True magic: Dialing up cell phone history with "Marty" Cooper

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Blog Post Category: Invention & Innovation; Medicine and Science; Musings; Public Programs
Description: While working at Motorola, Cooper introduced the public to the first true cell phone in 1973 (the year that Clarke handed down his "Third Law"), and brought forth what is surely the most ubiquitous technology on the planet. It is estimated that the number of cell phones in use in 2014 will actually exceed the world population of seven billion. A game-changing technology by any measure, it has become the continually-evolving platform for a dizzying array of novel devices whose social impacts are incalculable. We humans are the ultimate social animals and, for good or ill, the cell phone is the perfect tool for addressing our social needs—and neediness.