Why does Bourland have a technology page?

Well, technology has played a wonderful role in world of music. In fact, during the early days of our developing understanding of the physical sciences, say 1600-1800's, it was music and sound that were the technology of the times. Amplification was mostly acoustic, but that all changed with the advent of the vacuum tube in 1879. The triode was not really invented until about 1906, but it was Thomas Alva Edison that paved the way with that simple little light bulb. Anyhoo, what always amazes me is how dramatically electronics has influenced the way we relate to music and sound. It is a harsh reality that the abstract nature of the acoustics link in the audio chain has obscured its importance. The sudden availability of controllable gain ushered in 125 years of electronic audio experience that changed our relationship to music forever. The feeling of comfort and familiarity when using microphones, amplifiers and loudspeakers is entirely lacking in how we relate to the acoustical (i.e.. physical) environment in which those devices operate. Acoustics is the science of sound with two distinct natures: physical and psychological. Sound as the fluctuating molecular densities in air is physical; sound as perceived by the ear is psychological. Electronics widened the gulf in our understanding between listening to the music of Bach or Pink Floyd and those darn fluctuating molecular densities in air. Bourland wants to narrow that gap with devices like theremins on steroids and The Bourland Beat Box, an improved stomp box being created specifically for John Pointer. John may be one of the few folks capable of actually driving the crazy contraption.

But Bourland is into more than just closing the gap between the acoustic and electronic worlds. Here on the technology page there are links to cool stuff like Wi-Fi QoS , audio effect circuit design, great audio codecs, historical information like the story of Ludwig Boltzmann and new technology like Carver Mead and Neuromorphic IC design. Check out George Gilder's latest rant on Wi-Fi and how he believes his dearest Qualcomm has so much more to offer. Soon Bourland will have information on what he calls the Gildered Age. The age of abundance. Basically, Bourland plans to use this page to give his take, for what it's worth, on a wide range of technology subjects.  The audio circuit design portion of this site will eventually move over to Bourland Audio Labs, once he has some noteworthy audio electronics to offer. Bourland will also give updates and report on the trials and tribulations of a circuit designer, entrepreneur, artist, musician, mad scientist as he goes through the pain, sweat and toil of creating a successful new product or two.  Expect an update soon!

Many engineering companies today seem to have lost the creative edge. Many of today's established engineering firms struggle to imagine anything outside what they already do and worse yet it seems they have lost the intellectual curiosity required to be innovative. Imagination, ingenuity, creativity, discipline, competition and good fortune combine to make some focused people very wealthy, but it all starts with an idea. Bourland has had many ideas, but he is not wealthy. He is not the CEO of a technology company. Creativity alone is not enough. Focus and discipline are required. Striking the balance between form and function, performance and cost, usability and development time are well and good, but at the end of the day it comes down to discipline, vision and faith. Vision is not taught in engineering school. Sure engineers learn discipline by solving complex math and physics problems through long nights studying, but the visionary is different. The visionary sees things not as they are but as they imagine them to be. The whole build it and they will come idea. This is why Bourland believes in supply side economics. People didn't know they needed a cell phone or an mp3 player or a Bourland Beat Box for that matter, but someone out there had an idea and the focus, discipline and faith in themselves and others to make it a reality. That is the significance of Ludwig Boltzmann's story. If he had the kept the faith for a little longer, he would have lived to see his ideas proven true rather than hanging himself thinking he was a failure. So when Bourland struggles and fails, when he thinks "Dang, I must be an idiot!" He just thinks to himself "six more months and I might be a genius".