The Bit Saga, Shortly
The Christensen model
We consider that the world develops according to an "exponential" function. Its builds itsef through succesive technology steps. Each step has a sigmoid development (emergence, rapid growht, stabilization), followed by a jump to a superior technology. This the disruptive model proposed notably by Christensen.
With some ristks, we consider that it's applie as well to geologie eras as to successive steps of life development, then to the technolgoies in the modern sense of the word.
In all cases, nature or human industry, these "generation jumps" can be explaid by an "economical gain" (least action principle).
Epistemology: we consider, as do the cyberneticians, that the same words can be used for ntural entities (including living and human beings) and for machines. With some precautions, of cours.
Epistémologie: je considère, comme les cybernéticiens, qu'on peut employer les mêmes mots pour les entités naturelles (vivantes et humaines comprises) et pour les machines. Avec une certaine prudence, tout de même.
The disruptive model
Links :
- LHD.
- Moore by Lecuyer
- History is oriented (LILH)
Complexitx (notes) . Note about IHD.
- For a constructivist humanism
- Innovation in computer technologies
Let's start the narration.
The big bang. 15 billions years. Is it an absolute start? The question is probably undecidable. By principle.
Emergence of life . 4 billion years. the first digital entity entered Earth: life emerged into the primeval soup. A phenomenon bot "analog" (molecule mass growth) and "digital": emergene of a binary code (by codons of six bits, with hardware made with three molecule pairs).
Emergence of signs and meaning . It is very progressive, or rather, made of multiple steps. The "economic" gain is important, since instead of exchange materials of force fiels, the beings exchange gesteures or smll objects (little matter, lower energy.This advance is paid by a double drawback:
- approximation; a sign represents only a part of the object,
- error become possible.
Signs systems enhancement. Language as system of oppositions. With species evolution, the systems of signs become better, more sophisticated. "Articulated langauge" is considered typical of manking, even if some species (big apes, dolphins) are very near of it. Since Saussure, we know that sign sytems are opposition systèmes, then basically binay (but of course this words is not used by Saussure himself). Links : Meaning, Saussure
Greece. Emergence of Reason and Democracy. In 447 BC, Pericles starts the building of this Temple, a monument to Democracy and Reason. With Mathematics and Logic.
Middle Ages. Progress of Machines. In Middle-East and Occident. For instance clocks. Like The Conciergerie in Paris. And its application to Logic, called for by Bacon. The Zero.
Renaissance, the Modern Times. Some hundred years ago, the Modern times drew Mankind out of its static views of the World, and presented History as progressive. Digitization was a major component of the new impetus, from a neatly digital way of writing the numbers and computing, digital slicing of time ("foliot"), the cutting of printing elements into our present "cases" (upper and lower...) up to the philosophical division of problems recommended by Descartes.
In 1947 John Tukey creates the term "bit" in its informational sense. During the the 1940's, a lot of theoretical and technical advances led to the modern computer systems, and showed how central were the binary concepts and devices, from mathematics to corporation management, including nuclear physics and military applications. Von Ne perhaps the best at tying all these trends into the digital synthetic concept.
In 1953, Watson and Crick decipher the DNA, with it six bits code for proteins. Life began conscious of its intimate digital nature.
In 1965, Moore formulated its law of growth for digital integrated circuits, which has been transposed to all electronic devices. This exponential development law could be adapted to cover all kinds of technologies and to the whole span of World history.
1980-1990. Internet
1980. The Personal Computer
1990. Generalization of Internet.
2000. The portable Smartphone
2010. AI (Advanced Informatics or new Artificial Intelligence): big data, deep learning, cloud.
2047. The singularity. End of the saga, as far as we can figure it..