The Buxton-Microsoft Collection: On the Importance of the History of the Past in Shaping the History of the Future

Date
Apr 29, 2019, 4:30 pm4:30 pm
Location
Friend Center Convocation Room

Speaker

Details

Event Description

From Keller Center:

Bill Buxton event flyer

History, backed up by current data, tells us that what we perceive as rapid technological change is generally due to a large number of technologies evolving slowly. For example, the recent history of information and telecommunications technologies says that it takes about 20-30 years for a technology, once identified, to reach maturity (defined, for example, as becoming a $1B industry). 

That says, for example, that anything which is going to become a $1B industry in the next 5 years most likely already has a 15 year history – a history which is generally below the radar, is nevertheless discoverable by those who know how and where to look.  

Over the past 45 years I have accumulated a collection of gadgets that captures the history of technological growth. For you, the value may just be nostalgia.  However, my hope is this. In this age where the things which we produce create such a strong cultural impact, can we really afford not to take advantage of the learnings of the past hidden in plain sight?

BIO

A Principal Researcher at Microsoft Research, Bill has had a 40- year involvement in research, practice and commentary around design, innovation and human aspects of technology. Following a 20-year career as a professional musician, he morphed into a researcher and interaction designer, at the University of Toronto, Xerox PARC, Alias Research and SGI Inc. He has been awarded four honourary doctorates, is co-recipient of an Academy Award for Scientific and Technical Achievement, received an ACM/SIGCHI Lifetime Achievement Award, and is a Fellow of the ACM. Bill has published, lectured and consulted widely, and is an Adjunct Professor at the University of Toronto, and a Distinguished Professor of Industrial Design at the Technical University Eindhoven. Other than his family, mountains and rivers are his first love. For more information, see billbuxton.com.

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