The difference between electricity and electronics is not one that the public takes much notice of. Yet it is important in the history of analog technologies and is another key moment in our story. We may sum up the difference thus: electricity powers machines, whereas electronics enables them to make decisions.

Robert Hassan

I thoroughly enjoyed the brief book from Robert Hassan where this quotation originated. Throughout, Hassan reinforces several critical and cogent points about our seeming nostalgia for analog things which reflect ancient aspects of ourselves in them through their connections to the natural world.

Digital technology has left us unmoored in many regards. The tactility of analog tools and our ability to peek under the hood means we’re able to fully grasp how they function. Contrasted with advances in AI where even so-called experts often struggle to explain how it works at a fundamental level leaves us in a predicament that we’re collectively going to struggle to resolve for some time.