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How MrBean Led the Computer Industry
Copyright (c) 2010-2023 Jennifer Robinson
1955 seemed like any other year to most people, but unbeknown to the world '55 was to prove the arrival of the geeks. Steve Jobs, Bill Gates, Tim Berners-Lee and Eric Schmidt were all born in 1955.
Brilliant author Malcolm Gladwell also noticed this occurrence of the rise of computer genius in his book "Outliers" stating "they were fortunate enough to be in the right place at the right time and have the strength and presence of mind to seize the opportunities." Was it really as simple as that? I continued the search to find if there was something more significant and profound that occurred that year
Predictions for the future in 1955 included one from Henry Dreyfuss (a celebrity industrial designer) that future telephone's would have miniature television tubes, perhaps predicting iPhone, but he also said Mail would be dispatched across the country by guided rockets - which is too much of a stretch to say he predicted email.
In Chinese Astrology it was the year of the WOOD SHEEP who's characteristics include Smart. Artistic, Kind, Happy, Reserved, Insecure, Dependent (hardly the description of these guys). McDonalds opened their first restaurant in 1955 a company that pioneered corporate globalization. Still I couldn't quite see these fellow's devouring a happy meal.
None of these events seemed to prepare the world for the forthcoming invasion of the nerds so I looked to music. The best selling US single of the year was Cherry Pink and Apple Blossom White by Perez Prad. A reference to Apple there maybe ? But the evidence was thin.
I delved into literature "The Return Of The King" by Tolkien was published that year, could that be the catalyst for their success ? If so who was the King ? On Tv the top show was the $64,000 Question. Nothing seemed to fit maybe Gladwell was right again.
I turned to science 1955 was the year we said goodbye to two of finest minds of the 20th century Albert Einstein and Alexander Fleming. Did this hold any significance? In Computer science the ENIAC was shut down.
In Astronomy on the 20th of June 1955 there was a total eclipse . My mind raced was the eclipse the same day as the summer solstice, was this some Pagan, Sumerian, Mayan or Egyptian symbol preparing the world of the coming of the geeks. But no another dead end as the solstice is on the 21st of June.
Turning for answers as so many do to Religion, 1955 I found that Margaret Knight stunned Britain by suggesting morality without religion. The dead sea scrolls continued to be discovered in 1955 and both Messianic Rule scroll and the War Scroll were published. Again nothing quite seemed to click.
Maybe the answer comes from beyond this world, Dr. P. S. V. Setty said in January 1955 "reports have come from all over the world of strange objects being sighted in the sky which are generally known as Flying Saucers". Interesting but hardly Roswell, I concluded that the reality distortion field and parking in a disabled space did not prove extra-terrestrial involvement.
Finally having exhausted all possibilities I was ready to concede that Malcolm Gladwell was right. There was no sign that the geeks were coming or significance of the year. Then I sat down and switched on the television. An old episode of Mr Bean came on.....
Something sparked in my mind. That's it. I jumped up and searched wikipedia. 1955 was indeed the year of the geeks. Rowan Atkinson who plays the much loved Mr Bean was the key. Before Eric Schmidt, Before Bill Gates, Berners-Lee and Jobs came you guessed it......Mr Bean. Rowan Atkinson was the first born geek of 1955.
When Apple did a parody of Microsoft in a commercial who did they use - Mr Bean and what's more he danced to Mr Bombastic proving he is the king of the geeks. There was a sign of the rise of the geeks and that sign was Mr Bean. And if Tolkien had predicted the "Return of the King", he surely would be the first born geek - who was not Steve Jobs but Mr Bean. Take that Mr Gladwell.
January 6 1955 - Rowan Atkinson - Mr Bean himself was born at the beginning of '55 heralding the start of a Geek Power and the spiritual leader and returning king...
February 24 1955 - Steve Jobs the co-founder of Apple, the guy who gave us Toy Story, PIXAR, iMac, iPod, iTunes, iTouch, iPad, iPhone and rumored to soon be purchasing iHop.....
April 27 1955 - Eric Schmidt the CEO of the worlds biggest media company and search engine Google and also a former board member of Apple, until Android sort of got in the way...
June 8 1955 - Tim Berners-Lee the founder of the world wide web. Whilst at CERN Berners-Lee presumably between creating a particle accelerator and talking to researchers for Dan Brown books found some time to create the www.
October 28 1955 - Bill Gates the founder of Microsoft that eventually got so bored of the computer industry he has now decided to rid the world of mosquitoes instead.
Footnotes: Bill Joy of Sun Microsystems was born in 1954, co-wrote Java and has been bravely outspoken about the dangers of technology. The great Winston Churchill resigned as Prime Minister of Britain in 1955 and was once quoted as saying "History will be kind to me for I intend to write it".
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