To the crazy ones

It’s quite easy to be a Sunday morning, armchair quarterback when it comes to new technology. Pointing out all the flaws and dislikes of a new piece of tech that attempts to redefine an entire category is more prosaic and dull than provocative.

It’s harder to appreciate that a first version of any revolutionary tech usually appears in the crudest form. It exists not sell millions, but to become a building block for what’s next. Everything good is a remix of something not quite as good. It all starts somewhere.

Harder yet is connecting the mental dots between now and the future, to see a vision. If you can, you’ll see how things will get smaller, lighter, and faster; more refined, polished, and tweaked. Ultimately disappearing into our daily lives.

Much like how cars have become faster, safer, and accessible in two generations:

Like medicine has matured from bloodletting and trepanning to minimally-invasive robotic procedures:

How our athletic footwear advanced from nails on the bottom of an Oxford dress shoe, to recycled plastic and space age fabrics:

Or that technology once occupied an entire room, now fits in our hand:

But what’s probably hardest of all is conceptualizing, building, and launching your ideas to the world. So, kudos to the “crazy ones” this week who’s work is met with harsh words from the peanut gallery instead of applause.

This article, “To the crazy ones”, was inspired by a thought that first appeared as a tweet on Twitter.