People in the technology trades these days are insisting that we are experiencing “convergence.” At TechTarget.com, the following definition is offered:
DEFINITION
technological convergence
…
–ComputerWeekly.com
In general, convergence is a coming together of two or more distinct entities or phenomena. Technological convergence is increasingly prevalent in the information technology world; in this context, the term refers to the combination of two or more different technologies in a single device.
In the textbook from which I am teaching now, we find —
— but this is an out-of-date idea. It goes back to Vannevar Bush in the FDR administration. Today, we are not experiencing convergence on a neatly designed technology with smooth edges and a finished inclusion of all future features. Rather what we are seeing is divergence. Let me add that the word does not contemplate separation into specialized parts. It sees technology as a Mandelbrot Pattern, ever branching, ever reaching into new territory, ever displaying new looks.
— Kilgore Forelle
