In the commentary box: The Renaissance reaches Silicon Valley

This week a select group of industry gurus are asked to look at what's happening in the IT industry today. Has there ever been a comparable period of change in history? If so, what lessons can we apply to the flux that is today's technology landscape?

Ned Gilder: Good morning. I'm sure many of you know me as Ned Gilder, the author of works such as How to Realise your Dream (1998), Rewriting the Rules (1999) You Too Can be A Master of the Universe (1999) and Get Real! How Come the Dot Com Yuppies Got So Deluded? (2001).

But I don't spend all my time selling coffee table books and expensive White Papers. There're only so many gullible marketing managers out there. There're a surprising number of people who don't need to buy their opinions.

But luckily, I'm often called on to educate the media about the digital future. Traditional broadcasters like the BBC are turning to people like myself, and Michael Lewis for guidance. Michael, who's a very close friend of mine, has actually got a series running on BBC2 that maps out some of my original ideas. You might have caught it: The Future Just Happened, BBC2, 9:00 Tuesday

If you did catch it, you'll have seen Michael talking to some Silicon Valley big shots sharing the wisdom they've amassed in the five years since they left their parents. Over a bottle of wine they shared their insights into the new human condition, which they've gained by playing around with machines all day.

Now, it has to be pointed out that this is an idea Michael Lewis got from me. But the fact that he chose boring old analogue TV as his medium makes his programme so much the poorer. Here on silicon.com, TV has endless possibilities. So, with my friends here, we're going to sketch out the story of the digital revolution and - here's the thing - you get to choose the ending.

My fellow panellists are Todd Ransom (III) junior, new product mind set co-ordinator for Intelliquanta: Bud Rosendorf, director of corporate self aggrandisement at SibylSoft and Nigel Pratt, whose just come back to the UK after spending several years learning corporate jargon in the world's most vibrant economy.

Bud, let me come to you first. You likened what's happening now in Silicon Valley to the Renaissance. Can you expand on that?

BUD: What I find so impressive about me, and my life, is this belief that we're shaping the world and that nothing of any significance is happening anywhere other than Silicon Valley. I kind of think that's how the Renaissance was. All the finest minds, in every field of human endeavourisationalisement, concentrated in one place.
As I said on the programme, the Renaissance brought Galileo and that other guy...

RANSOM: Michaelangelo?

BUD: Yeah, that's the guy. Thanks you Ransom. By the way, did you notice that collaboration there, between our two brilliant minds? So anyway, the Renaissance and it's relevance to today. Galileo and Michaelangleo and a whole bunch of other guys were working on ideas for engineering, physics, art, science and even philosophical products. Which is very much an imitation of what we're achieving now.

GILDER: Some critics who saw the programme questioned whether you should dare compare yourselves to Galileo and his cohorts. They say you've contributed nothing of any significance to art or philosophy. Even your role in science is as an enabler. How would you react to the charge that you're just a bunch of jumped up, self-important computer programmers with delusions of grandeur?

NIGEL: Can I answer that one? I think that's typical of the British mentality, isn't it? We hate success in this country.

RANSOM: I don't think you should be so hard on yourself, Nigel, but you Europeans maybe have to learn from Silicon Valley.

BUD: I agree. OK, let's call the situation we have in California Renaissance 2.0. Let's have a look at the improvements on the original Renaissance.

Take Galileo. There was a guy that was not totally focussed. One day he was an inventor, the next day a painter. Come back two days later and, oh, who's that staring up at the sky? It's Galileo the astronomer. The trouble with Galileo was he didn't leverage his capital, and he didn't totally own the market, which was a massive strategic mistake.

RANSOM: What you gotta remember about the Renaissance is that it was a revolution. Up to that point, romanticism had dominated thinking, but the Renaissance was characterised by a return to the values of classicism, in which discipline and order, intellect and objectivity were the guiding principles.

BUD Yeah, there's no room for romanticism or fantasy in today's world. That's why I'm convinced that children will become the new business paragons, because their synapses haven't been fused yet, so they can think more laterally. That's disciplined thinking for you.

If you want evidence of our objectivity how about this for an idea? E-commerce will neutralise the gap between rich and poor. That's not an argument you could dismiss as overly romantic.

We all know how harmonious the IT industry is. All the key principles behind the original Renaissance have been improved upon in the new version.

GILDER: Quite. When I see the success that people like you have enjoyed, it fills me with hope for my own future. Yes, there really are a lot of stupid people out there who'll swallow anything. Does anyone want to buy a White Paper from me?