The Future: Israeli Style Mike Rappaport

Living in the US can spoil one.  In addition to the freedom and wealth, the US is usually more developmentally and technologically advanced than other countries.  Sadly, one usually cannot leave the US to see the future; instead, the marvels of other countries usually involve the past. 

Back in the 1980s, I used to want to travel to Japan, because I believed they had technology and other products that the US lacked.  I never made it to Japan, and now my sense is that after a decade of recession, there is far less technology and other products there that the US lacks. 

Israel is more know for its ancient treasures, but one area where it may exceed the US is architecture.  Tel Aviv, in particular, has a host of buildings that seem more innovative and interesting than what is in the US, including New York.  Or at least it seems that way to me.  Take a look at some of these buildings — my favorites are the cylindrical ones and the ones that have multiple levels.

The other bit of technology that was superior to the American version was the science museum in Haifa.  With two boys of 11 and 14, I have visited science museums throughout the US, including in New York, New Jersey, San Francisco, Oakland, Los Angeles, Philadelphia, Chicago, and Washington, D.C.  Yet, I found the science museum in Haifa to be the best I had been to (although unfortunately, we could only visit it for 90 minutes.  The hands on exhibits were great, and the more discursive exhibits (more my style) were excellent.  The exhibit on the development of computers, including on Von Neumann’s classic paper on computers, were just great.