A college course during my final semester
Back in spring of 1999 I took a Gen-Ed course called Science, Technology & Society. It was mostly a walkthrough of James Burke's Connections series, actually viewing an episode in one class followed by discussion/review in the next.
The final assignment was a group project in which we were to try to predict the most significant technology of the next century. My own suggestion was some breakthrough material, thinking in terms of the many historic transformations resulting from revolutionary materials such as bronze, iron, and plastic. My group voted down my suggestion, and we went instead with the more general "data storage." Kudos all around. Our presentation was a multi-media tour de force that will be discussed and studied for decades to come. Blah blah blah.
But there was one kid in the back of the room who insisted that the most significant technology wouldn't be data storage or renewable fuel or tooth whitening or any of that.
We all poo-poohed his suggestion as fanciful and not that big a deal. Even the instructor wasn't convinced.
The kid's suggestion? Data mining.
I salute you, Tranh. We should have listened to you.
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Response to Orrex (Original post)