I think humans may have made their next evolutionary leap but I don't think it changed our DNA this time.  

We've always been a creative species.  We can't be satisfied with using rocks as a tool to open a clam. we work to find better ways and to develop new tools.  The addition of the Internet as a way to share information and  new techniques is spawning a creativity explosion beyond anything I've ever seen.  We're expanding our minds through the use of external storage and collaboration.

While attending college, I thought the resources available there were amazing.  There were/are books, magazines, periodicals of all sorts and proceedings from conferences and findings from research and this all amazed me.  What amazes me even more now though is what 'average' people are doing in their workshops around the country on a daily basis and sharing with others.  Go to a site like www.instructables.com or letsmakerobots.com, makezine.com or even www.motherearthnews.com and see what people are accomplishing.

Just a few examples are things like inexpensive CNC machines capable of cutting gears or etching circuit boards.  There are 3D printers that use resins or plastics to create objects directly from your computer like the Reprap device or the Cupcake CNC.  The Chris Anderson of Wired magazine spends his free time making UAV's (Unmanned Arial Vehicles) like the predator drones the military uses only he builds them in his workshop at home.  There are a million and one things you can do with simple microcontrollers like the Arduino and most of that information can be found online as well.

I have the feeling that we are crossing a threshold.  When I think of an idea I can now quickly google it to see how many other people have already come up with alternate methods of doing that.  When I find ideas I can use I 'clip' them and drop the info in a note in Evernote.  I add my own concepts and ideas, make a quick sketch on the napkin, snap a pic of it and sync it with the rest of my notes or with Dropbox.  Later, when I have the chance to relax and let myself really develop an idea I can pull up all the information, try out some ideas and post the results out on my blog or instructables.com  (it's how I composed this!)  I think we may be approaching a time when the concepts of knowledge ownership, patented ideas, and proprietary technology may be a thing of the past.  How much longer will it be before knowledge in general becomes Open Source?

So we have all of these crazy smart people out there sharing information and trying new things and meeting up at Makerfaire, Defcon and Burning man and inspiring each other to new heights.  I just can't help but think that it will lead to something totally amazing and world changing. I don't know what it will be...  Maybe the next household robot helper, perhaps silicon intelligence, an accidental cure for obesity, or maybe just a totally new way to interact with this information.

I'm tired of waiting to see what the Apple's and the Sony's of the world are going to come up with next.  I think it is time for another inventor to step out of his garage and turn our world on its head.