Tech History Lesson: Don't Underestimate Early-Stage Tech
PTrubey · x · 2026-07-18
By looking back at over a century of tech history, the author reminds us not to easily dismiss early-stage technologies.
The post lists inventions once deemed "impractical" or "too expensive":
- Cars in 1900 (poor roads and nowhere to refuel)
- Single-seat airplanes in 1910
- Home washing machines in 1920 (insufficient grid capacity)
- Televisions in 1930 (prohibitively expensive)
- Computers in 1960 (only affordable for large enterprises)
- The Internet in 1980 (considered limited to academia)
The author uses this to metaphorically suggest that while not all early-stage technologies today—like AI, space data centers, autonomous driving, humanoid robots, and genomics—will survive, some will inevitably become world-changing forces.
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