If Time Traveler Guy returns to 1956, he can explain why we have video telephones and mostly use them to typewrite telegraphs
— David Burge (@iowahawkblog) July 12, 2016
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They say that Louis XIV had the inscription Ultima Ratio Regum cast into all the cannon of the French Army. It means “The Ultimate Argument of Kings,” and that always struck me as one of the most honest and up-front things any ruler or would-be ruler ever said. “We can dress it up prettier than this, but when it comes down to the unvarnished truth this is what it’s about: You’ll do as I say or I’ll send my goons to kill you.”
I thought about that for a long time. If there’s an ultimate argument, it seems only logical that there must be an ultimate answer. For years I thought the ultimate answer must be the bullets in my rifle, but it never seemed quite right. I’ve got bullets – he’s got frigging Cannon Balls. I mean, if there were three hundred million rifles throwing bullets at him, then maybe. But we all know that’s not going to happen. So if there’s an ultimate answer to his ultimate argument, it sure as hell ain’t bullets.
It finally came to me – and that’s when I abandoned the city and most of my stuff, and gave all that was behind me a good stiff Randian Shrug.
The ultimate answer to kings is not a bullet, but a belly laugh.
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Or perhaps we have lost the mental acuity to carry on coherent vocal conversations?
I hafta admit it’s kinda nice to do emails or blog responses with the advantage of being able to compose (hopefully) well-considered comments. Just a few seconds can make a lotta difference, and proofreading is a good thing.
Seriously, the videophone makes an interesting case study. The concept goes way back, but Bell Labs actually spent millions to invent a practical videophone in the 1960’s. The entire world shrugged! Only a few hundred were made because there simply was no consumer demand for such a device.
In my opinion there still isn’t, even though most of us own one now!
No. When it came down to it, Bell Labs and everybody else failed to ask the most important question about videophones: “Do you really want the other person to see you when he calls you without notice?” In concept it seemed a great idea. In practice, not at all. And that’s why now the camera is on the other side of the phone.
And that’s also where texting comes in. Telegraph was immediately popular when it was invented because it filled an immediate need: Textual information immediately transmitted. It was made obsolete by telephone, or so everyone thought for decades, until telephone became so ubiquitous that it was actually oppressive. Then ‘texting,’ which is basically wireless telegraph, suddenly came back. Neither replaces the other, and neither is going away soon. Videophones are still nowhere to be seen even though available bandwidth makes it at last feasible. We’ve had enough of a taste that nobody’s crying for it.