"Change The World", a George Packer New Yorker thought piece

George Packer is one of the most reliably insightful, informative, and talented reporters/essayists that there is.  In the May 27th issues of "The New Yorker", his article is about today's Silicon Valley.  That's not quite an accurate statement.  It is about one half devoted to a history of the development of what Silicon Valley has become today and an intense description of what Silicon Valley is today.  In other words, the development and the NOW.  For those with the interest, almost every second of reading these 11 dense New Yorker pages is worth the time for outsiders like myself.

Often when recommending an article or book here I will follow up with excerpts that entice.  That is not possible here.  They would be voluminous and the time for the task overwhelming.  Obviously this article is recommended.



Postscript after a night's sleep, or whatever my nocturnal patterns could be called --- Packer's article highlights both the unbridled brilliance and the almost complete isolation of the real creators in Silicon Valley.  It also emphasizes Silicon Valley's focus on the future.  Almost everything they do is looking ahead, often many years ahead, in designing products and schematics.  It seems so different from our government which is almost always using history as its roadmap and politics as its guide. As to looking long term even most quality non-tech consumer product companies focus on innovations that at best are based on what new gadget will sell their latest car or washing machine for the next year or two.

Contrary to what was suggested earlier, here's one quote.  "In Silicon Valley circles, government is considered slow, staffed by mediocrities, and ridden with obsolete rules and ineffciencies."  So while Silicon Valleyites are almost a completely different species from most of us, there are some similarities.