The Wright brothers’ 12-second flight on December 17, 1903, proved that human flight was possible. But, while reflecting on their great invention, Orville Wright would say, “No flying machine will ever fly from New York to Paris…[because] no known motor can run at the requisite speed for four days without stopping and you can’t be sure of finding the proper winds for soaring.”
This was quite pessimistic, but he was right. The airplane needed to undergo radical change.
Changes to the aerodynamics, engine and materials saw the first transatlantic flight completed 16 years later. However, it took sixteen hours. More modifications have led us to the journey now being made in half the time. Flights are readily available, relatively affordable and can reach every corner of the world.
Many expect Web3 to usher in a new era, just like other great inventions before it. However, Web3 finds itself in the same position as the first flight in 1903. The sky’s the limit, but there are factors keeping it too close to the ground. As some would put it, there is “5G imagination but only GSM infrastructure” in Web3 and DeFi.
