Editorial July 17, 2000 Issue

Say goodbye to boundaries

Russ Gerber

The new decade is already earning a reputation. Boundaries are coming down fast. Visionaries in nanotechnology, for example, are experimenting with the minuteness of matter, are talking seriously about the possibility of building almost anything, no matter how small, with atomic precision. They say that supercomputers will one day fit in the palm of your hand. Internet users already know that the Net is obliterating boundaries, providing vast amounts of information and giving people the ability to communicate and to coordinate activities, anytime, from any location. A consultant in California's Silicon Valley noted that the Net has helped us transcend the oldest boundary in human history—geography. The foresight of the founder of this magazine is evident in an observation she made a century ago: "This age is reaching out towards the perfect Principle of things; is pushing towards perfection in art, invention, and manufacture" (Miscellaneous Writings, p. 232).

We continue to go beyond what was once believed possible.

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