Technosphere

3 big networks

pushed the human race forward,

energy, transportation and communication.

They are all byproducts of the first,

second and third industrial revolutions.

Despite Africa providing a big part

of the resources necessary

to drive these revolutions,

the exploitative environment

in which these networks developed globally

did not allow us to benefit from them

to the extent that other regions did.

This is the hyper technological reality

in which we want Africa

to become the next factory of the world.

The problem is, in a world dominated

by automation and robots,

the human labor force is becoming more

and more obsolete.

Two times in its history,

Africa was the forefront of information

and data collection

when Alexandria understood

the power of the information

they were collecting,

they prohibited the export of papyrus.

A predecessor of paper,

only they could manufacture.

Papyrus was was the hard drives

of the time and the library their data centre.

From the Library of Alexandria,

we can learn that centralising knowledge

in one place can have

catastrophic consequences.

romans led by Julius Caesar invaded the city

and burned down the library

with all its books.

To prevent their invaluable books

from being destroyed by colonial invaders.

Religious extremists.

or a massive fire

like the one in the library of Alexandria,

the scholars of Timbuktu

adopted a decentralised approach

to the preservation of ancient knowledge.

For centuries, their priceless

old books have been secretly saved

in small family collections disseminated

all across the city.

These occurrences can be compared

to today’s centralised storage methods of a datacenter

versus the decentralised

file system of a blockchain.

The Africologist is turning the ancient

wisdom of our ancestors

and brilliant research of her uncle

into a scientific method.

Through research, analysis and study,

she identified the fundamental concepts

of Africology.

People developed different

mathematical methods across the continent

that would later lay the groundwork

for Boolean systems and computers.

Let me show you how.

The base 2 or binary system

seems to have been common knowledge

in sub-Saharan Africa.

We are used to work in powers of 10

with the ones the tens

the hundreds, the thousands and so forth.

Computers work in powers of 2.

This way we can

represent any number in the world

just by increasing the number of cells.

The powers are the ones,

the 1s, the 4s, 8s, and so on.

Based on this game,

we can simulate a method

which is the same method

that computers use, where the whole board

basically becomes a simple computer

by using binary code.

No need to learn multiplication tables.

Let’s say we want to multiply 11 by 12.

On the left side, I keep the cells

that represent the number 11.

In this case, it will be 8 plus

2 equals 10, plus 1 equals 11.

So I can remove the 4.

I can remove all the rest.

On the right side

I keep doubling the number 12

until I reach the highest occupied

cell on the left. 12, 24, 48, 96.

Now I simply ignore the rows

that are empty on the left,

and I add the numbers

represented on the right together.

96 plus 24 plus 12

equals 132.

11 times 12 equals 132.

This added another layer of complexity to

the quantitative data behind the bone carvings

and the qualitative stories

of the cave paintings.

Applied Africology could be a valuable

differentiating factor in the competitive

economic landscape we live in.

The Africologist is fascinated

by the discoveries she makes while

traveling across the continent,

and so am I, of course.

We are preparing for a future,

where the borders among

African countries are eased for our own benefit,

turning Africa into the biggest

trade region in the world.

The three networks from earlier

need to extend their reach.

The transportation networks.

They allow countries and corporates

to exchange all kinds of goods

and services.

Africa has some of the most inadequate

transportation infrastructures in the world.

In the near future,

autonomous drones and sustainable electric

air transport for people and goods

will unite us without building roads

or rail networks.

The communication network.

The communication networks

here are primarily wireless.

Africa will go in history as the continent

that skipped the landline age

and went straight

to wireless communication.

The same is happening with the internet.

When it comes to the third network,

the energy infrastructures,

we are far from covered.

Half a billion Africans still don’t have electricity.

Getting out of the cycle of poverty

demands reliable electricity for all.

Some say that we are entering

the solar age, but in reality,

we have always lived in it.

Life depends

heavily on energy from the Sun.

The most efficient

solar panel on Earth is the leaf.

All plants combined generate six times

the yearly human energy consumption.

Sunflowers are so dedicated to the solar cycle

that they literally follow its movements

during the day.

Can we replicate nature’s efficiency

and use it for the good of humanity?

Solar systems

not only generate electricity,

but can also extract

drinking water out of thin air.

Could this solve our water problems?

Growth in Africa can happen sustainably.

While the rest of the world needs to go

green,

Africa should grow green.