Humankind has gotten more comfortable with computers over the years, and I’m convinced that this has less to do with operating systems and Killer Apps than it does with simple, caveman-type responses to concepts of Scale.
The Number One most terrifying concept to your basic caveman was, of course, God. So enormous that you couldn’t see Him, touch Him, or hear Him (the prophets notwithstanding), He nonetheless had a very real impact in terms of earthquakes, lightning, and other forms of mass entertainment of the day. Next down were the cave bears and saber-toothed tigers. Enormous, yes; terrifying, definitely. But you could see them, and anything you could see you could run away from.
Humankind really started feeling comfortable with the natural world only after it had been domesticated and could actually do useful things for people. The cow gave us milk, for which we were grateful, but it was the dog that we wound up slinging Frisbees at. Why did Benji: The Hunted star a small cuddly stray mutt instead of an asphalt-clomping stray Holstein? Scale, ladies and gentlemen . . . scale!
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