Aardvark Daily

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What am I missing?

As I sit down to write today's column, my head is buzzing with ideas for cool things to build and interesting lines of experimentation to pursue.

Right now truly is a great time to be alive.

Almost the entirety of mankind's scientific and technical knowledge is just a mouse-click or a keystroke away, thanks to the internet.

Technology that was once confined to the most exotic industrial, commercial or academic lab is now readily available for pennies from sites like AliExpress.

Artificial intelligence can quickly summarize and simplify even the most complex scientific study or paper, thus making its contents more readily available to even folk like me who don't have the PhD.

Just think of all the things that anyone with half a mind can now do.

So why aren't people doing taking advantage of all this?

Why are people mainly using the internet to find cute cat videos and argue with people they've never met via social media?

Why is it that most scientific papers and studies published to the Net will likely never be read by more than a tiny handful of the author's peers?

Why are people buying cute robotic dogs on AliExpress, rather than really cool bits of technology that can serve as part of a bespoke project that delivers real benefits?

In short, why is it that, when standing before a banquet of the finest steaks, most suculent game birds and most exquisit deserts -- almost everyone seems to just be ordering a Big Mac and fries?

If you'd asked me 20 years ago why there weren't any "breakthrough" discoveries being made by individuals tinkering in their garages I'd have said it was because all the easy stuff has already been discovered and that now, the tech needed was so expensive and sophisticated that only big companies or governments with teams of researchers had a chance.

Today I'd withdraw that statement, at least to some degree.

For a start, a lot of that "tech" is now so ubiquitous and cheap that it no longer poses a barrier to amateur scientists.

My workshop boasts a network VNA, oscilliscope, frequency counter, DSP-based signal generators, lab power supplies, spectrum analyzers and all manner of electronic test/lab equipment that would have cost more than you house, 20 years ago. Today however, we're talking just a few thousand dollars worth.

Likewise, from a mechanical engineering perspective I have lathes, a milling machine, TIG and MIG welders, plus a raft of calipers, dial-guages and other precision measuring equipment -- all bought for just a few grand.

Put an inquisitive mind that has over 70 years of learning attached, together with all that gear and a $60/month internet connection and there's real potential there to have a lot of fun and perhaps, in the process, come up with some things that are truly innovative and useful.

So it will be over the next few months.

Yes, now that the weather is warming up (20 degree temps forecast this week), I'll be heading back to the workshop to have some fun and hopefully share that fun with others via a few videos.

I'd have been out there already but my injury, plus a dislike of huddling in a tin shack in the middle of winter, has meant that such activities were off the calendar until now.

Stay tuned and I'll keep you up to date with what's planned and what's being worked on.

I'm damned if I'm going to let all these wonderful benefits of the 21st century go to waste, even if others might prefer watching Netflix or cute cat videos.

Carpe Diem folks!

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