Q&A · 3:49:39-3:54:32

Which 1980s technologies would matter most in the 1960s?

The choices include miniature electronics, ULSI, and electrical protection built into wall sockets, with older inventions distinguished from their mature forms.

Question

Which 1980s technology would each of you choose to introduce in the 1960s?

Short answer

The choices include mature miniature electronics, GFCI or RCD outlet protection, and ULSI chips whose much greater transistor counts could accelerate later technology.

Notes

The choices include compact solid-state electronics and ground-fault or residual-current protection for ordinary electrical outlets. The electronics proposal concerns miniaturized devices suitable for circuit boards, since transistors already existed before the 1980s. Printed circuit boards also predate that decade, a correction raised when they are suggested alongside game cartridges. Dr. Clarke chooses ultra-large-scale integration, describing its 1984 threshold as at least a million transistors and 100,000 logic gates. In this counterfactual, that capability would arrive during the era of medium-scale integration, described as roughly 10 to 500 transistors. The resulting head start could bring forward the technological development enabled by later chipsets.