Evolution has a memoryEric Baumgartner
Professional mad scientist
What can the study of evolution
teach us about technology and
predicting trends
Dinosaurs ruled the earth for roughly 160
million years. Many paleontologist still
believe they walk among us—or more
to the point, fly among us
If the reign of the dinosaurs was measured as the
length of a football field then modern human would occupy only 1.5 inches of that field
Most theories hold that the earth has
experience at least five extinction level events
With each extinction
level event there is
always a survivor
Evolution favors the small, nimble,
adaptive and social
What creature has had the most
success with evolution?
The Argentine
ant, Linepithema humile
Habitat: everywhere
accept Antarctica
Simple
Adaptive
Connected
Ubiquitous
So how does that theory apply to
technology and what are the
corollaries we can make?
Starting with the Vacuum Tube there has been—arguably—five
major evolution events during the modern digital-technology age
Social
Microchip
PC
Mobile
The Cloud
Vacuum Tube
The Internet
Evolution has a memory.Each jump builds on the
characteristics of the past to
advance the future
The harbingers:
Intel
Microsoft
Google
RIM
Amazon
Apple
Facebook
Kodak
Newsweek
RIM
NASA
BestBuy
Blockbuster
SanDisk
Pulse
Apple
Spaceship One
Amazon
Netflix
Evolution in practice
Each of these companies began
as small, nimble, adaptive and
focused.
So what’s the take away?
Evolution in practice
101001101
010100101
001101001
Data | Content | Utility | Connected
Current tech evolution leaders
Become the ecosystem
Become the preditor
A technology company’s
success is not derived from
how large it becomes, but lies
in its ability to be
simple, adaptive and
ubiquitous.
It is not necessary to
change. Survival is not
mandatory.W. Edwards Deming