It's a small—and smaller—world

Metaphorically speaking, the world is be coming smaller at a pace which continues to accelerate. This has little to do with actual physical travel-747s still travel at about the same speed as when they first went into service over 20 years ago. What is compressing the world is the exchange of information. Computing power per given monetary unit now doubles every 9 months, and the actual cost of telecommunications is said to fall by 50% every 6 months. As with all advances of humankind, there is potentially both a profit and loss associated with such change, but the likelihood of good is accepted by most knowledgeable people, even if the specific impact on their lives is unrealized. Much like the AIRMED ‘93 Congress in Australia, the recent AIRMED ‘96 World Congress in Munich, Germany, was attended by hundreds of our counterparts from all over the world. I visited with colleagues from Japan, Australia, Norway, and South Africa, just to mention a few of the dozens of countries represented. The United States was well represented, both in numbers and in the superb quality of presentations, as were many other nations. The Germans were wonderful hosts, both to the conference in general and to the American contingent. I&e Aus tralia, Germany is a beautiful country, and Dr. Kugler, Dr. Stolpe, and their compatriots went to great lengths to make us feel welcome. And like in Australia, given suf6cient liquid relaxation (iie a German beer hall seating the entire attendance of the Congress, outstanding entertainment, and a seemingly endless supply of the local brew), we all attempted to do our best at singing our way into the legends of social gatherings. This conference was more than just a social event. In many ways it became ap parent that we have come of age in our profession and that our air medical world