In my forthcoming book, Jump the Curve, I discuss how the exponential advances in technology will allow people to do things in the future that are seemingly impossible today. As I stressed in my talk to the New Jersey Science Convention the other night, one of the most important lessons we can teach our kids is that nothing is impossible.
To this end, I recently came across the story of Mary Masterman who won the 2007 Intel Science Talent Search (and $100,000) for building a spectrograph system—a device used to identify the different characteristics of molecules—all by herself. Now, what is really impressive is that Masterman pulled off this feat for about $300. It is useful to know that the average cost of a commercial spectrograph system is anywhere between $20,000 and $100,000.
Her advice for other students wishing to accomplish similar feats was simple: “Even if you think what you want to do is impossible, go ahead and go for it because you never know what you can accomplish.” It’s great advice and, while it has always been true, it’ll be even more relevant in the Exponential Economy.
