PBS Idea Channel

Fallout 4: Is the Transistor a Symbol of Peace? (4x70)

Air date: Feb 10, 2016

Fallout’s unique brand of retrofuturism allows us a glimpse of what very well could have been our actual future. In a world where nuclear power and technology was pursued unrelentingly, resources became increasingly scarce, while our capability to annihilate each other became increasingly simple. If we hadn’t abandoned our nuclear ambitions in the 1950s, we may have easily met the same unfortunate fate. Instead, we focused our attention on our computers and electronics, which have become exponentially more compact and powerful due to advancements in transistor technology. So does this mean that the transistor has indirectly saved civilization as we know it?