AI is Not Magic: It's Time to Demystify and Apply - THINK Blog

For centuries, electricity was thought to be the domain of sorcerers – magicians who left audiences puzzled about where it came from and how it was generated. And although Benjamin Franklin and his contemporaries were well aware of the phenomena when he proved the connection between electricity and lightning, he had difficulty envisioning a practical use for it in 1752. In fact, his most prized invention had more to do with avoiding electricity – the lightning rod. All new innovations go through a similar evolution: dismissal, avoidance, fear, and perhaps finally acceptance. Almost two hundred years after Franklin's lightning experiment, man was routinely harnessing electricity, even though we still lacked a deep understanding of its origins. The Lineman's Handbook of 1928 begins with the line: "What is electricity?