Technology and Mankind’s Shrinking Dominion

Fifty years ago Buzz Aldrin took the giant leap onto the lunar surface. While making that ginger hop, he wore an Omega Speedmaste r, a wristwatch with a chronograph. The Swiss luxury watchmaker Omega continues to reap the profits today. Judged by all the promotional gear at watch shops celebrating the 50-year anniversary of the moon landing, it seems the romance of wearing a NASA-approved piece of gear on the wrist still has great appeal to men with a few thousand dollars to spare. The romance comes from the combination of 19th-century timekeeping technology, 20th-century industrial design, and a futuristic dream of technical wonders to come.

But in a way, there’s something almost melancholy about a 50-year-old wristwatch design still commanding so much attention. My childhood was filled with television reruns of space-age dreaming about the future. The Jetsons had flying cars. They had a robot maid, Rosie, who was a sign that menial jobs would disappear in the future. Everyone could live like an aristocrat, without anyone having to live like a servant. On Star Trek, the problem of scarcity had been solved by “replicators” that made food for you instantly. And the power of imagination had been put into rooms that could generate holograms of any environment. Occasionally these were used for entertainment and escapism, but mostly they were handy for training the daring crew for their intergalactic and civilizing missions.

About the Author

Michael Brendan Dougherty

Michael Brendan Dougherty is a senior writer at National Review Online.

Fifty years ago Buzz Aldrin took the giant leap onto the lunar surface. While making that ginger hop, he wore an Omega Speedmaste r, a wristwatch with a chronograph. The Swiss luxury watchmaker Omega continues to reap the profits today. Judged by all the promotional gear at watch shops celebrating the 50-year anniversary of the moon landing, it seems the romance of wearing a NASA-approved piece of gear on the wrist still has great appeal to men with a few thousand dollars to spare. The romance comes from the combination of 19th-century timekeeping technology, 20th-century industrial design, and a futuristic dream of technical wonders to come.

But in a way, there’s something almost melancholy about a 50-year-old wristwatch design still commanding so much attention. My childhood was filled with television reruns of space-age dreaming about the future. The Jetsons had flying cars. They had a robot maid, Rosie, who was a sign that menial jobs would disappear in the future. Everyone could live like an aristocrat, without anyone having to live like a servant. On Star Trek, the problem of scarcity had been solved by “replicators” that made food for you instantly. And the power of imagination had been put into rooms that could generate holograms of any environment. Occasionally these were used for entertainment and escapism, but mostly they were handy for training the daring crew for their intergalactic and civilizing missions.