In the fifteenth century, Johannes Gutenberg invented the printing press. His machine paved the way for book production and for the first time in history, reading became a skill people wanted to acquire.
Did friends meet for a pint of ale and a bowl of pottage to discuss this new thing called reading?
How may decades passed before reading lost its newness?
In the twentieth century, homes became electrified. When electricity was a new thing, it must have felt miraculous for a homeowner to walk into their house at night and flick on a light switch.
I remember color television being a thing.
I stood in my friend's living room with a dozen boys staring in awe at the Phillies game being broadcast on a brand new RCA color TV. We couldn't believe it. The grass on the field looked so real. It was green!
When does something new stop becoming a new thing?
Every widely embraced technology goes through a transition from being noticed and talked about to becoming invisible and accepted. Social media was new, now it's part of our day.
Cyrpto, blockchain, and NFTs are still a new thing. In five years, will crypto have become part of your life?
I have no doubt.