More on Disruption
Welcome
If you stay in this job long enough, you get to see the progression of technologies as they move from mere ideas, to prototypes, to real-world products ready to challenge the world and ascend the ladder to that mystical measure of success that the venture capitalists call "disruption."
Dear Reader,
If you stay in this job long enough, you get to see the progression of technologies as they move from mere ideas, to prototypes, to real-world products ready to challenge the world and ascend the ladder to that mystical measure of success that the venture capitalists call "disruption."
Eight years ago – in the July 2013 issue, to be exact – I wrote about a quirky little story in the news that fell on one of those eternal fault lines of American culture. Some gun advocates had published plans for a 3D-printed gun, which they called the "Liberator." At that time, 3D gun printing was little more than a concept – something for the opposing sides of the gun control debate to face off around. The Liberator, which was made of plastic (and, I should add, the kind of plastic that was available for 3D printers eight years ago), didn't look like much and didn't shoot very accurately. As I recall, some considered the gun a significant danger to the owner. In one test, it shattered with first use, but the tester later admitted that "Printed under the right conditions, the Liberator gun has a lifespan of 8-10 shots" [1].
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