Georgia Magazine - April 2011 - (Page 5)

www.georgiamagazine.org (800) 544-4362, in Georgia; (770) 270-6950 GEORGIA Magazine, the largest-circulation monthly magazine in the state, is published by Georgia Electric Membership Corp. (GEMC), the trade association for Georgia’s 42 consumer-owned electric utilities. On average, more than 500,000 members welcome the magazine into their homes each month. Georgia’s notfor-profit electric cooperatives provide reliable, safe and affordable electric service to more than 73 percent of the state’s land area serving 4.5 million residents. For more information, visit www.georgiaemc.com. EDITOR Ann Orowski, CCC ManagIng EDITOR Jennifer Hewett, CCC assOcIaTE EDITOR Victoria Scharf DeCastro PRODucTIOn cOORDInaTOR Steve Jacobs assIsTanT EDITOR Kevin Braun assIsTanT EDITOR Jim Jess EDITORIaL InTERn Amy Saxon cOnTRIbuTIng WRITERs Sarah Bakhtiari, Matt Bolch, Katie Conkle, Pamela A. Keene, Jackie Kennedy, Bret Love, David Shivers, Heather Teilhet, Laine Kirby Wood cOnTRIbuTIng PhOTOgRaPhERs Greg Brooks, Bill Durden, Elizabeth Erikson, Brett Gardin, Patrick Ireland, Julius Lee, Elizabeth Maves, Patrick McComas, Dennis McDaniel, Lori Bork Newcomer, Charlie Pappas, Brooke Parrot, Mike Powell, Rion Rizzo aDvERTIsIng REPREsEnTaTIvEs ‘What would Watson say?’ I By Paul Wood President/CEO, Georgia Electric Membership Corporation Laurel George, (404) 541-0628; Laine Kirby Wood, (770) 289-5700 National Country Market, (800) 626-1181 naTIOnaL aDvERTIsIng REPREsEnTaTIvE DEsIgnERs Trudie Thibodeaux, Kerstin Weis Mary Wellman, (770) 270-6981 subscRIPTIOns 2011 aDvIsORy bOaRD Amanda Busby, Erin Cook, Lynn Coulter, Romanous Dotson, Jeff Ferguson, Chuck Grace, Robert Herman, Jamie Hulsey, Jennie Lacey, Ophelia McCain, Ted McMillan, Lynn Price, Neal Shepard, Heather Teilhet, Jere Thorne, Tony Tucker gEORgIa EMc OffIcERs chaIRMan Neal Talton, Flint Energies vIcE chaIRMan Alice Mallory, Coweta-Fayette EMC sEc.-TREasuRER Randy Crenshaw, Irwin EMC PREsIDEnT/cEO, gEMc A. Paul Wood GEORGIA Magazine (USPS-473120, ISSN 10615822) is published monthly by Georgia Electric Membership Corp., P.O. Box 1707, 2100 East Exchange Place, Tucker, GA 30085. Periodicals postage paid at Thomaston, GA, and additional mailing offices. POsTMasTER: Send address changes to GEORGIA Magazine, P.O. Box 1707, Tucker, GA 30085. Printed in Georgia by Quad/ Graphics. Acceptance of advertising by GEORGIA Magazine does not imply endorsement by the publisher or Georgia’s electric membership corporations of the product or services advertised. GEORGIA Magazine’s LIABILITY FOR ERRORS IN, OR OMISSIONS OF, ADVERTISEMENTS, WHETHER IN CONTRACT OR IN TORT, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO DAMAGES TO THE ADVERTISER’S BUSINESS, SHALL IN NO EVENT EXCEED THE AMOUNT OF CHARGES FOR THE ADVERTISEMENT THAT WAS OMITTED OR IN WHICH THE ERROR OCCURRED. f asked to name the top 10 technological inventions of all time, what would you include on your list? Yes, the wheel would certainly be first on my list too. Archeologists think it was invented in Asia about 8,000 B.C. After the wheel, the list would be quite long, but it might not include what you think at first. Ask any group of teenagers when you have a chance. You might find their answers enlightening. For example, if you say, “A boat ought to be on the list,” a precocious teen might reply, “No, a rudder, to make that boat go where you want to go instead of wherever the wind blows.” If you play this game long, you will get very good suggestions for your list from others who can think of something that was made possible or improved upon by the original invention. If someone suggests electricity ought to be on the list, your answer should be, “Electricity was discovered, not invented by man.” However, you might add that electricity made possible Thomas Edison’s invention of the lightbulb, and electric membership corporations made possible the distribution of electricity to power the first lights in rural America. Back to the game. If someone suggests, “A bridge, to cross great rivers,” you might respond, “No, the arch that supports the bridge.” See what I mean? The greatest inventions can’t be rattled off so easily, and almost anything you can think of might be correct when considered in proper context. I love to play this game with More online at www.georgiamagazine.org students because it stretches their minds, especially those who think they already know the world’s greatest inventions. Students are likely to say, “A computer should be on the list because computers have made communications and mathematical calculations easier.” You would be correct in replying, “I disagree; without the invention of the transistor in the late 1940s, there would be no computers today.” The same answer can be used if they suggest the Internet. Try the game with your own teenagers or grandchildren the next time you are on a long automobile trip. You will be suggesting answers to each other the entire way, none of which are truly wrong! It will be a great learning experience. All of this brings me to a comment attributed to David Sarnoff before his death in 1971. He was founder of RCA and a pioneer in broadcast communications. When asked to name the greatest invention of the century, the 80-year-old Sarnoff replied, “It hasn’t even been conceived.” He was a visionary who believed the world’s next greatest invention was just over the horizon. I thought of Sarnoff’s comment recently when I watched IBM’s super computer, Watson, play the game of “Jeopardy.” In a millisecond, Watson demonstrated the capacity to interpret a question posed by a human voice, understand nuances of sound and language, and answer the question correctly. I wonder what Watson would say if you asked it (him?) to name the top inventions of all time. 5 April 2011 http://www.georgiamagazine.org http://www.georgiaemc.com http://www.georgiamagazine.org

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Georgia Magazine - April 2011

Georgia Magazine - April 2011
Contents
Viewpoint
Mailbox
Picture This?
Georgia News
Calendar
Georgia’s Energy Outlook
Currents
Standing for the Fallen
Green Power EMC: First and 10
LEEDing the Way
Special Travel Guide
My Georgia
Gardens
Georgia Cooks
Cookbook of the Month
Snapshot

Georgia Magazine - April 2011