Digitalisation by Generation
from a limited point of view
What did the generations contribute to our digital existence?
This is just a very rough and personal impression based on some of the key figures in the development of the digital world we all live in today. There are exceptions where people were ahead of their time and where certain developments were overshadowed by more significant advances.
It’s only based on about 56 years of involvement in computing and digital media. Some of that involvement was peripheral and limited so others will have a better perspective and I’d like to hear their opinions. It’s obviously based on experience from my point of view so in that way, it is biased. Be kind please.
The generation names and timings I’ve stolen from:
https://greenlight.com/learning-center/fun-facts/generation-names
because I’m lazy. I can recommend the site but bear in mind that their emphasis is on culture and society. Jimi Hendrix and Taylor Swift have had significant impact but only limited impact on digital culture. The Forgotten Generations weren’t on the greenlight site. Made it up.
Solvay Conference 1927
We owe it all to the Forgotten Generations
The generations and their contributions
The Forgotten Generations - born before 1901
Established the scientific principles that made what
came next possible.
The Greatest Generation - born 1901-1927
Developed the science and created new science.
The Silent Generation - born 1928-1945
Turned the science into practical technology.
Baby Boomers - born 1946-1964
Advanced the technology into practical devices
creating the internet, www and email.
Generation X - born 1965-1980
Used the internet to develop applications including
social media.
Millennials - born 1981-1996
Used the internet based applications to produce
content.
Generation Z - born 1997-2012
Think their parents and grandparents, who invented it
all, don’t understand technology.
Generation Alpha - born 2013-2024
Yet to make their mark. Consumers of technology.
Generation Beta - born 2025-2039
Have no idea. Yet.
Albert Einstein in 1904
This is Einstein at 25, before he lost his comb.
What was he thinking?
Mainly he was thinking about four topics that he would publish groundbreaking papers on in the following year. His "annus mirabilis papers". I think other Physicists must have felt that they needed to up their game. They must have felt like Jeff Beck after hearing Jimi Hendrix, thinking they were all out of a job "what will we all do now?".
The papers were on:
1. The Photoelectric Effect (he eventually got the Nobel Prize for this)
2. Brownian Motion (D = μkBT ...so that must be atoms then)
3. Special Relativity (time dilation and all that)
4. Mass - Energy Equivalence (the old E = mc2 thing)
What followed this eventually lead to the digital world we know today.
