The future often looks silly

I just took a photo of my scribblings on my whiteboard. The automation workflow will trigger that photo to be uploaded with that relevant project. Technology is but a mere extension of me.

As I sit down, I recall a time, probably around 2006 because it was before the iPhone came out and only important people had Blackberry’s which they could use to send and receive emails on.

In those days I was a consultant, and I’d spend many an hour in the day attending project meetings, waiting for my 10 minutes of fame to clarify what the security policy requirements were. It was in one of those meetings where, at the end, we had a bunch of ideas scribbled down on a whiteboard, and the project manager did the unthinkable. Instead of sitting there and copying the information down, he pulled out his Blackberry. I don’t mean he picked it up, but I mean, he pulled it out and everything went Matrix bullet time.

Two things went through my mind in that instant,

1. Why did he need his Blackberry?
2. Did he have a conceal carry permit for that Blackberry?

Then, in an instant, he lost complete credibility of the room as he held up the camera and snapped a photo of the whiteboard.

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First, there’s no way that the camera would have been high res enough to be able to capture all the information in a legible format.

Secondly, what kind of person uses their phone as a camera to take a photo to email themselves?

Those of us around the table exchanged knowing glances to each other. The guy was peacocking – showing off his Blackberry and engaging in the most cringeworthy of actions. Not only was it cringeworthy, but it was strange, pointless, and useless. I’m sure one person even mouthed the word “anchor”, but I don’t know what a ship had to do with anything.

But as I sit here today and think back. I feel like I need to apologise to that PM, even though I can’t remember his name. He wasn’t the anchor that held things back… he was the sail, taking the ship into the future. A visionary and someone who deserves respect. He’s probably the type of person that bought Bitcoins when they were worth next to nothing, and has since retired on an island he owns.

The future often looks silly when we first see it. But eventually things catches up.