On Wednesday, May 24, 1933, Lawrence Sheldon Beck was born into this world. He did not have a name for the first few days because his parents, Morris and Rose, could not decide what to call him so he was simply called, “baby blue eyes.” To this day his facial features are dominated by his welcoming sky-blue eyes and a full head of snowy white hair to match his soldier straight teeth. His strong looking nose, squared off chin, and prominent ears frame his face. When asked, he is only too happy to entertain you by wiggling those ears.
Larry, as my dad is known, was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota on a warm Spring Day. Last week my family was blessed to celebrate his 90th birthday on another warm Spring Day in Southern California. A small gathering of immediate family members ate, told stories, and relived family events as if to pass down memories like our ancestors did around a mythical campfire. My dad’s health is excellent for being 90. Of course, he has almost everything that can be replaced, including knees, hips, heart valve, and teeth. He marvels at the improvements of medicine, just in his lifetime. 90 years prior these improvements would not have been possible except perhaps for the teeth. My dad said, “I would have never dreamed that I would be able to have a heart valve replaced and be in and out of the hospital in a day.” He also marvels and is grateful he has reached this milestone.
This celebration of my dad made me think about how much our lives have improved in the last 90 years. The 1930’s were troubled times due to the Great Depression, appeasement of the axis powers leading up to World War II, and big government intervention via the New Deal. Yet, these were also the years of innovation with people striving to make money to survive. For example, pressure sensitive Scotch Tape was invented by Richard Drew. The car radio was invented by Joseph and Paul Galvin. Frozen foods were invented by Clarence Birdseye. The electron microscope was created by Max Knott and Ernst Ruska. The radio telescope was invented by Karl Jansky. The electric razor was invented by Jacob Schick. All these were innovations people would have marveled at in the 90 years prior.
Think about what we take for granted now, which was revolutionary in the 1930’s. In science, Dr. Karl D. Anderson and Nobel Prize winner Dr. Robert Millikan devised devices which gave scientists medical information about atomic energy. Today, those experiments have led to great advances in fighting cancer, which members of my family and friends have been battling. They also created the cleanest and safest form of energy ever devised, nuclear energy. We just need to be wise enough to expand its use.
By understanding climate changes, climate related disaster deaths have decreased 98% over the last century according to Alex Epstein, author of Fossil Future. Epstein writes, “Despite claims that the world is too hot, cold-related deaths far exceed heat related deaths. After one hundred years of vigorous competition from alternatives, fossil fuels provide 80% of the world’s energy, including 90% of the world’s transportation energy.” This includes energy to grow and transport agricultural products and consumer goods making our modern world possible. Today scientists, through human ingenuity, can forecast weather related storms, hurricanes, and floods which saves countless lives.
In 1933 trains were the fastest transportation from Chicago to Denver. The following year the Burlington Zephyr, a three-car diesel train, ran the rails in 13 hours and was at the apex of high-speed efficiency. Today, those same 888 miles have been cut down to two hours and thirty-three minutes, including taxiing in and out with commercial airline travel. Add two hours getting to and from the airport plus security and travel times have been cut in half, allowing for people to be more productive.
Communication has improved in those ninety years. In the 1930’s there were approximately 15 million rotary landline phones in use. Made of metal and tethered to a wall, you were stationary when you used the phone. Calls were expensive and adjusted for inflation were cost prohibitive to many. Today, according to Pew Research, 97% of all Americans own a mobile device. With smart phones and an internet connection on your mobile device you can see, hear, and share documents inexpensively and in an instant.
In 2023 we have the emergence of Artificial Intelligence, (AI), with predictions that it will manage and automate every aspect of our lives. Businesses and Consumers will benefit from this time saving technology by autonomous delivery systems. The metaverse or immersive internet will continue to develop, creating augmented reality and a digital copy of people via Avatar. People will be able to replicate themselves digitally so their relatives can communicate and develop an understanding and relationship with their ancestors. Blockchain technology will continue to advance and create innovative ways to bypass centralized government control of the exchange of value for value. Nanotechnology will enable doctors to use gene editing technology to create material for self-healing, perhaps solving the problem of food allergies and obesity. All these new and marvelous inventions have the intended goal of human flourishing. Yet they also have the potential for more destructive wars and control over the human condition.
With one foot firmly situated in the past, I look forward to these new technologies through the study of human nature, which does not change, through reading great books, communicating in person and listening to beautiful music. My other foot is firmly situated in the future by being open to the possibilities of a great new universe. One can be skeptical of these innovations and believe they will be used for nefarious purposes, and perhaps they will. My view of the future is bright, blue optimism as seen through the eyes of my dad as in the Beatle’s song, – “It’s Getting Better All the Time.”
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