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Place the digits 1
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Technology
Siren
FTP Consulting Services, Inc.
Charles Momsen may not be a household name, but he gained notoriety
in the 1920s when he was awarded the US Navy’s Distinguished
Service Medal. It was the early days of submarine development and
Momsen was determined to find a way to prevent the death of sailors
in accidents involving sunken submarines. He had an idea for a life
jacket-like device that would help sailors escape from these
would-be underwater tombs. After a long and frustrating battle with
the Navy to win funding approval, seven thousand “Momsen Lungs”
were ordered and Momsen was honored for his efforts.
I find this story both interesting and amazing. As an avid scuba
diver since 1968, I understand “Divers’ Rule of Physics Number
One”, otherwise known as Boyle’s Law. Boyle’s Law addresses
the issue of gas compression under pressure. Simply put, a diver at
one hundred feet has three times as much air in his lungs as he
would at the surface. As he surfaces, the air expands and is
exhaled. If a diver were to hold his breath, he would rupture his
lungs.
One of the first things a diver learns is how to make a free ascent.
Starting from a depth of a hundred feet or less, you lean your head
back and slowly exhale as you rise. The challenge is to match
exhalation to the ascent rate. Both you and your air bubbles should
reach the surface at the same time.
Momsen spent a great deal of time and effort developing technology
for which there was already a simple solution. A sailor could
surface from a downed submarine by making a free ascent. A
non-technology solution had been available all along!
Is Technology Always the Answer?
Fast forward to 2004, and we find technology wonders such as
cellular telephones with cameras and wristwatches containing contact
databases. Impressive, yes. Necessary? That answer is up for debate.
While I am hardly one to stand in the way of technological advances,
I do feel that we are sometimes lured by the song of the
“Technology Siren.” The explosion of web-based businesses was a
good example of technology being applied to situations where simpler
– and cheaper – solutions already existed.
As we move into the next generation of transaction processing, I
find myself questioning whether we are giving full consideration to
logic, reason and risk before we jump on the latest technology
bandwagon. It might be our natural inclination to throw technology
at a problem in an effort to fix it. But there is wisdom in taking
the time to consider the potential risks involved.
The old axiom of “doing it right the first time” may be more
appropriate now than ever before. Certainly, the consequences
associated with misguided technology decisions are more costly than
in the past. The pace of today’s business environment is such that
if we make an error, the ramifications and number of entities
involved are incredibly far reaching.
In the past, for example, it was rare for a credit card theft to
involve more than several cardholder accounts. Today, a hacker can
steal tens of thousands of credit cards with significantly less
effort. Consequently, the number of individuals impacted compounds
the cost and time to repair the damage caused.
As you move forward with your projects, take the time to consider
the obvious. Question the advantages of technology for the problem
at hand. Then do what common sense tells you. It’s one asset that
is timeless.
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