stuffy historical reply now.
The British banned the export of technology (blueprints, etc) to the colonies (Mercantilist laws) but it failed - the techies of the day had the blueprints in their heads. (the mind's eye) So the British (and European) industrial revolutions got transported, regardless of bans, and even further developed by the colonists.
Your true gadget guy (and i was using the term tongue-in-cheek:) is a very creative right-brained being. (think MacGyver
) Also, I didn't mean to suggest that gadget guys weren't to be found in other fields like chemistry, etc. Guess I should stop using the term <g>
My husband once told me that when he designs a circuit he sees the whole thing running in his mind - he pictures it. He lets it run, trouble shooting it, and then when he's set to go with it, he has to do the grunt work - get it on paper for the non-visual types (and the patent office)
anyway - some interesting issues in your premise about tech decay as well as social decay, and whether or not 'works with words for a living' Kent could be the messiah.
Bernie Klein maybe, and I'll still argue that Jimmy has huge potential.
c.
