Reed's Ruminations: The Past, Present, and Future
Reflections on science, technology, and computing — leavened by personal experience
Category: Global Competitivensss
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It Is Fall: There Must Be Clouds
Today, I testified to the Subcommittee on Technology and Innovation of the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Space, Science and Technology. The topic of the hearing was “The Next IT Revolution?: Cloud Computing Opportunities and Challenges.” This is an exciting time, when computing can be a great equalizer, providing access to the world’s knowledge…
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Innovation Friction
What enables some groups, companies and regions and even countries to be innovative over long periods, whereas others struggle to adapt to changing technologies, economic circumstances and social expectations? Technology change, despite its many challenges, is relatively easy. Culture change is far more difficult, for people and organizations cling to the familiar as if it…
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Globally Interconnected, Globally Worried
In a world of global interconnectedness, we are united not only by ubiquitious and nearly instantaneous communications but also by coupled economic systems. The European sovereign debt crisis , pressure on the Euro, the fractious debate over raising the United States’ debt limit and the interdependence economies and global trade mean that we truly are…
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Being Bilingual: Speaking Technology and Policy
Over the years, I have learned that being bilingual in matters of science and technology and in matters of strategy and policy is far rarer than I might have first hypothesized. How do we cross the intellectual divide, providing technical advice to policy experts in ways that they find useful and actionable?
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White Spaces and Adaptive Communication
The demand for wireless communication continues to grow, placing unprecedented demands on spectrum management and allocation. Spectrum is like beach front property; we can’t make more and we must use it wisely. New, more adaptive management approaches are needed.
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Explaining Science and Engineering
As I have followed the international news regarding the Japanese disaster, I have been struck by the challenges each news organization has faced in explaining technical concepts. We live in a technological society, where understanding of scientific processes and engineering design balances are essential to informed debate and decision making.