TRIVERGENCE

10Trivergence and Our Digital Future

When I first started in the computer industry, I often crossed the Atlantic to an international development center in Brussels as part of a team that was building a next-generation banking system, which became the de facto international standard for Citibank. I was then impressed that I could, on a tape, bring the intelligence of that system across the Atlantic and install it on a different computer in about a day, with zero loss of information. Today that would be done in seconds.

When my daughters Madi and Marissa were in elementary high school in Denver, I set a rule on one important thing. When I was working, they were not allowed to disturb me. There was only one exception. That was for math homework. And for that I would drop everything, shut down meetings, and work with my kids (and even my neighbors' kids) on their homework assignments. I told them that there was nothing more interesting or enjoyable for me than math homework. As a math graduate, I did my best to transfer my knowledge to the next generation. After a couple of decades of effort, I am clearly proud of my daughters’ growth, though they did not end up studying advanced math. Marissa ended up a public-school teacher, and Madi is now in equity research banking.

Unlike computers, we as people can't transfer information to the next generation without significant loss of information. Mozart was patient with his students, though clearly none achieved his level of mastery. ...