There is certainly a percentage of our society who can
handle evolution on this scale, but not nearly enough.
It sure will be interesting, though.
After all, life begins as a comedy of errors. When we crawl, we don't know why, we just do it. As if lying on one's back staring at the ceiling wasn't good enough. Then we walk, and through countless faceplants into the living room rug (or hardwood floor) we continue until we can make it through a day without the vertical suddenly becoming horizontal. These juxtapositions in life are inevitable, we've been taught that since the beginning. Which is what brings me to this offering from our friends at Terrafugia. In what's sure to change the way we look at technological innovation, they've completely scrapped the concept of making a "flying car". Instead, they're concentrating on developing a plane that can drive.
There's nothing wrong with this, after all, moving forward is what we do. I'm just concerned that we as a species will not embrace this and other concepts like it with the proper attitude, in the right frame of mind. This is where going crazy comes in. It's not about the people who design such contraptions, or the poor not-quite-earthbound geeks who will strap themselves in, grin like Cheshire cats and fling themselves skyward. It's about all those who will hear a loud noise in the back yard, rushing out to find half of one of these things tangled in their kids' swingset and the lower branches of that oak tree your Granddad planted, and the other half dangling from the power lines in the next neighborhood over. Various limbs and visceral remnants assorted and strewn. A small number of these novelties scattered about the planet is inconsequential, but we all know that isn't going to last much longer. It's at this point when going crazy is going to come in very handy, and those of us who are able to get a jump on it are going to be the ones who will handle it best. I think I'm going to go lay on my back and stare at the ceiling for a while.
