>software itself has very little ability to be applied in a way that is directly transformative to the human condition I have to disagree on at least the area

>software itself has very little ability to be applied in a way that is directly transformative to the human condition I have to disagree on at least the area of communications. I travel all the time and if I'd have been doing this in the 90s I'd either have a hefty phone bill or I'd not be able to keep in touch with my family. More than likely, I'd not keep in touch with my friends and keep my friends, and know my place in this world through my friends. I agree, a lot of software is just convenience, such as better flight search that replaced my travel agent, or the ability to pay my bills online so when I get do home the power is still on. >The way software is truly transformational to the human condition is by freeing more and more of us from doing mindless tasks I also celebrate the destruction of the mindless job. I can't remember where I read this yesterday, but someone mentioned imagine you are having a conversation with yourself from 100 years ago: the amount of free time we have because of automation is astounding and I can only hope it gets better. I like to be creative on my free time, but the paradox is that I need a lot of free time to be creative. I find myself spending time on programming or thinking about the automating of tasks instead of just doing them once a week. I hope to find a balance over time and I do jump on anything that can save me from mundane activities.