a radio license. Item Two: And on the other side of the world, an earthquake on December 26 off the coast of Taiwan caused massive outages and disrupted telecommunications across Asia. Millions of customers were stranded without their usual Internet fix.
Now I am not planning to use dashes and dots anytime soon. But like black and white televisions, VHS and dial-up, the tech savvy of us have very little use for "antiquated" technologies even when they are still perfectly viable. There is always something better.
In the Internet age, Morse code is no longer relevant even with its long record of success. Famously in 1912, 1,500 passengers may not have perished in the Atlantic’s icy waters had radio operators been on duty on a nearby ship to receive a distress signal from the Titanic. Morse code transmissions worked perfectly well but operators aboard the California – a mere 20 miles away – did not get the SOS until the following morning when they returned to duty. The problem was not the technology; it was human failure.
So while Morse code withstood the immoveable object – an iceberg – today’s new and improved Internet was vulnerable to the unstoppable force of an earthquake that would not have stopped Morse code. Living in today’s digital world we sometimes forget how dependent we are on technology and how fragile that world really is; last month's earthquake demonstrates just how vulnerable we really are.
As we enter the new year, it is worth reflecting on how willingly we embrace technological change and how inextricably we tie our lives to a twisted pair and a coaxial cable.
Let me get back to you.
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Technorati Tags: Morse Code; Taiwan Earthquake; VHS; New Year;
