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.